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We're going Rio..... de Janerio

A

alfablue

Banned
So, Rio beats out Chicago (in first round), Tokyo (second round), and Madrid for the 2016 Olympics.

IHMO, not actually a surprise.

Chicago- come on, even with the Presidential backing, how many Olypmics will be in the US, let alone North America????

Madrid- while they were a finalist, I still think that Barcelona was pretty close, and there's still some political issues...

I personally thought it should be between Tokyo and Rio, with the lean toward Rio since there have been a few games in Asia, but this will be the first games ever in South America.

So, sing along.

I'm going to Rio... de Janerio....

Or discuss, you choose.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

Remember how much corruption there was in goody-two-shoes Salt Lake City? Can you imagine what it would have been like in Daly's Chicago?

As a Bostonian, I remember the 2004 Democratic Natl Convention. The thinking went, hey, we'll shut down the city for a week, and the 15,000 visitors will spend so much money, we'll come out ahead. The thing was a huge debacle and everyone lost money. While the Olympics aren't fully analogous, I see it as similar: let's shut down the whole town for a while so we can have a big track meet.

I see this as a disaster avoided. I am ecstatic that another country is going to take the headaches, costs, and repercussions.

Just look at how Athens is doing now.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0721/p04s01-wogn.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...Games-sites-a-warning-to-London-Olympics.html
 
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Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

DrDemento said:
Does that mean the games are in February that year then?
Click to expand...

Still in August. Rio is on the Topic of Capricorn - it'll be warm in the winter. Cities at comparable latitude in the northern hemisphere are Havana and Hong Kong.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

DrDemento said:
Does that mean the games are in February that year then?
Click to expand...

I think Winter in Rio will be just fine to host the Summer Olympics. Lowest rainfalls between July and August, average high 23-24C, low 18C for the two months. Seems like it's ideal weather for outdoor sports, if you ask me.

Feb would be bad- third highest rainfall, 29/23 C for temps.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

Considering how miserable the city of Vancouver is for the comparatively mild cost of a winter games, Chicago should count itself lucky. Its avoided massive construction projects that will have little long term benefit. Unless your an avid follower of the national badminton league.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

BoomGoestheDynamite said:
Considering how miserable the city of Vancouver is for the comparatively mild cost of a winter games, Chicago should count itself lucky. Its avoided massive construction projects that will have little long term benefit. Unless your an avid follower of the national badminton league.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm sure Vancouverites will hate their new subway for years to come.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

If he's still with us, Pele for the torch lighting?

Senna's family for something.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

Zudnic said:
That's nice. But what's the benefit of 11 TEMPORARY venues?

The Vancouver train also cost C$1.2b in public funds.
Click to expand...

Benefit? No operating costs hanging over your head for venues with no tenants?

And the train may cost a lot of money - it will also be a lasting public investment. DC's Metro cost a lot of money, too - but I'm willing to bet those that attended the Frozen Four here this spring saw what an asset it is to the city. The Metro tunnels, with proper maintenance, will last for generations.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

Yes there would have been negatives to hosting the Olympics, but there would have been benefits as well.

In both those articles you posted Zudnic, particularly the first, there was optimism from the games and the fact that more good was done than bad. Besides, I don't think Atlanta has had too many problems after hosting the Olympics. I'm just saying there are positives and right ways to do things.

I will concede though that not all is good. Even the Chinese are having problems with the Bird's Nest Stadium. I don't know maybe in the US where we seem to have more sports and aren't concentrated on one sport like most of Europe, it's easier to transition the sporting venues into future uses since there are other available popular sorts.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

blockski said:
I'm not going to pretend that the Olympics are some magical money-making thing, but is such a shortfall really due to the Olympics, or is that just bad bad timing with the recession, tight credit, and commercial real estate bust?
Click to expand...

As a loyal reader of the globe and a sometimes reader of the Vancouver Sun I remember there were concerns and questions before the Fall 2008 financial crisis really got going, but of course that made a bad situation considerably worse.

Ultimately I really don't care about this one, I'd rather get the 2022 World Cup, which is a (imo) a lot more exciting) and definitley a lot cheaper.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

BoomGoestheDynamite said:
Ultimately I really don't care about this one, I'd rather get the 2022 World Cup, which is a (imo) a lot more exciting) and definitley a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

Isn't the US still alive for the 2018 World Cup?

