Toronto Olympics

Toronto mulls an Olympic bid once again

Toronto is poised, once again, to consider whether or not the city should make a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. There hasn't been too much talk about hosting the Games since Mayor Rob Ford shot down rumblings about a 2020 bid over three years ago, but in the interim the city commissioned Ernst & Young to produce a feasibility report on a 2024 bid, which will finally go before the economic development committee on Monday.

You'd have to think that the idea of making a run for 2024 will face significant opposition. While the report lays out some of the obvious benefits of hosting the Olympics -- most notably the increase in Toronto's global brand, cultural capital, and provision of new infrastructure -- the costs associated with bidding are themselves exorbitant (upwards of $60 million), not to mention what the Games would cost should the bid be successful (which could reach almost $7 billion).

The Olympic dream is a stubborn one in Toronto, bolstered perhaps by previous bids for both the 1996 and 2008 Games. But even as Rob Ford's wings have been clipped at City Hall, this is a place where the fiscal responsibility remains a major buzz word, and that's not the best environment for embarking on costly Olympic bids.

What do you think? Is now a good time to go after the Olympics once again?


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here are the ways Canadians can get free government money for the holidays

Lost window into Toronto's past has been resurrected after Google quietly killed it

'Risk of a crash' triggers recall of over 52,000 GM vehicles in Canada

Axed CTV anchor Lisa LaFlamme stars in campaign celebrating beauty of aging

Here's why a huge 300-ton Toronto crane is actually a protected heritage structure

Toronto's forthcoming artificial island just got a new name

Toronto's biggest free Halloween party was a beautiful disaster

Canadians could soon cash in on $8.5 million TD mutual funds settlement