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I think the games should be held again by 2022 in Pyonchang or Sochi then
Agreed! Then they can actually complete the infrastructure they were hoping to finish for 2014. :sarcasm:
Politics and economics of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games
- Thread starter Meoima
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Agreed! Then they can actually complete the infrastructure they were hoping to finish for 2014. :sarcasm:
This is very interesting situation for sure. It might come down to only 2 bidders left in this circle (Almaty VS Beijing). Both are from Asia and have major issues with Human Rights. Beijing also has an issue with air-pollution. IOC has a long road ahead for sure for the next coming year.
It's time for austerity then. I'm not an expert, but I think that host nations always want to make something huge in order to impress the world, spending mounts of money with luxurious arenas and instalations as result (Beijing comes to mind, but was not the only case of course). The main criteria for the host nation choice should include how much infrastructure is already done, while everything else should cost just the necessary. Corruption aside, Sochi was ultra expensive because everything had to be made from nothing there.
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I recall the days when the Winter Games were described as small, laid back, comfortable, "homey." Where the "true Olympic spirit" was more in evidence.
The Summer Games were always the showy, more vulgar, Games.
Now the two are inseparable.
Take the opening ceremonies, for example. Not that long ago, there were a few speeches, then the athletes marched in, a little music. The end. Now it's a four hour extravaganza.
ETA: The real factor in determining the number of participating nations in the Winter Games isn't money... heck Ethiopia has a pretty stellar Olympic program in track... but climate.
You just aren't going to get a lot of participating nations from the tropics, unless they happen have a few athletes who were raised in other nations. You really aren't going to find many home-grown alpine skiers from Nigeria.
The Summer Games were always the showy, more vulgar, Games.
Now the two are inseparable.
Take the opening ceremonies, for example. Not that long ago, there were a few speeches, then the athletes marched in, a little music. The end. Now it's a four hour extravaganza.
ETA: The real factor in determining the number of participating nations in the Winter Games isn't money... heck Ethiopia has a pretty stellar Olympic program in track... but climate.
You just aren't going to get a lot of participating nations from the tropics, unless they happen have a few athletes who were raised in other nations. You really aren't going to find many home-grown alpine skiers from Nigeria.
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- Nov 19, 2013
A friend I were just chatted about Rio the other day. I really doubt they'll be able to pull this off.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304899704579391190728437948
As far as 2022 goes, who knows what will happen. I don't think Almaty will draw tons of tourists. Too bad it's grow into too huge of a spectacle for the homey Lake Placid to host it.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304899704579391190728437948
As far as 2022 goes, who knows what will happen. I don't think Almaty will draw tons of tourists. Too bad it's grow into too huge of a spectacle for the homey Lake Placid to host it.
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- Feb 20, 2014
That's sad :/
Read here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/s...-2022-winter-games-are-melting-away.html?_r=0
Oh great! Thank you Putin!
Hmmm, I'm unsure if it's because Putin set the precedent of $50BN that required everyone to do the same thing. Vancouver was done for less than 1/10 of that, and Torino about the same ballpark figure. I would expect that whoever hosts next will want to look at the previous host cities as a case study to see what did and didn't work, and would NOT want be looking to spend the same amount of money that the Russians did.
I would be in favour of the games returning to a city that hosted within the previous 20 years or so, like Vancouver, Torino, Nagano, Lillehammer. They already have the infrastructure. The Russians did pull off Sochi despite initial hiccups (and what games don't have those?) and bad publicity in the West / some international press.
Or we could just have Innsbruck host them every year.
I do wonder though that Salzburg built everything for their 2014 bid ahead of time and it was done at minimal cost. If they're already in place, why did they not proceed to try for 2018, 2022? The games could use only existing venues. The 1948 summer games were done in London and were considered the "austerity games" due to it being after WWII (St. Moritz, as well), to the point that the athletes were advised to pack their own towels. But it was well-done and completed on a relatively small budget, with good attendance.
Everyone back to Lillehammer!!
