Most Liked Content

Whoever he is & whatever self imposed importance he believes he has = badly done mate - badly done.

I am amongst thousands of others who have dedicated nearly 140 hours of their time to this event of national importance (in the worst summer weather in living memory!). I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved & the fantastic show we are going to put on! I have not blabbed at all but sadly have been continually let down by insiders leaking stories to the press and more importantly today - the photos of the rehearsals in the Sun et al.

I honestly do not know how you could publicly humiliate & belittle both of us in such a self-serving way.

A little foot note to you Andrew - I was at the first public debate about whether London should bid for the 2012 games back at RIBA in 2003 - that's how important London 2012 is to me! It's been a dream of mine to see the games in the UK since the games of Montreal captured my imagination as a small boy. And believe you me - you aren't going to spoil it for me now!

That's all folks! Enjoy the show!

So, we have only about 32 hours of these Games of the XXX Olympiad left. I guess we can rate these Games now.

First of all, I want to mention the audience - it seemed to be very sportsmanlike, very enthusiastic, very fond of sports. I will never forget how the audience even cheered for Germany's equestrian team when it won the gold medal in eventing, although that meant that their home team had lost gold. I think that they deserve an award for that, just like it has been awarded to the equally fair spectators at the Stuttgart 1993 World Championships and the Munich 2002 European Championships in athletics.

The venues were excellent and I loved London's approach of incorporating the Games fully into the host city, especially with staging the cycling, race-walking and marathon events in the heart of the city. No other host city can offer an equally glamourous tennis venue, hardly any other host can offer such a stunning venue for the equestrian events right in the middle of the city, and the transformation done in the Olympic Park deserves a gold medal of its own.

Even the weather was mostly pleasant, despite all the fears beforehand that those could be "rain Games".

The organisation was highly professional and smooth (at least judging by what I saw, heard and read in the media), although with flaws once in a while (as we could see just last night at the women's hammer throw competition). But hey, every Games so far had those, so who can blame London?

The ceremonial (as far as we know it at this point) was very decent, I liked the opening ceremony and found it very entertaining and truly British. It was not the best ever, but it was a good kick-off with a very charming amount of (also self-deprecative) humour. That humourous approach of not taking oneself and the ceremony too seriously should really be a role model for future ceremonies. Although one might say that they could have composed new music for the medal ceremonies, I say that "Chariots of Fire" was a logical choice due to its strong connections to British sport and its inspiring, truly Olympic melody. So it's good that previous hosts didn't have that idea already and left it for London.

The competition was exciting as always, with many memorable moments and truly exceptional performances. That said, I don't trust in the fact that no medallist has been found guilty of doping so far. I think that it's dangerously easy to say now "See? Already in Vancouver we had hardly any positive doping tests. So the doping tests work." Instead, I get the increasing sensation that the athletes are simply becoming more clever in disguising doping or choosing the "right" drugs which can't be found yet by the testers.

So all in all, I'd say that these were very, very good Games - but not the best ever. I can't say why, but the London Games still lacked that "je ne sais quoi" of Barcelona and Sydney. I would most likely compare them to the Vancouver Games which were also characterised by an enthusiastic and very gracious audience and a great surrounding for the athletes. Just like Vancouver wasn't a second Lillehammer, London is no second Barcelona or Sydney. But: They were a wonderful relief after two Summer Games overshadowed by shaky preparations and the feeling that a small country is overstraining itself (Athens 2004) or overshadowed by political controversy and the stale feeling of over-perfection (Beijing 2008).

London 2012 were very humane, fair and charming Games. The Brits did themselves proud - and I would love to see the Olympic Games return to the UK as soon as possible (although this might take at least three or four decades).

Please God NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

THE BASTARDS DON'T FREAKIN DESERVE AN OLYMPICS!

No Olympic tradition, no regard for women, bugger all population, an attitude that deep pockets will buy them anything they want. Nouveauriche peasants - who'll go back to being peasants once the black gold runs out.

First - prizes...

I've awarded both Soaring and Afiqnadzir LIFETIME PREMIUM MEMBERSHIPS (Soaring, I know you were already a Premium Member but now it will never expire).  They are already active.

Secondly...

I think the members got it right - the top two were the best with the number 1 just edging out number 2.  Soaring's logo hit a chord when I first saw it, I like the font and I think the icon is simple yet effective.  

