.jpg)
| |||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
By:
Harrison Maina | |||||||||
| Posted:
Apr,16-2015 10:06:28
| |||||||||
|
BOSTON---If Boston wins the hotly contested bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, individuals, small and large for profit and non-profit organizations, as well as entire communities will benefit from a massive influx of business for the entire period leading up to the 1 month-long games, and long after the closing ceremony. The prediction was issued by Rich Davey,CEO of the Boston 2024Olympics organizing committee while addressing an ethnic media round-table meeting at the committee headquarters at Marina Park in Boston on Thursday last week. "There will be unprecedented opportunities that will come as a result of these games coming to Boston.This is what has happened to other cities that hosted past Olympics like London and Beijing.It is said that London overtook Paris to become the most widely traveled to city in Europe after hosting the 2012Olympics." "There will be lots of long term construction jobs, tourism will increase tremendously with increased visitors, lots of opportunities for many small businesses like caterers, food trucks, travel companies, accommodation, transportation and more," added Davey. Davey urged members of the immigrant communities of color in the state to come out and get involved in supporting Boston's bid to host the games as well as strive to take part in the many opportunities to be created by the popular games. Flanked by Erin Murphy, the Boston 2024 Chief Operating Officer (C.O.O), Davey said that there was a great support among communities of color for the Boston Olympics bid as they understand the power of sports at such games. According to developments this week, the committee has voiced support for a proposed statewide referendum among residents of Massachusetts who will vote on whether the games should be allowed to take place in Boston or not. Some quarters of Boston residents have voiced their opposition to the games being hosted in the city, citing potential congestion and disruptions to transit systems among other concerns. Should voters decide against Boston hosting the games, then the committee said that it will drop the bid and respect the will of the people, according to several media reports. However, during the ethnic media conference, the committee sounded upbeat about the possibility of building support across many communities, including those of color. "We are urging the communities of color in the entire commonwealth to come out and get involved in supporting and promoting the bid so that when the decision is made in 2 and a half years in Lima, Peru, we will be ready to go and they will not be left out of the massive opportunities." "There are many ways you can support the committee in this process. First of all is to spread the word by sending a blast email, write a letter to the editor, and join the Boston 2024 Social media team via twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. You can also volunteer, attend a community meeting near you, or even organize an event to support the bid," said Murphy, the C.O.O Indicating that Boston is a great sports town that boasts a huge population of new immigrants who sometimes understand the power of sports more than the local Americans, the officials predicted that the games will boost Boston in many more ways that just influx of money and long-term opportunities. The organizers said that Olympics bring together different cultures of the world for a whole month of fun and excitement at various events that showcase different cultures. "Nothing brings people together than sports. New immigrants bring the power of different games to Boston like soccer, volleyball, boxing, athletics and many more. We therefore want the immigrant community to benefit from the opportunities that will open up, and help our communities get better,” Rich Davey told over a dozen representatives of ethnic media present. "According to the cultural Olympiad, the Olympics require organizers to make room for cultural events to go alongside the games. In 2012, there were over 300 cultural events in London including the huge Shakespearean Festival.This is another huge opportunity for ethnic communities," added Murphy. The officials said that the organizing committee is committed to hosting sustainable, environmental and transit friendlyOlympics to make the experience as pleasant as possible both for competitors,fans and local residents. "July 2024 is the games time,the Olympics should help get done things that we care about especially improvements in transportation infrastructure and equipment. There will be many sustainable housing developments that will come up such as the expected extension of the green line to Somerville and Cambridge. We will also support other ideas that people may come up with," said Davey, who formerly worked as the Mass. Port Chairman and Transportation Secretary under former Governor, Deval Patrick. He added that the games will also heavily involve other nearby regional airports like TF Green in Rhode Island and Manchester Airport in New Hampshire. "This is pretty exciting. Our bid talks about making games workable and transit friendly.You can jump into the Red or Green Line and be in a games venue in a couple of minutes. We are planning to have a temporary 60,000 seat stadium built in East Boston for the opening and closing ceremonies, in order to avoid building big things we will not need after the games are over. We will think through the sustainability and trash collection" he added while taking questions from journalists present. The CEO said that the committee is also planning to build an Olympics village at Umass Boston for the convenience of the competitors and officials. Calling up on individuals and community organizations in the ethnic communities in Boston to get involved,Murphy revealed that the Boston 2024 committee already has over 924 volunteers who are working to help bring the games home. She urged members of the ethnic communities to observe the annual Olympicsday slated for June 23rd by attending various track and field events planned. Boston was selected by unanimous vote after several rounds of voting by the board of the US Olympics Committee (USOC) back in January this year, to represent the United States in its bid for the opportunity to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.It beat 4 other finalist cities:Los Angeles,San Francisco and Washington,D.C, from among 35 that had originally expressed desire to host the games. According toTeamUSA.org, the U.S last hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 1996 (Atlanta).St. Louis hosted in 1904 and Los Angeles held the Games in both 1932 and 1984. If it wins the bid, Boston will compete against other major world cities including Rome, Hamburg, Paris, and Intanbul. South Africa and Kenya are also toying with the idea of hosting the 2024 summer Olympics or the 2028 edition. Responding to an inquiry from Ajabu Africa News after the conference, Rich Davey sounded more optimistic about the chances that Boston has to win the bid. "The world knows us and they send their children in the best colleges and Universities available in Boston. We get a lot of visitors who come here for medical treatment in the best hospitals in the world available and we are a sports city. We are also a Sea Port city and there is something renewing about the seal. We are hopeful that we will bring these games to Boston. But we also count on the support of everyone out there to make it happen," he said. Kenya,South Africa and Ethiopia are the top 3 most competitive African countries at the Olympics hauling multiple gold, silver and bronze medals in different categories, drawing huge interest among fans. To join Boston 2024 as a volunteer, send an email to: volunteer@2024Boston.org. To learn more about the upcoming Boston 2024 community events near your area, click here >>> | |||||||||
|
Source:
Ajabu Africa News
| |||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RSS