Or if they return to Vancouver, they could use everything already in place, house the athletes on chartered cruise ships (since the Pacific coast cruises all seem to dock in Vancouver and use it as a home base - and I'm only half-joking about this), and the monorail and highway to Whistler are well-used there and in good working condition.
Or if they return to Vancouver, they could use everything already in place, house the athletes on chartered cruise ships (since the Pacific coast cruises all seem to dock in Vancouver and use it as a home base - and I'm only half-joking about this), and the monorail and highway to Whistler are well-used there and in good working condition.
The Olympics are a dream for many athletes--the pinnacle of the sport and the ultimate goal they're chasing. Not even to win a medal--for most of them--but to simply be there. It's also a rare moment when people outside of the hardcore fanbase tunes in to certain sports. Fans are made there; I'm not sure certain sports could even survive without the Olympics.
It would be a shame if the Olympics were cancelled altogether because of monetary troubles or accusations of being too big a spectacle. That being said, the financial issues of hosting really need to be sorted out. Maybe we should just have the Olympics rotate between the places that already have the facilities? I imagine maintaining the infrastructure will cost less than building from scratch every time.
It would be a shame if the Olympics were cancelled altogether because of monetary troubles or accusations of being too big a spectacle. That being said, the financial issues of hosting really need to be sorted out. Maybe we should just have the Olympics rotate between the places that already have the facilities? I imagine maintaining the infrastructure will cost less than building from scratch every time.
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Everyone back to Lillehammer!!
Or if they return to Vancouver, they could use everything already in place, house the athletes on chartered cruise ships (since the Pacific coast cruises all seem to dock in Vancouver and use it as a home base - and I'm only half-joking about this), and the monorail and highway to Whistler are well-used there and in good working condition.
Vancouver was my first thought. It just makes the most sense.
I am rooting for Almaty. It is a beautiful city near the high mountains. It will draw tons of tourists from Russia. D10 could compete at home Olympics
NYT article is biased. "Almaty, Kazakhstan, a city of 1.4 million in a nation with an autocratic government and a dubious human rights record..." Really? Of course, Lviv in a country-bankrupt with a permanent jumble would be a good place.
NYT article is biased. "Almaty, Kazakhstan, a city of 1.4 million in a nation with an autocratic government and a dubious human rights record..." Really? Of course, Lviv in a country-bankrupt with a permanent jumble would be a good place.
What I think they should do is:
- have a city bid for every other Olympics, it will help recover the cost.
- most of the abandoned structures the articles are showing pictures of, are sports that don't have a good usage for after the Olympics like luge. What they should do is have these events that require a unique facility in 1 central location every Olympics and that will alleviate the cost to the host city
- have a city bid for every other Olympics, it will help recover the cost.
- most of the abandoned structures the articles are showing pictures of, are sports that don't have a good usage for after the Olympics like luge. What they should do is have these events that require a unique facility in 1 central location every Olympics and that will alleviate the cost to the host city
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A friend of my Mum's posted a link the Eurosport version of the story to Facebook this morning, and looking through the photos (particularly of the ski jumping hills), I was nearly in tears.
I know Bosnia has gone through some very dark times in the past 30 years. But surely something could have been done to keep the facilities in a state where it would not take much work to make them usable if somebody ever wanted to use them.
Yesterday, I finally got round to watching the programme that the BBC made to mark the 30th anniversary of Torvill and Dean's Gold in the Ice Dance at the Sarajevo Olympics. And, after seeing the state of the ski jumping hills, bobsleigh run and hotel in those photos, I can't help but wonder if the ice rink is in the same state.
I am hoping that the ice rink is still open and in use by the general public. Let's face it, ski jumping hills and bobsleigh runs are only used by specialist sports people. So, if there is no top level athletes in these sports in the country, then it is no surprise that the facilities close. But ice rinks are different - anybody can use them. So, if there is demand from Joe Bloggevic and his mates down the road, then an ice rink can be turned into a good little business.