Afiqnadzir's is also compelling - there's a nod to our existing logo and the brush-strokes give it an artistic look.  But I don't like that font as much

I could see using Soaring's logo right away - no worries about the torch - the IOC doesn't own that image.  However, things don't happen that quickly - we'd have to redesign many things to complement a new logo.  We'll spend the next few months determining what we will do with a redesign and how we can integrate a new logo.

Congratulation to the top 2!

Soaring, what font did you use?  In what file format do you have the have the original image stored?

And finally, many thanks to Sir Rols for running the contest and for all the time and effort it took.

Been trying to motivate my self to do this, here we go. A more in depth review of what I thought of the ceremony, more or less from start to finish. Remember this is all my opinion, don't kill me over it!

First off, the countdown. CTV began its coverage literally a few seconds before it started so it was all a little hectic for me, I was also confused because when they cut to the stadium the first countdown was just about to end so I wasn't sure if I just missed it. Overall the balloons where an alright idea, I guess they went along well with the setting but Ill always prefer an exciting countdown with pyrotechnics. Then from what I remember they cut to Bradley Wiggins, which seems hugely out of place. He then went on to ring the bell once which left me a bit puzzled but I brushed it off looking forward to what was to come. This is when things sort of took a little dip. Firstly I think the fact that the scene was already in motion before the camera focused on it was a put off, it just seemed... off. I can't really describe it any other way, I just got a really weird feeling from it. The scene its self was alright, some interesting events taking place on that little patch of green but it all seemed way too chaotic with the camera seemingly focusing on something different every few seconds leaving me feeling very confused on what exactly was going on. Then just as quickly as it started the scene transitioned.

This was by far my favourite segment of the ceremony, the industrial transformation. Although it was a tad on the busy side like what preceded it, it did carry a sense of epicness to it which is what I had been looking for since the beginning, some parts did seem out of place such as the Beatles dressed characters which added to the confusion and chaotic feeling. The ending was great, and it was a very original way to depict the rings.

At this point I had a good outlook for the rest, although the starting was pretty shaky, and I had yet to be completely wowed I was sure with the amount of time left London could win me over. Unfortunately what was to come completely shattered that outlook, ruining what came before it and thus the entire ceremony as a hole. The NHS segment, which I was in no way looking forward too pretty much became what I had expected, boring and pointless, a waisted opportunity. Not really translating well to an international audience, and a very poor subject choice. It then morphed into the children's literature segment, something which again I found to be chaotic, albeit somewhat entertaining and dark. The massive Voldomort puppet was impressive, and the glowing blankets really gave it all an interesting atmosphere. But again I was left unsatisfied, although the scene did have its strong points the mess of things going on left me yet again puzzled. Perhaps it was the camera angles, perhaps it was the direction its self.

This is when all hell broke loose. The dreaded musical/social media segment. Good god what where they smoking when they came up with this. Starting with a family which I don't believe you saw again past the first few minutes besides the daughter, it divulged into a tour threw the decades of British music which in its self is a fantastic idea. Unfortunately the execution was probably the worst iv seen in an Olympic ceremony. The second I saw they included texting bubbles and ultra cheezy teenage interaction I knew it was going to be bad, but it just kept going and going for what seemed like a millennia, throwing in extremely odd clips from 80s sitcoms such as the Cosby show (WTF? ). It all culminated with the two teenagers eventually meeting up, and for some reason automatically making out the first few seconds they met, then a rapper coming out to top it off. Class. This was the single worst segment I have ever seen and hopefully ever will see in an Opening Ceremony, it single handedly ruined what would have been a good ceremony for me.

I continued watching, still amazed at how bad what I just witnessed was, picked up a tad by the cauldron lighting which was great, and the wonderful fireworks which followed. Overall it was by no means a great ceremony, more like a good closing ceremony, in fact it would have been a brilliant closing ceremony (Just loose the rapper.) but after re watching a few others afterwards (Athens, Beijing, Sydney) it really does not stand up to the greats, not even close. There were more faults than positives, and the good was downed out by the bad.

My overall score is a 6/10.

I don't like the word "deserves", but as a major sporting and economic power that won't have hosted any Olympics at all for 50 years, I think Germany can make a pretty strong case -- probably more compelling than anyone else's. Munich has the venues, the organizational ability and a passionate, educated spectator base.

