Rome’s bid for possibly one of the biggest tourist attractions—the 2024 Olympics—may be dropped if the city’s new Mayor and council don’t support it; the Italian Olympic Committee says it will pull out if the city isn’t on board by Oct. 7th.
The cash-strapped city’s reform mayor, Virginia Raggi, above, and the council are clear that they don’t regard the bid as a good idea for the city, but has not said she won’t back it.
Supporters say hosting the games would provide 177,000 jobs and provide an opportunity for overhauling the city’s challenged public transport system, as well as other facilities. They claim that the €5.3 billion budget for the games would be covered by the Committee, sponsors and the national government, which is supporting the bid.
Opponents point to the experience of city after city in which those hopes have not panned out, and costs have escaped expenses. The deadline is set by the date the Olympic Committee must present more details to the International Olympic Committee. The other finalists are Paris, Budapest and Los Angeles.
