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We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

washingtonpost.com

11–20 of 127 posts

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#11
So much waste would be reduced no null. Instead of being left with unmaintained and useless infrastructure similar to case of Beijing: http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ghosts-of-olympics-past?..., facilities could be renovated continuously for fraction of price, that could eventually be covered solely by cash inflow of hotels and advertising.

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#12
post #6

Or alternatively, why must the Olympics be held in one place at all? The infrastructural burdens of large events are massive. The World Cup distributes this burden throughout cities and even regions.

The WC is a waste as well. It's even more egregious actually, because there are more than enough existing stadiums to play the world's most popular sport. Yet FIFA still insists on new stadiums being built for just a few matches.

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#13

I think this is a piece of learned trolling, satire designed to provoke us into thinking hard about what the IOC really is. The IOC profits from the selection process as much as it does from the games. The bribes, the payments, everything involved in this horrible “competition” fills their coffers with money. If the games were held in the same place every year, there would be no bribes to rig bids. There would be no…

The local politicians in my city that lured the IOC here through bribes were all later parachuted into lucrative foreign service diplomatic posts and various IOC connected director positions after. That's the true legacy of the games, the politicians raise their profile, network with the world's elite and move into international politics while the rest of us pay for their promotions.

Having the winter olympics in Switzerland only would make sense, easy to secure, neutral country, no forced relocation of "undesireables" like when Beijing shipped every Mongolian migrant laborer out of the city, or when my government mass imprisoned as many homeless as they could by picking them all up for unpaid fines.

No country would have an edge with exclusive track access for months before allowing competitor teams in to practice either.

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#14
post #2

'How about selling a permanent site in Greece for the Summer Olympics ? An uninhabited island would be ideal, not too far from the coast accessible by ferries as well as planes.' 'The original Olympics was held in Olympia, Greece for 800 years. The changing site is a modern phenomenon used to spread support in the early stages of the modern Olympic movement. Why not return the Games to their real roots?' Good argumen…

Trying to think a way to attract sponsors when the athletes will compete wearing nothing but olive oil all over them.

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#16
post #6

Or alternatively, why must the Olympics be held in one place at all? The infrastructural burdens of large events are massive. The World Cup distributes this burden throughout cities and even regions.

The World Cup requires a country to have 10-14 stadiums when only 2-4 games are played a day. There's no reason for more than 4 stadiums.

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#17
post #14
post #2

'How about selling a permanent site in Greece for the Summer Olympics ? An uninhabited island would be ideal, not too far from the coast accessible by ferries as well as planes.' 'The original Olympics was held in Olympia, Greece for 800 years. The changing site is a modern phenomenon used to spread support in the early stages of the modern Olympic movement. Why not return the Games to their real roots?' Good argumen…

Trying to think a way to attract sponsors when the athletes will compete wearing nothing but olive oil all over them.

Not sure if it will attract the kind of sponsors the IOC wants to go public with...

But given the public broadcast censorship of most non-European countries it will probably attract more visitors ;-) Which is better for the local economy anyway !

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#18

Barcelona '92 was handled pretty well. The facilities are still used, the built housing was sold after the games, and tourism augmented significantly. It could be the exception to the rule.

This article is about the costs involved. How do you mean 'handled pretty well' ?! I think you have no idea what you are talking about and did not bother to spend a few seconds to look for facts ?

'The cost of the Barcelona Summer Olympics was USD11.4 billion (in 2009 dollars). The cost overrun was 417 percent in real terms. This compares with an average cost of USD5.7 billion (in 2009 dollars) for other summer Olympics over the past 50 years for which data are available and an average cost overrun for these Games of 252 per cent. Cost here includes only sports-related costs and thus does not include other public costs, such as road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or private costs, such as hotel upgrades or other business investments incurred in preparation of the Games, which are typically substantial but which vary drastically from city to city and are difficult to compare consistently.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Summer_Olympics#Cost_and_...

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#19
post #6

Or alternatively, why must the Olympics be held in one place at all? The infrastructural burdens of large events are massive. The World Cup distributes this burden throughout cities and even regions.

The World Cup requires a country to have 10-14 stadiums when only 2-4 games are played a day. There's no reason for more than 4 stadiums.

I suppose the grass may be repaired or even re-laid after the first round or something like that. Is that actually happening?

Re: We should host the Olympics in the same place every time

#20

Barcelona '92 was handled pretty well. The facilities are still used, the built housing was sold after the games, and tourism augmented significantly. It could be the exception to the rule.

There are a lot of cities that handled it well. Los Angeles, Munich, just to name a few. And I fully expect that if Hamburg gets 2024 (which would mean the sailing events would be in the same place for the third time) it would be effective, too.

Bad planning is not limited to olympics.

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