Toronto will not host the 2024 Summer Olympics as Mayor John Tory will not enter the bidding process to host the games, according to multiple media reports.
The reports suggest Mayor Tory made the decision after receiving a lack of support from the province and comes amid a federal election campaign. The Toronto Star reported that key potential sponsors were less than enthusiastic about a bid for the Summer Games.
Global News has reached out to Tory’s office at city hall for confirmation but has not received a response.
Tory is expected to announce his decision at a news conference on Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET. Toronto had until Tuesday to submit a letter to the International Olympic Committee to register as a candidate to host the Games.
READ MORE: Mulcair wants to keep door open for Toronto Olympic bid while Wynne undecided
The decision not to bid for the Olympics comes after weeks of speculation following a successful Pan Am Games in the Greater Toronto Area.
Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, Budapest, Hungary and Hamburg, Germany have said they will be in the running to host with the winning city to be selected in 2017.
Toronto made two unsuccessful bids for the Games in 1996 and in 2008.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said Monday she hadn’t decided whether her government would support a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games by the city if one is made.
“Ontario is not going to put itself forward and be on the hook for all of the costs,” she said. “We need to understand where the other levels of government would be … We also need to know where the private sector would be.”
However, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said during a campaign stop in Vancouver that despite concerns he’s still open to the idea of a bid.
“I don’t think we should shut the door to that bid,” Mulcair said. “I think they would do well to get the first step done and to keep that door open.”
But the high cost of the two-year bidding process may also be a major stumbling block and a reason why some cities choose not to take part, according to GamesBids.com founder Robert Livingstone, a website which tracks Olympic bids since 1998.
“A bid could cost upwards to $50 million, sometimes as much as $100 million. So, in order to fund that, you have to either do that privately or publicly. Obviously the preference is to get private corporate sponsorship,” said Livingstone.
“It’s also important for the bid because it shows the IOC you are able to get these sponsors and should you win, you can get those sponsors again for the Games themselves.”
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