The decision whether or not to pursue a Boston Olympic bid for the 2024 Summer Games could come down to a statewide vote, thanks to Boston 2024 chairman John Fish’s stunning announcement Tuesday morning that the organizing group would attempt to gather enough signatures to place a referendum question on the November 2016 ballot. However, the deadline for host city candidates to submit guarantee letters and applications to the International Olympic Committee is January 8, 2016.

It’s unclear what impact the IOC’s deadline could have on a potential ballot question 11 months later. The IOC executive board is expected to choose 2024 candidate cities in April or May 2016.

Fish said that although Boston 2024 will seek a statewide vote, if the majority of Boston rejects the idea of hosting the Olympics, the city will not submit a bid.

Recent polling result show only 36 percent of people surveyed support a Boston bid.

“I’m hoping by offering up the referendum with the approval of the governor and the mayor, people understand how sincere we are about wanting this conversation,” Fish told a group of reporters Tuesday morning.

 

Boston is only considered an applicant city at this time. If the IOC were to select Boston as a finalist to host the 2024 Games in spring 2016, the Hub would then become an official candidate. The guarantees applicant cities are required to submit in January 2016 are not binding agreements with IOC; cities are allowed to withdraw from the running anytime prior to submitting binding guarantees to deliver the Games as a candidate city in January 2017. So if the majority of the state votes against the Olympics in November 2016, Boston would be allowed to withdraw.

Of course, the timing of IOC’s deadline and the statewide referendum would only become an issue if the majority voted against the Olympic bid. Fish has admitted that the IOC places a high priority on public support for the Games in potential host cities. A statewide vote in favor of the Olympic bid would surely go a long way with the IOC.

The IOC requires candidate cities to submit additional candidature letters and guarantees by January 2017. An ensuing evaluation period would run through June 2017, leading up to the IOC’s election of a 2024 host city later that summer.

Here’s the full timeline of the 2024 bid process, as listed on Olympic.org

Applicant City Phase

  • 7-9 October 2015: IOC to host information seminar for 2024 Applicant Cities in Lausanne
  • 8 January 2016: Deadline for Applicant Cities to submit Application Files and guarantee letters
  • March 2016: IOC Working Group Meeting to assess Applicant Cities (including video conference with each city)
  • April/May 2016: IOC Executive Board to select Candidate Cities
  • May 2016: Cities receive Candidate City Questionnaire and related documents

Candidate City Phase

  • 5-21 August 2016: Candidate Cities to attend Olympic Games Rio 2016 on Olympic Games Observers’ Programme
  • November/December 2016: Candidate Cities to attend Rio 2016 Debrief in Tokyo
  • January 2017: Deadline for Candidate Cities to submit Candidature File and guarantee letters
  • February/March 2017: Evaluation Commission visits
  • June 2017: IOC to publish Evaluation Commission Report
  • June 2017 (tbc): Candidate City Briefing to IOC members
  • Summer 2017: Candidate City presentations to the IOC Session; final report to Session from Evaluation Commission Chair; election of the host city of the 2024 Olympic Games
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