Michelle Kwan shoots video to support Boston 2024
Boston 2024 is hoping Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan can help the bid committee strike gold in its bid to bring the Summer Games to Boston.
Kwan, who lives in Providence, will appear in an online promotional video in support of the bid that is expected to be completed this week, according to a Boston 2024 spokesperson.
She will be the third athlete to offer video support to the bid. Meb Keflezighi, the winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, and Anita DeFrantz, an International Olympic Committee member and the captain of the U.S. rowing team at the 1976 Olympics, starred in videos last month.
All three U.S. Olympic athletes are members of Boston 2024’s board of directors, as are Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and former Celtics stars Larry Bird and JoJo White. They may eventually feature in promotional videos down the line.
“Boston 2024 has been engaging with both Olympic athletes and local athletes who support bringing the Olympic Games to Boston,’’ a spokesperson said.
The videos will be distributed on social media for now, according to Boston 2024 CEO Rich Davey, and there are no plans of yet to do anything on television.
“At some point would we do an advertising campaign? Perhaps,’’ Davey told Boston.com.
Kwan, a figure skating icon, lends her support as the bid faces its latest bout of controversy. On Friday, The New York Times described it as “unraveling.’’
Most recently, previously undisclosed documents stirred up new concerns about potential public spending. And Brookline’s town meeting members voted to oppose the Olympic bid last week.
Public support for the Olympic bid dropped as low as 36 percent in March, according to a WBUR/MassINC poll. A more recent poll in April put support at 40 percent.
Boston 2024 has tried to win over a skeptical public by putting more focus on sports in the past several weeks. “Our greatest messengers around the games are athletes,’’ Davey said.
Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino joined Boston 2024 in May as a senior advisor, and Celtics co-owner Steve Paggliuca, who is also a managing director at Bain Capital, has signed on as chairman.
Update, 6/3: Boston 2024 has released Kwan’s video.
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Boston’s Olympic bid: The players
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