Olympics: where -- if anywhere -- should they be?
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Olympics: where -- if anywhere -- should they be?
London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, New York are candidates for the next summer Olympic Games. Meanwhile, the reports on Athens' current situation are dismal.
Where should they be next time or is it even a good idea for any city to agree to host them at all, given the extraordinary costs and the post 9/11 security headaches? I have to say I been wondering....
Where should they be next time or is it even a good idea for any city to agree to host them at all, given the extraordinary costs and the post 9/11 security headaches? I have to say I been wondering....
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IMHO, post-9/11 there's a greater need than ever for a positive international event.
New York probably won't get is, as the winter Olympics are in Vancouver. Yes, that's the opposite coast, but still North America.
I can't see Moscow pulling it off -- they'd have more trouble than Athens.
Spain just hosted in 1992 (Barcelona). London hosted in 1908 and 1948; Paris, in 1900 and 1924. My money's on Paris.
New York probably won't get is, as the winter Olympics are in Vancouver. Yes, that's the opposite coast, but still North America.
I can't see Moscow pulling it off -- they'd have more trouble than Athens.
Spain just hosted in 1992 (Barcelona). London hosted in 1908 and 1948; Paris, in 1900 and 1924. My money's on Paris.
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I can't imagine the logistics for NYC and I think a lot of international travellers would "stay away in droves" because of security worries.
Madrid would be my sentimental favorite, and it would be 20 years after Barcelona, which is surely long enough.
But does anyone know whether any of the recent host-cities have made any (honest) money on the games? Some cities seem much improved in the after-math of the games, but some just seem to collapse on themselves.
Madrid would be my sentimental favorite, and it would be 20 years after Barcelona, which is surely long enough.
But does anyone know whether any of the recent host-cities have made any (honest) money on the games? Some cities seem much improved in the after-math of the games, but some just seem to collapse on themselves.
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I've read some preliminary reports and it seems like Moscow is a very loooong shot to begin with. Paris is the front runner at this time. I do have a personal opinion on this issue. I believe that if the upcoming election gets Kerry in as our new president, the Europeans will "reward" us with the sentimental favorite, New York. If GWB wins, it will probably be Paris. London and Madrid are somewhere in between, but again, not close to being favorite. Madrid especially because of the hot weather in summer, and one could argue that Athens will have the same, but Athens was the sentimental favorite for the last 2 or 3 olympics, and it was just a matter of time before they got it. London could be the outsider, squeezing in.
Politics should not be part of an decision on this issue, but let's be honest.......
This whole olympics committee thing is a farce anyway. it's bunch of people that get to travel for free, get bribes and live the good life under the pretense that they are actually uniting the world. And the sad part is that they actually believe their own lies.
Politics should not be part of an decision on this issue, but let's be honest.......
This whole olympics committee thing is a farce anyway. it's bunch of people that get to travel for free, get bribes and live the good life under the pretense that they are actually uniting the world. And the sad part is that they actually believe their own lies.
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I hope it won't be in London, no room - the area to be used would be in the Docklands - a dump with a new community, not my taste. As for transport, well it couldn't cope!
Waste of a few billion, we don't need the Olympics, give them to the French, let them have the nightmare.
Waste of a few billion, we don't need the Olympics, give them to the French, let them have the nightmare.
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Oh, I was just about to say how nice it was to have a non-political post, but not so. I don't really think the results of the US election will make that much difference on this choice, but I do think people would be very hesitant to choose NYC for all kinds of reasons, including but far from limited to security. I think everyone will be watching what happens in Boston and NYC during the party conventions this summer.
Considering the space needed, I'm wondering why big metropolitican areas continue to be the nominees. There are some conventional answers (so to speak -- i.e., convention facilities) about hotel rooms and mass transit, but I would think that, at least in the US, they might consider cities with huge sports-"heavy" universities and coordinate the transit to get people to and from more scattered hotels/motels.
I have to add my sentiments in favor of Madrid -- have trouble imagining the logistics of London or Paris, and don't trust Moscow to have the money and efficiency to carry it off, although that might be my second choice.
One other, non-political comment: the proliferation of sports that are now included in the games is just making the problem greater. I don't see how they can avoid cutting back on the number of events and number of sports, or at least choosing a core group of symbolic events and then holding "satellite" games for the rest, scattered around the globe.
Considering the space needed, I'm wondering why big metropolitican areas continue to be the nominees. There are some conventional answers (so to speak -- i.e., convention facilities) about hotel rooms and mass transit, but I would think that, at least in the US, they might consider cities with huge sports-"heavy" universities and coordinate the transit to get people to and from more scattered hotels/motels.
I have to add my sentiments in favor of Madrid -- have trouble imagining the logistics of London or Paris, and don't trust Moscow to have the money and efficiency to carry it off, although that might be my second choice.
One other, non-political comment: the proliferation of sports that are now included in the games is just making the problem greater. I don't see how they can avoid cutting back on the number of events and number of sports, or at least choosing a core group of symbolic events and then holding "satellite" games for the rest, scattered around the globe.
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>...the proliferation of sports that are now included in the games is just making the problem greater. .... at least choosing a core group of symbolic events and then holding "satellite" games for the rest, scattered around the globe.<
And lose billions of dollars in advertising revenue?
And lose billions of dollars in advertising revenue?
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