Boston 2024 didn’t deliver on promises made to the U.S. Olympic Committee, leading to the end of its bid, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Wednesday.
“Boston, obviously, did not deliver on promises they made to the USOC when they were selected [in January],” Bach said in a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “Therefore we can understand the decision by USOC, and we are looking forward to an American bid with another city.”
Bach did not elaborate on the promises but said the IOC had a commitment from the USOC that it will bid for the 2024 Olympics with another city. The bid deadline is Sept. 15.
The USOC has had talks with Los Angeles officials regarding its 2024 Olympic bid, according to insidethegames and the Los Angeles Times.
A Los Angeles-San Francisco joint bid for the 2024 Olympics is possible after a leading Los Angeles 2024 bid official contacted a leading San Francisco 2024 bid official, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“For us the situation has not changed,” Bach said Wednesday. “We had a commitment from United States Olympic Committee for an Olympic candidature for 2024. We have this commitment. We’re sure that USOC will deliver on this commitment, and that we will have on the 15th of September, a bid from the United States.”
Bach said he would not give unsolicited advice on a potential U.S. 2024 bid but that bids should be “a little bit more oriented on facts than on emotions.”
Boston was dropped in a joint decision with the USOC on Monday after Boston mayor Marty Walsh said he would not sign a document that could put taxpayers at risk if there were cost overruns.
“I gave up following [Boston 2024] because it was pretty confusing,” Bach said. “Every day there was a new project coming from Boston or new people and new ideas. ... Therefore we can understand the decision by USOC, and we are looking forward to an American bid with another city. The United States is one of the few countries in the world who has the luxury of having a number of cities which are capable of organizing Olympic Games.”
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