(WASHINGTON POST)  Emily Badger — The city of Boston is ending its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, conceding to residents who’ve vocally protested the idea for months. Poll numbers have shown that a majority of people in the region were opposed to hosting the Games, which have become increasingly costly, and opponents had threatened to put the question to what would have been an embarrassing ballot measure.

On Monday morning, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he wouldn’t sign a bid document that required the city to guarantee any cost overruns associated with the Games. Later in the day, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that it would scramble to find another American city to compete for the 2024 job.

The news is a big victory for Bostonians who believed the Olympics would distract the city — and sap resources — from deep challenges with its transit, housing and education. And it’s a resounding defeat for the logic that Boston — or any city — needs to take on a massive sporting event to solve such problems. 

City taxpayers, so often duped by the allure of sports, finally heard a promise they couldn’t believe. In February, we wrote about their objections in a story that’s reprinted below.

Source: Why Boston is smart to bail on the Olympic Games – The Washington Post