'Earned' might be better, in as much as earned the chance.

Honest to God, if someone brings up the Black September attack or the Nazis one more time as a reason why Munich is a bad choice, I may have to hurt someone. In the first place, neither event has any bearing on Munich and it's ability to host currently. In the second place, if both were such millstones, why has Munich gotten 25 votes in the last ballot and moreover, continued hosting events since then. And in the third place, Munich nor Germany needs to constantly be reminded of their past. If anything, this is an opportunity to embrace the negatives, make them positives, heal and for good and all move on.

Can we PLEASE stick to the actual ability of Munich and Germany to host these events and leave these tired red herrings out of it now?

I won't give it a score or a ranking (because I don't think you can). I enjoyed it. It didn't blow my mind, but it was entertaining. It wasn't overly dramatic, but I liked that there was humour - I seriously burst out laughing at the idea of the Queen parachuting into the stadium (you'd never see China's president agree to that!) and Rowan Atkinson's Chariots of Fire bit. It might not be a 'forever' classic like Athens 2004, but it was very 'now' and very '2012' with all its smartphone and social media references. I think it did the job and was the perfect response to the 'how to top Beijing' question...you don't. You just be who you are. And this was Britain.

I still think you guys are expecting too much too soon. Again from the Sydney experience, at this time before the games (three months) there was no decorations up - the banners and look around the city only started going up about a fortnight before the games. As for anticipation and excitement - that really only started kicking in when the torch arrived in Oz (which basically started making it all "real" finally). Expecting that London would have all its banners, signs and look up at this stage is unrealistic - and wrong.

As for the Jubilee - well, Olympics come and go every four years (or two years if we count both versions). A Royal Diamond Jubilee - which in the long run is probably a far more significant event for Britain, hasn't happened for more than 110 years. It's quite right the games should NOT detract from a respectful celebration of a major milestone for the nation's Sovereign. And it in no way is delaying the normal timing of how a host starts decking itself out for games times.

I know on a board like ours everybody's impatient to see London decked out in all its Olympic glory, but honestly, London is not behind or lagging in that department compared to previous hosts.

Patience, everyone. It'll creep up and start capturing attention quicker than you expect.

Who is daveypodmore?

Born in a small town in Staffordshire in the seventies to the people that would turn out to be his parents. Daveypodmore hit the ground running. Crayons were his medium of choice and after decorating his living room for his mum, he moved onto a larger work in the hall stairs and landing. A piece he called 'Alien Attack' but his mum called "What the f**k!' and "Take them bleeding crayons off him before I kill him'. This initial bad reaction from the critics only motivated him do do bigger and better works. The most important of these 'Happy' can still be seen at his grandparents as no matter how many coats of paint his grandad applied, this stunning work still seeps through, much to the unhappiness of its current owners, Mr & Mrs Jones who chose not to comment on the piece as it was "with their lawyers".

At first school his talent was spotted early when he moved to paints. Using Brian Andrews as a moving canvas daveypodmore bought his work to a new audience. Most noticeably Mrs Andrews who said of the artwork "How am I gonna get that out?" Daveypodmore leant early he would have to suffer for his art, with no tea and no playing out for a week it was worth it while, as in solitude in his room he planned his most ambitious project. 'Painting the town red', a work that brought a tear to the eye of many of the residents of Eastwood Avenue. Daveypodmore and his family left shortly afterwards, under cover of darkness with no goodbyes.

At art college somewhere in the midlands daveypodmore experimented with Graphic Design as his chosen field, as none of the other courses would touch him with a barge pole and his mum told him she wouldn't be responsible for her actions if he didn't get his lazy arse out of bed. It was while at this college that daveypodmore had the sudden realisation he was allowed to use crayons, paints, computers. And as he felt the world needed to be 'coloured in a bit', he thought he was the man for the job. Years later he was gobsmacked to discover he even gets paid to do it too.

Daveypodmore's current project is to bring the London 2012 branding to life in a way that the people at London 2012 hadn't quite done yet. And so the 'Gamesbids Signature Series' was started. An on going work that will end in 2012 and the opening of London's games and a well deserved holiday for daveypodmore, although not in Staffordshire as he has been asked not to go back.

