Boston 2024 Could Be a Crossroads Moment for the IOC

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/02/15/boston-olympic-cost-overrun-possibilities-olympic-agenda-2020-document/

Boston 2024 Could Be a Crossroads Moment for the IOC
Hayden Bird
02/15/15 @7:15pm

The debate over Boston's 2024 Olympic bid eventually boils down to one highly contested topic. The cost of the Games, which is a theoretical number that changes by more than $10 billion depending on who is asked, will inevitably be a large part of the bid's legacy, should Boston get selected by the International Olympic Committee. For weeks, bid officials have referenced one large reason why they believe the Boston Games would not experience the same cost overruns that have plagued virtually every previous Olympics over the last 30 years.

The "Olympic Agenda 2020," or "20+20 recommendations" as they are often labelled, represent one of the most ambitious attempts made by the IOC to formally change in recent history. Specifically, the most notable changes announced in the agenda refer to financial reforms. The chief threat to the Olympic brand has become outrageous cost overruns.

With only two bids for the 2022 Winter Olympics (nether of which has a particularly wowing appeal), the IOC was finally forced to change. The "Agenda" was adopted unanimously in December, and the 2024 Games are seen as one of the first major tests for the newly enacted reforms.

The agenda is fairly direct (or as direct as the IOC will get), stating lines like this one:
"The IOC is to actively promote the maximum use of existing facilities and the use of temporary and demountable venues."