John Tory to deliver Toronto Olympic bid decision Tuesday
Mayor John Tory will announce his decision on whether or not the city will try to secure the 2024 Summer Olympics at a Tuesday morning news conference overlooking Nathan Phillips Square, the epicentre of celebrations for this summer's Pan and Parapan Am Games.
Toronto has until Tuesday to send letters of intent to the International Olympic Committee, stating the city's intention to bid on the Games.
The mayor said on the weekend he still hasn't decided.
Bid opponents, ranging from left-leaning Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam to right-winger Rob Ford, have said Toronto should hold off. Ford called the bid a "black hole" that would gobble up too much public money. Wong-Tam has said the bid shouldn't happen without more public input.
Others, encouraged by the success of this summer's Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, are urging Toronto to submit a bid.
Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong supports the move and says the Games would leave a positive legacy on the city.
"It probably would be the biggest catalyst for infrastructure building that this city could ever see," he told CBC News.
Whatever Tory decides, it will surely be seen as one of the biggest decisions he has faced since his election last fall.
"I want to make sure I do this thoroughly and properly as people expect from me, and that's what I'll do," he told CBC News.
Rome, Paris, Los Angeles, Hamburg and Budapest are also bidding on the 2024 Olympics.
Many Games watchers were shocked when Boston backed out of the race in July despite having the support of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
What does Boston bowing out mean for Toronto?
Robert Livingstone has been covering the race to host the Games on his website GamesBids.com.
He said Boston's bid essentially ended in July, when the mayor said he would not commit any taxpayer money to his city's bid.
"That's a non-starter for the IOC so that was the end of Boston," said Livingstone. "The support in Boston just wasn't there. It didn't seem to be there from the start."
Livingstone said it's hard to say what the Boston situation may mean for Toronto's chances. He points out that Rio de Janeiro wasn't considered a strong candidate to win a Summer Games bid but managed to parlay a successful Pan Am Games hosting into a successful Olympic bid.
"They weren't a contender at the beginning but they won. They're hosting in 2016," Livingstone said.
