thatsnotmypuppy
War Child
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2004
- Messages
- 921
The big decision will be made this Friday in Copenhagen of all places.
The IOC applicant report chose the 4 candidate cities - despite Doha, Qatar actually scoring higher than Chicago and Rio across most of the categories. Nonetheless the Qataris got booted from the shortlist as they couldn't stage the Games in the July-August window the IOC demands the Summer Games to be staged within now.
The final evaluation report seemed to put Rio as the frontrunner however there were concerns about all of the cities.
Chicago - some questions about federal funding guarantees as well as transport infrastructure. They plan to have a temporary main stadium - not unlike what London has planned for 2012.
Madrid - even though Madrid was arguably the strongest technical bid for 2012 this time out if you believe the official line the Spaniards have f*cked up royally and have no idea. Most pundits believe it is the IOC's way of freeing up the Latin voting bloc for Rio and thus denying an upset Spanish win. Either way Madrid is out because London has 2012. There have been no back to back Euro Summer Games in over 50 years.
Rio - the sentimental favourite as South America have never had a Games. There is a reason for that though - the previous Brazilian and Argentinian bids have all been flawed when it comes to finances and security. If Buenos Aires won their 2004 bid for instance the Games would have been wrecked by the huge financial crisis Argentina suffered in the late 90's. This time around Rio has the benefit of a huge amount of new venues due to the 2007 Pan Ams. The IOC has questioned financing - since Brazil will go all out for the World Cup in 2014 there is a question of whether or not the Olympics will be treated as an afterthought. Furthermore Rio should really be spending the money helping the poor etc. However we all know that money wont get to those who need it either way.
Tokyo - the most solid plan. The IOC only had reservations about the Japanese plan to build a 100,000 seat main stadium and then completely dismantle it. They question the cities Olympic legacy - however Tokyo doesnt need another huge stadium with the Tokyo Dome and Yokohama Stadiums currently underused. Tokyo is doomed though since Beijing just had the Summer Games.
Factor in Korean, German and French Winter Olympic bids for 2018 it is pretty certain that Tokyo and Madrid can be discounted.
It looks like Obama is in Copenhagen to spruik for Chicago. That could swing it. I'm sure he will impress the IOC more than Lula will for Brazil. Oh and Oprah is speaking on behalf of Chicago too.
Which way will the IOC go? Will the huge revenues to be gained by staging the Games in the USA win out at the end of the day? Despite all the scandals and problems both Atlanta and Salt lake brought in huge TV rights payments and massive sponsorship profits. Will the IOC gamble on Rio? Can Brazil handle both of the biggest sporting events in the world within a 2 year window? Is it time to bring South America a Games or should the 'new fronteir Olympic Games' go to South Africa - since they are rumoured to be bidding again with Cape Town for 2020 and announced their intentions stragically this week - maybe a ploy to derail Rio? Which has the bigger pull - a South American or African Games since neither have hosted...? There is no way the IOC will have back to back Games in areas perceived as "risky"...
I personally hope for a Tokyo upset - but expect it will be Chi-town.
The IOC applicant report chose the 4 candidate cities - despite Doha, Qatar actually scoring higher than Chicago and Rio across most of the categories. Nonetheless the Qataris got booted from the shortlist as they couldn't stage the Games in the July-August window the IOC demands the Summer Games to be staged within now.
The final evaluation report seemed to put Rio as the frontrunner however there were concerns about all of the cities.
Chicago - some questions about federal funding guarantees as well as transport infrastructure. They plan to have a temporary main stadium - not unlike what London has planned for 2012.
Madrid - even though Madrid was arguably the strongest technical bid for 2012 this time out if you believe the official line the Spaniards have f*cked up royally and have no idea. Most pundits believe it is the IOC's way of freeing up the Latin voting bloc for Rio and thus denying an upset Spanish win. Either way Madrid is out because London has 2012. There have been no back to back Euro Summer Games in over 50 years.
Rio - the sentimental favourite as South America have never had a Games. There is a reason for that though - the previous Brazilian and Argentinian bids have all been flawed when it comes to finances and security. If Buenos Aires won their 2004 bid for instance the Games would have been wrecked by the huge financial crisis Argentina suffered in the late 90's. This time around Rio has the benefit of a huge amount of new venues due to the 2007 Pan Ams. The IOC has questioned financing - since Brazil will go all out for the World Cup in 2014 there is a question of whether or not the Olympics will be treated as an afterthought. Furthermore Rio should really be spending the money helping the poor etc. However we all know that money wont get to those who need it either way.
Tokyo - the most solid plan. The IOC only had reservations about the Japanese plan to build a 100,000 seat main stadium and then completely dismantle it. They question the cities Olympic legacy - however Tokyo doesnt need another huge stadium with the Tokyo Dome and Yokohama Stadiums currently underused. Tokyo is doomed though since Beijing just had the Summer Games.
Factor in Korean, German and French Winter Olympic bids for 2018 it is pretty certain that Tokyo and Madrid can be discounted.
It looks like Obama is in Copenhagen to spruik for Chicago. That could swing it. I'm sure he will impress the IOC more than Lula will for Brazil. Oh and Oprah is speaking on behalf of Chicago too.
Which way will the IOC go? Will the huge revenues to be gained by staging the Games in the USA win out at the end of the day? Despite all the scandals and problems both Atlanta and Salt lake brought in huge TV rights payments and massive sponsorship profits. Will the IOC gamble on Rio? Can Brazil handle both of the biggest sporting events in the world within a 2 year window? Is it time to bring South America a Games or should the 'new fronteir Olympic Games' go to South Africa - since they are rumoured to be bidding again with Cape Town for 2020 and announced their intentions stragically this week - maybe a ploy to derail Rio? Which has the bigger pull - a South American or African Games since neither have hosted...? There is no way the IOC will have back to back Games in areas perceived as "risky"...
I personally hope for a Tokyo upset - but expect it will be Chi-town.