Has the IOC jumped the proverbial shark?

[-jk]

Oslo out...

Oslo (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/10/02/ioc_demands_oslo_drops_bid_after_over_the_top_list _of_requirements.html) is dropping out of bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics, leaving Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing as the only remaining cities seeking to host the event. Why? One reason is that people are starting to realize that spending mega-money to build sporting venues that may not ever be used again doesn't make economic sense. Another is that the International Olympic Committee is a notoriously ridiculous organization run by grifters and hereditary aristocrats. Norwegian citizens were particularly amused/outraged (amuseraged) by the IOC's diva-like demands for luxury treatment during the hypothetical Games.

DC (http://dc2024.org/#home) is gunning for the 2024 summer games. Maybe if they spin it into a new venue for the Washington NFL team (then no longer nicknamed "Redskins") and a new soccer stadium (which they really need), it'll work. Maybe. Maybe not...

-jk

[AncientPsychicT]

Almaty and Beijing are the last two options, huh? Well doesn't that throw the proverbial wrench in the IOC's stated policy of rotating continents as much as possible. For those who are wondering, the 2018 Winter Olympics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Winter_Olympics) are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The 2020 Summer Olympics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Summer_Olympics) are being held in Tokyo. Now, the 2022 Winter Olympics will be the third straight Olympics, and second consecutive Winter Olympics, hosted by an Asian city. It would be especially bad publicity for the IOC if Beijing were to get the Olympics (which seems quite likely as Almaty and Kazakhstan don't necessarily have the best infrastructure), as the Olympics would consecutively be held in South Korea, then Japan, then China.

From my perspective, the Olympics (well at least the politics behind them) are steadily becoming an international joke. Sigh...

[YmoBeThere]

I thought they had jumped the shark when they added rhythmic gymnastics.

[brevity]

I thought they had jumped the shark when they added rhythmic gymnastics.

I thought they had jumped the shark when they added synchronized shark jumping.

[bjornolf]

Almaty and Beijing are the last two options, huh? Well doesn't that throw the proverbial wrench in the IOC's stated policy of rotating continents as much as possible. For those who are wondering, the 2018 Winter Olympics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Winter_Olympics) are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The 2020 Summer Olympics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Summer_Olympics) are being held in Tokyo. Now, the 2022 Winter Olympics will be the third straight Olympics, and second consecutive Winter Olympics, hosted by an Asian city. It would be especially bad publicity for the IOC if Beijing were to get the Olympics (which seems quite likely as Almaty and Kazakhstan don't necessarily have the best infrastructure), as the Olympics would consecutively be held in South Korea, then Japan, then China.

From my perspective, the Olympics (well at least the politics behind them) are steadily becoming an international joke. Sigh...

Weren't they also very recently in China for the summer games?

[AncientPsychicT]

Weren't they also very recently in China for the summer games?

Yup, Beijing 2008. And Sochi 2014 was pretty close to Asia as well.

[chris13]

My guess is the countries the IOC has gone to are countries in which bribery and corruption are more culturally acceptable than in the US and Western Europe.

I sometimes think the NCAA is corrupt and venal, but I realize they are "amateurs" compared to the IOC and FIFA. I'm not sure who is worse out of the IOC and FIFA. I though FIFA had taken the lead with the awarding of the World Cup to Russia and Qatar but the IOC seems determined to reclaim the top spot.

[sagegrouse]

Almaty and Beijing are the last two options, huh? Well doesn't that throw the proverbial wrench in the IOC's stated policy of rotating continents as much as possible. For those who are wondering, the 2018 Winter Olympics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Winter_Olympics) are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The 2020 Summer Olympics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Summer_Olympics) are being held in Tokyo. Now, the 2022 Winter Olympics will be the third straight Olympics, and second consecutive Winter Olympics, hosted by an Asian city. It would be especially bad publicity for the IOC if Beijing were to get the Olympics (which seems quite likely as Almaty and Kazakhstan don't necessarily have the best infrastructure), as the Olympics would consecutively be held in South Korea, then Japan, then China.