I don't care about the summer games, but I'd love to see the US host another winter games in the east someday. Obviously it won't happen for quite a while with SLC in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010. Assuming the next 2 winter games after Sochi go to Asia and Western Europe, we should be in contention again in 2026. (2024 is the 100th anniversary of the first winter games, so that could be sort of significant, 2032 is the 100th anniversary of the first winter games held in the US).
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

Zudnic said:
As a Bostonian, I remember the 2004 Democratic Natl Convention. The thinking went, hey, we'll shut down the city for a week, and the 15,000 visitors will spend so much money, we'll come out ahead. The thing was a huge debacle and everyone lost money. While the Olympics aren't fully analogous, I see it as similar: let's shut down the whole town for a while so we can have a big track meet.
Click to expand...

Zud,

This is actually incorrect. One ridiculous study by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk U had the city going in the red due to "lost productivity" in regards to the DNC. A completely stupid concept considering most people get to work and surf the net or go for coffee when they arrive in the morning. :D Stop reading the Herald for anything except for sports. ;)
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

Kepler said:
Isn't the US still alive for the 2018 World Cup?

I don't care about the summer games, but I'd love to see the US host another winter games in the east someday. Obviously it won't happen for quite a while with SLC in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010. Assuming the next 2 winter games after Sochi go to Asia and Western Europe, we should be in contention again in 2026. (2024 is the 100th anniversary of the first winter games, so that could be sort of significant, 2032 is the 100th anniversary of the first winter games held in the US).
Click to expand...

Europe is the big money maker in world soccer and will have gone an unpredecedented 2 cycles without a world cup. I've basically written off 2018 as a competition between 3 or 4 Euro bids. We only have to worry about the Aussies in 2022 after Mexico folded earlier this week.

And I also love the winter games if only for Hockey's World Cup, but I think Asia is looking good for 2018. It would be sweet though if we could get a Winter Games in 22, followed by the WC in the summer.
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

This article in Slate posits that to win the Olympics, you really have to make a right-brained argument - that it's about prestige, being in the spotlight, and civic pride. He suggests that that it's really hard to make a case for the Olympics on the facts alone.

I think the Olympics are an enormous waste of time and money. For every Barcelona you get four Athens - spending billions on stadia that sit empty, hiring rent-a-cops to chase away the graffiti artists.

One wonders if Athens would have been better off just paving the roads and building the subway lines (the benefits that article cited) - the things that really benefit the citizens there. If I lived in Athens, I'd want to see my tax dollars used for things that will benefit me - not to build huge stadiums so a TV network can make a few bucks over a few weeks in the summer.

(Tangental Simpsons reference: all these Olympic proposals remind me of Lyle Lanley.)
 
Re: We're going Rio..... de Janerio

Nathan said:
Yes, but Greece is one of the most pathetic economies in all of the EU. Frankly, they never should have been given the games, since the entire country is crumbling around their feet. Greece is a cluster****
Click to expand...

Also, remember that the 1996 centennial games were originally supposed to go to Athens as an homage to the history of the occasion, but they couldn't get their ducks in a row.

The Athens Olympics were a sentimental pick if there ever was one.

BoomGoestheDynamite said:
As a loyal reader of the globe and a sometimes reader of the Vancouver Sun I remember there were concerns and questions before the Fall 2008 financial crisis really got going, but of course that made a bad situation considerably worse.

Ultimately I really don't care about this one, I'd rather get the 2022 World Cup, which is a (imo) a lot more exciting) and definitley a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

There are always concerns and questions.

The simple fact of the matter is that the benefits of hosting aren't immediately tangible.

Kepler said:
Isn't the US still alive for the 2018 World Cup?

I don't care about the summer games, but I'd love to see the US host another winter games in the east someday. Obviously it won't happen for quite a while with SLC in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010. Assuming the next 2 winter games after Sochi go to Asia and Western Europe, we should be in contention again in 2026. (2024 is the 100th anniversary of the first winter games, so that could be sort of significant, 2032 is the 100th anniversary of the first winter games held in the US).
Click to expand...

The problem with hosting in the Eastern US is that you don't have any good locations near mountains with decent cities. Between Salt Lake, Turin, and Vancouver, you've had three quite large cities (with all the requisite amenities, hotel rooms, transportation, etc), and they've raised the bar quite a bit.

Salt Lake was about as great of a set-up as you can get. International Airport, major city, and you can be on some of the best ski slopes in the world in 45 minutes, if you leave downtown SLC by car.
 
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