We hope you enjoy the collection of works of Stamfords second best Gaphic Designer.



1: To celebrate the Beijing handover



2: To show the decade of British sport ahead



3: To mark the 3 years to go for the London games



4: For the 1000 day countdown



5: To mark BMW becoming an Olympic partner



6: A taster as to a London 2012 supergroup for the opening ceremony



7: For the opening of the Vancouver games



8: To mark the end of the Vancouver games



9: To mark the death of the man that helped create punk



10: A full English breakfast gets a 2012 make over



11: To mark the launch of the London mascots

I don't want to miss any second of my London 2012 Olympic Games vacation - the athletes, the sports events, the venues, the ceremonies, the Olympic Park, the Londoners, the British, the people from all over the world, the volunteers, the soldiers, the pubs, the British food, the music, the people, who decorated their houses with flags, London, Wimbledon, Windsor, Lee Valley, Greenwich, the trains, the underground, the two rain showers during the 18 days, the sunny weather, the GB-sharing-Flat and the friends I met, made my trip to London to one of my most amazing life-experiences.

London 2012 changed my approach toward Olympic Games/Paralympics completely - I can't imagine anymore to watch it on TV.


Thanks you London, Thank you UK for these amazing Games!

It's incredible. All these years are suddenly over. It started for me in 2001 when my home region started to plan its bid with Duesseldorf for these 2012 Games - and it was a great spirit of "Yes, we could do it", although that was unrealistic regarding IOC standards for host city sizes. Duesseldorf lost in the national race, then Leipzig was our candidate and we actually knew it stood no chance. Then I became a big Paris supporter and was a bit miffed at first when London won on July 6, 2005. One day later, all that was changed by my anger about the terrorist attacks and my solidarity for all Londoners. The seven years after that have flown by - and now London 2012 and the whole race for the 2012 Games definitely belongs to history. It almost breaks my heart.

hold on - i don't see what michelle has done wrong here? she has merely posted an article that she herself feels is over sensationalising things!

Wearing a burka is optional under the religion and treated that way outside of most Middle Eastern countries.

Not if you have religious 'police' like the Taliban and those in Iran and Saudi running around to make sure the women stay covered and incognito.  

We are having the same argument here where a Muslim women is refusing to de-veil herself while giving evidence in a court. Very contentious.

And this is after that other woman died in an amusement park when her abaya/burkha/chador/SACK got caught in the ride, right?  No wonder their husbands beat them; not only are they hard-headed but also STUPID under the guise of being 'religious.'  

How rich of you, baron. Sounding like the right extremist lunatic that you are.

Go **** yourself, and do us all a favor.

Actually, go feck yourself, degenerate left-wing/liberal sphincter muscle!!

I think this thread needs to be put to bed to be honest.

I agree that this thread has perhaps run it's course.

But the thread was set up with good intentions, it was a thread about the tragic death of a 33 year old guy - something which is truly shocking to most people. It was only one person (we know who he is) who decided to start getting nasty on this thread by calling people names and making generalisations about 'morons' and this compromised the positive aspects of having a civil discussion about this topic. That person alone hijacked this discussion negatively but apparently he was allowed to act disgracefully.

Oh well, RIP Stephen Gately.

Big question: has the IOC "moved on" about the big German question? Two Olympic Games controlled by the Nazis and the IOC gives Munich 1972 and receives a terrorist attack instead. Ever since, no Olympic Games for the country. Sure, the country is more than capable to host another Olympic Games (as witnessed by Germany hosting the World Cup and other international events since Munich 1972), but, unfortunately, some misconceptions can be hard to forget easily.

You may find that the majority of IOC members are much smarter than that. Let's examine each of the points you raise in turn: Whilst the 1936 Winter and Summer Games were misused by the Nazi regime for their heinous agenda of racial superiority, the IOC always had the choice of re-awarding them to, say, Barcelona (the Spanish Civil War hadn't started at the time Hitler came to power in 1933). Also, prominent IOC members like Avery Brundage were all-too-happy to effectively do Hitler's bidding despite the persecution of Jews and other minority groups - Brundage's own somewhat ambivalent commitment to human rights (if any) re-emerged during the 1968 Mexico City debacle and the 1972 Munich massacre (when he hardly mentioned the individuals who had actually died, but prattled on about the strength of the Olympic movement). The involvement of JAS with General Franco's administration in SpaIn is quite well-documented.

