With crippling snow and the T’s ongoing meltdown snarling commutes and dominating the headlines, it’s been easy to forget about Boston’s push to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. But despite Snowmageddon and all the hassles it’s created, the city’s Olympic bid continues to evolve.
Last week, London Mayor Boris Johnson visited Boston and said on Boston Public Radio that based on his experience with London’s 2012 games, which included this daring ride on a zip line, media skepticism will fade away if Boston’s bid wins out.
"I remember lots of people, lots of influential newspaper columnists inveighing against the Olympics, ragging it off, decrying it," Johnson said. "They hated the whole thing. They hated the idea of the crowds, the expense, the disruption. Then when it all started, they loved it."
But based on Boston’s first public meeting on the bid, held earlier this month—it’s not just the media that have reservations.
Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim has a possible solution: he wants Boston to put four nonbinding questions related to the games on the ballot.
"This is a such an important project," he said on Greater Boston on Feb. 5, "this is potentially nine years, a big, unprecedented interaction between private organizations and the city, that people want a say on it."
Meanwhile, Harvard President Drew Faust says that despite hints to the contrary from Boston 2024 backers that university won't help with Olympics fundraising.
And there’s been another big development on Beacon Hill. A bill filed by two state representatives would make all spending in pursuit of the Olympic Games public.
State Rep. Aaron Michelwitz joined Greater Boston to discuss the bill and other developments in the bid.
