Ford Kaiboshes Toronto's 2020 Olympic Bid

It'll probably go to some joke of a town like Tokyo or Rome or Istanbul now.

In addition to likely breaking his core election promise of not laying off anybody at city hall, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford quietly killed a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games yesterday. A group that had the backing of both Premier Dalton McGuinty, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and a slew of high-profile Torontonians won't get to place a bid for the Olympics before the Sept. 1 deadline, as any bids require the support of municipal leaders from the host city. Ford's office confirmed they won't back the project, while his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, said it's a good idea but the city just can't afford it. Speculators had figured that Toronto would have a good chance of landing the 2020 Games, as no American cities were interested in bidding, and Rio de Janeiro's 2016 Games effectively knocks out any other South American rivals, leaving Hogtown as just about the only place in the hemisphere with a chance. Oh well, there's always the 2015 Pan-Am Games.