Since World War II and the liberation of Europe and Asia by Allied forces, the Games have been awarded to Spain (Barcelona 1992), Italy (Rome 1960, Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956) and Japan (Tokyo 1964) - three countries known for, respectively, General Franco's dictatorship (and a severe death toll during the Spanish Civil War), Fascism under Mussolini (and being Hitler's willing ally throughout that period until 1943/44) and imperialist aggression under Hirohito and his prime ministers. And let's not forget, West Germany got Munich 1972. The Summer Olympics in Munich occurred exactly 27 years after the end of the war. I honestly believe that the Nazi issue has been settled, once and for all. And I'm fairly certain that the age structure of the IOC today is such that it hardly plays a role (even as unfair prejudice toward Germans) anymore.

Again, Munich 1972 was (ironically) a reflection of its time: Yes, the German security forces failed. But to basically imply (from any side, really) that we Germans basically slapped the IOC in the face for the trust they had in West Germany is too much of a good thing, really! The security arrangements were certainly shockingly laissez-faire, but you will find that this was the spirit of the times. Somewhat naively, the organizers under Willi Daume wanted Munich 1972 to be the counterpoint to the Nazi Games - so much so that we didn't have armed police officers on the grounds. In retrospect, this was just incredibly naive - especially given the increasing threat through terrorist acts. But can you blame them for wanting to erase the memory of the Nazis? I don't think so. West Germany was established as the exact opposite of Nazi Germany, to the extent that we emphasized pacifist tendencies in our foreign and defence policies (a little too much and too naively for my taste, but that's another topic altogether). Don't forget that security issues aren't all-too-fatal with the IOC. After all, Salt Lake 2002 went ahead despite the greatest terrorist attack in United States history (and arguably, world history). Today's Germany will be much better prepared, especially now that the constitutional court has dropped restraints upon the use of the army in domestic contexts.

On reflection, you will find that Germany has failed with its bids, because they were hopeless (Berchtesgarden 1992, Leipzig 2012), quite simply managed with gross incompetence (Berlin 2000) or because it just wasn't our time in the cycle (Munich 2018). The Berlin bid was a particular example of naivete when it came to the power of networking within the IOC. Germans just weren't good salesmen for their causes, especially compared to single-minded Americans, sunny Australians, charming Italians and Spaniards or the disciplined Chinese & Koreans. But the Munich bid showed that we're getting better at this, gradually. The one thing Germany has lacked is knowing which fights to pick in the IOC and pulling its weight - that has been a weakness, as the two joke bids from Leipzig and Berchtesgarden showed. Germany has a number of pluses (stable economy, excellent infrastructure, consistent commitment to the Olympic Games and a sports nation of note) to offer to the Olympic Movement and is in an important, reliable market for the IOC. All it needs now is competent, inspiring management of a bid. Sooner or latter, we will even figure that aspect out!

With the military skirmishes with Syria, there is no way the IOC will pick Istanbul. I predict that the bid will likely be scrapped.

Oh please.  The election is still 1-year away; the actual Games are 8 years away.  My God, the Korean peninsula has lived on the knife's edge the last 60 years, yet they've had a Summer Olympics, half a World Cup, another Asian Games in 2 years, and a Winter Olympics in 6 -- and you're worried about a border skirmish between a NATO member and a regime that's on its last legs?  

Besides, Seoul is like 30 mi from the South's border with No. Korea; Istanbul is like some 450 mi north of the Syrian border.  So?

Wow. Defensive much? So many Brits here seem desperate to believe London was "the best ever" and that every aspect of the Games was flawless. This is EXACTLY the kind of behavior that fuels my opinion.

The Games were very good, but this kind of posturing dulled their luster throughout and continues to do so now.

I'm glad you enjoyed the Games, but it does seem a particularly fragile ego that would insist everyone else pronounce a similarly glowingly, grandiloquent review.

Of course my opinion is based on a long distance perspective. It's still my opinion and I haven't really seen anything here that dissuades me. To the contrary, many posts -- including yours --reinforce my impression.

Oh come now, Adrian's hyperbole is hardly representitive is it? Why let it get to you or colour your opinion?

