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No Boston Olympics meeting Wednesday in Back Bay – Metro US

No Boston Olympics meeting Wednesday in Back Bay

No Boston Olympics meeting Wednesday in Back Bay
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A group opposed to Boston’s bid for hosting the 2024 Summer Games will hold its first meeting Wednesday night, ushering in members of the public who not only support their cause, but are undecided on the issue.

No Boston Olympics organizer Christopher Dempsey said the meeting, which will be held at 6 p.m. at First Church in Boston, will focus on reasons backing up the group’s stance that hosting the Olympics in Boston would wreak financial havoc on the region and deflect from a need to invest in the state’s health care, education and transportation systems.

“We aren’t naysayers or cynics,” said Dempsey. “We want people who haven’t made up their minds yet to join us; people who have great pride in Boston. We’ll be sharing our views and perspectives and talking about what we stand for.”

The event will also feature remarks by Smith College Professor of Economics Andrew Zimbalist, whose book “Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and World Cup” is due to hit shelves this month.

Zimbalist said he accepted the invitation to speak at the meeting because he wants to “help educate citizens on the nature of the undertaking involved.”

The event is free and open to the public. Dempsey said he expects a strong turnout.

A request for comment from Boston 2024, the group behind the local Olympic push, was not returned as of deadline.

Boston 2024 was criticized for not hosting public meetings before the city was selected as the U.S. bid city, though they will join city officials at a series of monthly Citizens Advisory Group meetings in coming months.

The meetings are meant to solicit feedback and create “a long, robust and productive conversation” with residents in the Greater Boston area, according to Boston 2024’s website.

Boston 2024 will host the first meeting of its Citizens Advisory Group on Jan. 21 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, followed by a meeting on Jan. 27 at Suffolk Law School.

But Dempsey believes the time for meetings was long before the city was officially selected by the United States Olympic Committee.

“I find it incredibly troubling that we were selected [as the US bid],” he said. “This is like the seventh inning of a baseball game, and nobody even decided whether we should have a baseball game or not.