Getting back to the original point, and I just thought I would throw in that bids for the 2022 Commonwealth Games were due to be submitted by 31st March 2014. And, a month before the deadline, no applications had yet been submitted.
The reason nobody was bidding was because they thought that it would cost too much to hold the Games. And there was a real panic in the British media that this could be the end of the Commonwealth Games.
In the end, Durban and Edmonton submitted bids.
Then you start thinking. If most cities think it is going to cost too much to hold the Commonwealth Games, who is going to want to hold the bigger version, the Olympics?! Especially after the amount that Putin spent holding the Winter Games in Sochi.
You know, that still really winds me up how much was spent on the Sochi Olympics. Especially now that it is having a knock on affect.
I don't know if you have heard, but one of the main events in the Rally Raid calendar, the Silk Way Rally, has had to be cancelled this year. The reason - the Russian government spent so much on Sochi, that they have cut the funding they are giving the Silk Way.
As I said to the friend that posted a link to the story on Facebook, why did they insist on holding the WINTER Olympics in a SUMMER resort, and consequently have to spend rediculous amounts of money building everything from scratch?! Why didn't they hold the Games in somewhere like Chaykovsky, a successful winter resort that already has most of the facilities?!
And why are they now pouring more money into turning the Olympic venue into a Formula 1 circuit, when there is already a perfectly good circuit near Moscow, which is curently being used by other major international Championships (World Superbikes, World Touring Cars, DTM...)?!
Although the Silk Way Rally is the only one I have heard of (because I am a fan of Rally Raid), I am sure that there are other sports in Russia that are having their funding cut as a result of the Sochi Olympics.
So, if other countries are looking in and seeing this going on in Russia, of course they are not going to want to bid to hold a future Olympics.
I suggest they come back to Vancouver.hwell:
I just had a thought. People are suggesting that perhaps the Olympics should go back to Vancouver in 2022. Well, if Edmonton does get the 2022 Commonwealth Games, I can't see Canada wanting to hold a Winter Olympics in the same year.
Just look at Rio de Janeiro. They are holding the Football World Cup next month, and the Summer Olympics in 2016, and everything is a total mess.
CaroLiza_fan
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- Apr 3, 2014
Its just propaganda when all sorts of long term infrastructure projects are included in the Olympic costs to demonize Russia.
Are these bidders going to do massive longterm projects such as putting a rail system and highway through a mountain range? Then their costs, direct or indirect, should be nowhere near as high.
Are these bidders going to do massive longterm projects such as putting a rail system and highway through a mountain range? Then their costs, direct or indirect, should be nowhere near as high.
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Well, I think Putin has nothing to with this, it is just quite common to blame everything on him nowadays
:thumbsup:
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- Feb 13, 2014
To me the whole thing is just very sad. I feel like the world is never on the same page....but every four years (2 really if you consider summer and winter) most all of us have something in common. Not to mention that for many athletes of various sports the Olympics are the biggest and most broadcast competition that they have the chance to be in and the chance to be recognized for their amazing abilities.
I sincerely hope that they are able to sort out both the summer and winter olympics because I would greatly miss being able to watch some of my favorite athletes (skaters, gymnasts, curlers, swimmers, etc.) get the recognition they deserve on mainstream television and media. And I will miss the solidarity that I feel the games have. (Yes, sometimes there's dodgy judging or less than ideal conditions, but at the end of the day I can appreciate the good and recognize that everything that is good has some bad too. Look for and appreciate the positive bc that's what and why things are done.)
I sincerely hope that they are able to sort out both the summer and winter olympics because I would greatly miss being able to watch some of my favorite athletes (skaters, gymnasts, curlers, swimmers, etc.) get the recognition they deserve on mainstream television and media. And I will miss the solidarity that I feel the games have. (Yes, sometimes there's dodgy judging or less than ideal conditions, but at the end of the day I can appreciate the good and recognize that everything that is good has some bad too. Look for and appreciate the positive bc that's what and why things are done.)
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