On the evening of Wednesday, March 18th there will be a public meeting held at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School regarding the Boston 2024 Olympic proposal. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm and will take place in the Fitzgerald Theatre. It will be hosted by Boston 2024, the private group that is financing and organizing a bid for Boston to be chosen by the International Olympic Committee as the site of the 2024 Summer Games. According to documents presented to the US Olympic Committee, organizers are hoping to host at least one Olympic event in the City of Cambridge.

I continue to have very serious concerns about the Olympic proposal. One of my most serious concerns—one that I expressed in an op-ed that was published here and in several local papers—is that there has been a lack of a substantive public involvement in this process thus far. Our communities were entered into the running for the Olympic games without a single public meeting, discussion, or vote occurring beforehand. Even with polls now showing that less than half of area residents support hosting the games and that more than three quarters feel there should be a referendum, Boston 2024 organizers continue to press forward in the bidding process.

From conversations that I have had with constituents over the past several months, I know that there are many people who have legitimate concerns about the wisdom of hosting the games in Boston, and others who question whether there would be any real public benefit. I am hopeful that the meeting tonight will be an opportunity to voice those concerns, and I encourage anyone who is interested to attend.

Organizers have stated that they plan to host a meeting in Somerville as well, but a date has not been announced yet.