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In the brief, pleasant afterglow of a successful sporting event — in this case the Pan Am Games — there are renewed murmurings of a possible Toronto bid for the 2024 Olympics. Mayor John Tory, to his great credit, has been wisely cautious about the sudden interest.

“They say it’s not a good idea to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry and (we’re) in the euphoria of what were a tremendously successful (Pan Am) Games,” he said Monday. “This is a serious, rational decision that has to be made.”

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We’re glad to hear it. Toronto, as with many cities, has a semi-permanent cabal of relentless cheerleaders who see any international spectacle as an opportunity to showcase the attributes of their community. There is nothing wrong with civic pride. But before the city decides to pour billions of dollars into the Olympics, it’s important to step back and ask some hard questions.

We aren’t saying no to bidding for the Olympics in Toronto, but urge caution.

The Olympics have become an enormously expensive spectacle that offer a brief opportunity for local boosterism at huge cost and long-term disruption to residents. Even as Toronto was getting revved up about a potential bid, Boston — a city of similar prominence and character — was dropping its bid for the 2024 Games over the high cost and lack of public support. Mayor Marty Walsh said the city couldn’t afford the estimated US$8.6 billion ($11.12 billion) cost, and refused to sign bid documents if they left the city on the hook for overruns, which have plagued many previous hosts. “No benefit is so great that it is worth handing over the financial future of our city,” Walsh said.