From my perspective, the Olympics (well at least the politics behind them) are steadily becoming an international joke. Sigh...

Moreover, Sochi in 2014 doesn't exactly offer a view of the Danube or the North Sea. It is east of most of Asian Turkey and, if counted as Europe, it is a very technical definition of Europe.

[Tom B.]

DC (http://dc2024.org/#home) is gunning for the 2024 summer games.




Just when you thought NoVa traffic couldn't get any worse....

[devildeac]

Oslo out...


DC (http://dc2024.org/#home) is gunning for the 2024 summer games. Maybe if they spin it into a new venue for the Washington NFL team (then no longer nicknamed "Redskins") and a new soccer stadium (which they really need), it'll work. Maybe. Maybe not...

-jk


Just when you thought NoVa traffic couldn't get any worse....

Atlanta/Cobb County would be another good choice, especially WRT traffic issues:rolleyes:.

[gus]

(which seems quite likely as Almaty and Kazakhstan don't necessarily have the best infrastructure)

Too bad. Hosting might be the only way they can guarantee the right anthem (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-17491344) is played.

[ricks68]

Atlanta/Cobb County would be another good choice, especially WRT traffic issues:rolleyes:.

We went to the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta when it had terrible traffic in those years, too. It was a breeze. We took Marta from where we were staying in Alpharetta, but changed to driving directly to the downtown venues and everywhere else. We could park right next to the venues for about 7 bucks a day!

How could that be, you ask???? Well, a heck of a lot of people just plain left town during that time for vacations out of fear of the gridlock that would occur, for one reason. Another reason was that a whole lot of people left town because they rented out their homes and apartments to people coming in to watch the games for absolutely outrageous prices. Thousands upon thousands did this. I've never seen Atlanta streets so empty. They even blocked off some main streets downtown for huge parties in the streets every night after the events, and traffic was still not bad.

I don't think that would happen again, however, but you never know.

ricks

[rasputin]

We went to the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta when it had terrible traffic in those years, too. It was a breeze. We took Marta from where we were staying in Alpharetta, but changed to driving directly to the downtown venues and everywhere else. We could park right next to the venues for about 7 bucks a day!

How could that be, you ask???? Well, a heck of a lot of people just plain left town during that time for vacations out of fear of the gridlock that would occur, for one reason. Another reason was that a whole lot of people left town because they rented out their homes and apartments to people coming in to watch the games for absolutely outrageous prices. Thousands upon thousands did this. I've never seen Atlanta streets so empty. They even blocked off some main streets downtown for huge parties in the streets every night after the events, and traffic was still not bad.

I don't think that would happen again, however, but you never know.

ricks

In 1999, Pope John Paul II visited St. Louis and was to say Mass at the football stadium. My office then was a couple of blocks away from the stadium. The police and other city officials were warning people about the expected complete gridlock, etc., and urged people to not be on the streets. Many downtown offices closed. The result was the same as what ricks68 describes above.

[wilson]

Atlanta/Cobb County would be another good choice, especially WRT traffic issues:rolleyes:.Please don't pick that scab.

[YmoBeThere]

I would think you would spread out many of the venues for future games in the US, thus reducing the expense to a given city. Soccer(men's and women's) could be split between 4 or 8 cities, etc. Weren't the Atlanta Games handled this way?

[blazindw]

I would think you would spread out many of the venues for future games in the US, thus reducing the expense to a given city. Soccer(men's and women's) could be split between 4 or 8 cities, etc. Weren't the Atlanta Games handled this way?

Soccer is held across the host city's country where the Olympics are held. That's true at any Olympics. Some of the other events will take place outside the city as well. But, the majority of the events will take place within the host city.

[wilson]

I would think you would spread out many of the venues for future games in the US, thus reducing the expense to a given city. Soccer(men's and women's) could be split between 4 or 8 cities, etc. Weren't the Atlanta Games handled this way?Not really. 1996 Olympic soccer was in Athens, about an hour from Atlanta, and whitewater rowing events were about two and a half hours' drive north. Everything else was in metro Atlanta.

