Mayor Walsh announces first nine Olympic community meetings

Mayor Martin J. Walsh hailed Boston's selection by the United States Olympic Committee as a once-in-a-lifetime urban planning and economic development opportunity and laid out a nine-month schedule of community meetings in neighborhoods across the city.

“Today marks the start of a long process to meet with residents and solicit feedback from our many diverse neighborhoods as we move forward in our quest to host the 2024 Summer Olympics,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said. “I am excited to share our vision with the people of Boston and hear their thoughts on how we can work together to not only bring the Games to Boston, but create one of the most innovative, sustainable and successful Olympics the world has seen.”

The city will hold it's first public meeting on the Boston 2024 effort on January 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Suffolk Law School, 120 Tremont St. The meeting will be to discuss the benefits and impact on the City. The rest of the meetings are as follows:

• February 24, 6:30 p.m. - Condon School Cafeteria, 200 D St., South Boston
• March 31, 6:30 p.m. - Harvard Business School, (Burden Auditorium)
• April 28, 6:30 p.m. - Roxbury Community College, 1234 Columbus Ave., Roxbury
• May 19, 6:30 p.m. - Cleveland Community Center, 11 Charles St., Dorchester
• June 30, 6:30 p.m. - English High School, 144 McBride St., Jamaica Plain
• July 28, 6:30 p.m. - Mildred School, 5 Mildred Ave., Mattapan
• August 25, 6:30 p.m. - Ohrenberger School, 175 West Boundary Road, W. Roxbury
• September 29, 6:30 p.m. – East Boston High School, 86 White St., East Boston

Meetings and additional steps in the community process will be announced on an ongoing basis.

In addition, Boston 2024, the privately-funded nonprofit organizing committee, will host the first meeting of its citizens advisory group on Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Boston 2024 created the citizens advisory group through its www.2024Boston.org website to provide information and solicit feedback from the public.

“Boston 2024 looks forward to a thoughtful, robust public conversation about the proposed venues and the many benefits that would come with the Games,” said Boston 2024 executive vice-president Erin Murphy Rafferty. “We have enjoyed enthusiastic and overwhelming public support from Massachusetts Olympians and Paralympians, business and community leaders, elected officials, the university community and the general public.”

The USOC decision to select Boston as the United States' bid city is the next step in the International Olympic Committee selection process. There will be a review process before the USOC officially submits Boston as the United States' bid city to the IOC. The IOC will select the 2024 Summer Games host city in 2017.