[devildeac]

Please don't pick that scab.

Cynicism, pure and simple in response to -jk's and/or someone else's about an Olympic bid and NOVA traffic and comparing it to Atlanta's. Sorry:o:o.

[throatybeard]

I'm actually hoping that the Qatar mess results in WC 2022 in the USA, after relocation.

1) Climate idiocy, coupled with the inoperability of moving it to the winter, given the club season.

2) We have 31 NFL stadia a-rarin to go, and also a bunch of soccer-specific ones that didn't exist in 1994.

3) We still hold not only the per-game attendance record, but also the total attendance record, even though the 1994 WC had just 24 teams rather than 32, so there were way fewer matches.

Nobody's in better position for an emergency relocation, other than maybe Brazil or Germany.

[Tom B.]

Soccer is held across the host city's country where the Olympics are held. That's true at any Olympics. Some of the other events will take place outside the city as well. But, the majority of the events will take place within the host city.




And nowadays, the IOC wants the venues for the major, high-profile events (swimming, gymnastics, basketball, track & field, etc.) to be clustered together in an "Olympic Park" complex -- which means that even cities or regions with acceptable venues will likely have to build new ones, because their existing venues probably won't be bunched together.

[blazindw]

And nowadays, the IOC wants the venues for the major, high-profile events (swimming, gymnastics, basketball, track & field, etc.) to be clustered together in an "Olympic Park" complex -- which means that even cities or regions with acceptable venues will likely have to build new ones, because their existing venues probably won't be bunched together.

Exactly right. Which is why Sochi's Olympics was so far from their city center. It was the only place that they could bunch everything together.

[AncientPsychicT]

And nowadays, the IOC wants the venues for the major, high-profile events (swimming, gymnastics, basketball, track & field, etc.) to be clustered together in an "Olympic Park" complex -- which means that even cities or regions with acceptable venues will likely have to build new ones, because their existing venues probably won't be bunched together.

And yet they wonder why cities are dropping out...

Seriously, do any of these people ever take the time to step back and objectively analyze what they are saying/doing? These people are living, breathing self-parodies. :rolleyes:

[wilson]

And yet they wonder why cities are dropping out...

Seriously, do any of these people ever take the time to step back and objectively analyze what they are saying/doing? These people are living, breathing self-parodies. :rolleyes:Precisely. What legitimate, cosmopolitan city anywhere in the world has the space to practically build 6-8 major sports venues in the middle of town? What a joke.

[Tom B.]

Precisely. What legitimate, cosmopolitan city anywhere in the world has the space to practically build 6-8 major sports venues in the middle of town? What a joke.

The irony is that much of this can be traced back to a decision made during the preparations for an Olympic games years ago, which rejected ambitious construction of new facilities.

Hard as it may be to believe now, 30 years ago the Olympics were on life support. Three straight Olympic games had been marred by tragedy and controversies both political and economic -- the 1972 Munich games (massacre of Israeli athletes), the 1976 Montreal games (boycotted by most African nations, massive cost overruns that left huge amounts of debt), and the 1980 Moscow games (boycotted by most Western nations, also had cost and debt issues arising from construction of new facilities and infrastructure).

Things weren't looking up as the 1984 Los Angeles games approached, with another boycott looming (this time, a retaliatory Soviet-led boycott by Eastern bloc nations). The organizers couldn't do anything about the boycott, but they could address the money issues, and they did it in two ways -- first, they lined up a bunch of "corporate partners" to contribue much-needed funds in exchange for prime advertising placement and use of the "official Olympic sponsor" label; and second, they relied mostly on existing facilities like the L.A. Coliseum (opening and closing ceremonies, track & field), The Forum (basketball), Pauley Pavilion (gymnastics), Long Beach Arena (volleyball), the UCLA campus (athletes' village), and other municipal and university arenas and facilities around the area. The only new facilities they built were an outdoor pool and stadium for the swimming and diving events at USC, and a velodrome -- and those facilities were built with corporate sponsor money and named for the companies that ponied up the dough.

Well, we all know what happened -- the 1984 Los Angeles games were a smashing success. The Russians and their allies weren't here (except for Romania, which defied the boycott), but nobody cared. China made its first appearance at the Olympics since the 1950s (and its first appearance in large numbers ever), which was a big story in and of itself. And with the Olympics on U.S. soil and the Americans winning just about everything in sight, the home nation audience ate them up. This was Reagan-era America at its peak, and the dollars flowed. The L.A. games basically saved the Olympic movement, though they also irrevocably changed it. After L.A., the games were now a commercial endeavor at least as much as they were an athletic one.

In hindsight, what we have now is a largely predictable evolution of the paradigm shift that began in 1984. The L.A. games touched off an arms race among subsequent host candidates to make the Olympics bigger, brighter, and more spectacular -- and the IOC has been happy to let that race proceed unchecked and ride the wave of cash that it brings in. But now, the event has gotten so big that it's priced its way out of the reach of all but the largest and most flush nations. Remember that whole Greek debt crisis? A non-trivial part of that arose from the 2004 Athens games. Greece's debt was already high before the games, but the borrowing and spending undertaken for the games and related expenses like security and infrastructure (a new airport, new metro system, etc.), coupled with a healthy dose of mismanagement and graft, exacerbated the problem badly. (Here are a couple of articles from Business Week (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-02/how-the-2004-olympics-triggered-greeces-decline) and USA Today (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2010-06-03-3222710772_x.htm) that talk about this.) We're talking about a country with the population of Ohio and the GDP of Wisconsin -- is it really a surprise that an event as big and ambitious as what the Olympics have become in the 21st century might be just a bit of a stretch for them?

I don't know what the answer is, but recent events seem to be confirming that the ever-escalating model isn't sustainable, especially in the wake of a global financial crisis whose ripple effects are still being felt. The sooner the IOC develops a little self-awareness about this, the better.

[Kdogg]

Precisely. What legitimate, cosmopolitan city anywhere in the world has the space to practically build 6-8 major sports venues in the middle of town? What a joke.

London, and possibly Paris.




In hindsight, what we have now is a largely predictable evolution of the paradigm shift that began in 1984.

Shouldn't the London Olympics be the blueprint for a new paradigm. From the minute they won, they were planning for the legacy of the games. The permanent new venues were successfully repurposed, temporary venues were dismantled and sold, and the village was turned into housing. Tennis (at Wimbledon) and soccer (throughout the UK) were held at existing venues. They didn't build anything that couldn't be reused, resold or removed.

[JasonEvans]

Maybe it is just me, but you say Beijing and skiing isn't the first, second, fifth, or nineteenth thing that comes to mind. The skiing events would be held at a pair of resorts, one 90 km from Beijing and the other 220 km from Beijing. So much for easy access to multiple events.

It is also worth noting that Beijing has horrible, terrible, wretched air pollution problems... which are at their worst in the winter months.

About the only reason I can think of to vote for Beijing would be if they stuffed envelopes of money into the hands of the people doing the voting. Wait...

-Jason "and no one is surprised... that's the saddest part" Evans

[Deslok]

Maybe it is just me, but you say Beijing and skiing isn't the first, second, fifth, or nineteenth thing that comes to mind. The skiing events would be held at a pair of resorts, one 90 km from Beijing and the other 220 km from Beijing. So much for easy access to multiple events.

It is also worth noting that Beijing has horrible, terrible, wretched air pollution problems... which are at their worst in the winter months.

About the only reason I can think of to vote for Beijing would be if they stuffed envelopes of money into the hands of the people doing the voting. Wait...

-Jason "and no one is surprised... that's the saddest part" Evans

I have no idea why people would think there's any sort of air problems in Beijing during the winter...

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29558664