Considering most Brits here recently responded to Blacksheep's arrogance about London 2012 with a mixture of embarrassment and awkwardness - I think very few of us would start a thread like the one he started - I'm not sure you can really say that "so many Brits" are involved in that kind of posturing. Most Brits, actually, were pleased the Games went well and enjoyed the two weeks.

I've been away this weekend and I've been chatting to my friends about Olympic sport when I would normally never do so. It's been great, really captured the imagination even amongst people I didn't think would be interested, and I simply don't recognise the people you're talking about or the "posturing" you seem to see. So I'm sorry, but I'm not going let this opinion simply pass because your perecption isn't correct.

I wonder why this is. You're either letting a tiny minority colour your perception (and if so, you're letting them do so far too easily I have to say). Or maybe I've got it wrong and you really do have the impression this "posturing" is commonplace. If so, I can only conclude NBC did a horrible job in portaying atmosphere of the Games, or that you've perhaps spent too much time arguing with certain people on this forum (there's a reason I was absent from here during much of the Games and it's because I didn't want any silly arguments to colour my experience).

I'm not sure what other explanations there could be for your impression to be so totally off-the-mark. Whatever the case, it's a shame. I'm happy for you to argue the toss about the ceremonies or the cauldron placement or whatever; if you didn't like them, fine, that's your opinion. But I'm not happy you've got such an arse-about-face impression of our reaction to our own Games. It's very clear, as you say, that your opinion is based on a "long distance perspective". You can take it from me though, it isn't correct.

With all due respect Athens, when events are at risk of being delayed or cancelled from their start time because the athletes have only just shown up, what term would you describe it as?

if everyone in this thread just agrees to agree with you will you please stop?

i'm not sure how many more pages of you posting the exact same post on the damn bus drivers getting lost we can take.

i don't think the people who got lost in atlanta suffered as much as we have listening to you talk about it for a week straight. at least that ride came to an end.

Hello everyone,

I haven´t been very active here (well, not counting yesterday of course) but I was little busy with a couple of personal things to care, and considering that the best was yet to arrive, GB forums had to step down to other priorities, anyway, moving on...

I am writing this as proud 'carioca'. Being born and raised here AND a die-hard olympic fan, one of my dreams since I started watching the Olympics on TV was that, some day (hopefully as soon as possible) my city would host the Olympic Games. I was dreaming in 1997, when we had the first, uh, attempt, if you can call that. However, even with media hype, lack of experience and a city with a lot of problems, I still dreamed about it as college kid back then. So, when we failed even to pass in the short list phase, I thought that we were stolen the opportunity to host a different type of Games.

Some years later, when I was finishing my graduation and started to work full-time, we won the 2007 PanAm bid, and I was really, really happy. "Finally we will have good sport venues", I thought, "a modern T&F stadium and a whole lot more infrastructure development". However, as years passed, I saw the reality was way below this. So, although I thought we had a chance to go through the short list for 2012, I wasn´t exactly very excited because the building for the 2007 PanAm Games wasn´t exactly what I thought it could be. One of the main reasons (that I still keep it on my signature) is the fact that they would destroy another sporting venue, in this case the Jacarepagua Race Track, very famous in the past for hosting the F1 events and one that gave me some great childhood memories when I was there for so many years with my father to watch the race. This was a cheap move, motivated more from real estate interest than actually 'olympic spirit' and I still think there were lots of other places near to build the same things they did and will do in the next couple of years. That made me change my way of viewing the Games here in Rio. I didn´t want to be that way.

Still, time passed, I got married and we hosted the PanAm Games. If it wasn´t an 100% perfect event, it worked fine. To my surprised, not very long time after, Rio decided to go to another bid for 2016. 2 big failures and a lot of frustration about how the things worked during the PanAm Games really broke my 'Olympic Spirit'. I thought it was impossible to win after the problems we had in the past, but I thought Rio would move to the Final Presentation phase as a 'consolation prize' from hosting the PanAm Games as my posts here in GB can testify it.

Then, Friday, October 2nd, 2009 arrived. I woke up just in time to see Rio presentation, logged here at the GB to read the comments and hope, really hope that we wouldn´t embarassed ourselves during the presentation. Being low on my predictions to Rio, I wasn´t really excited about the presentation itself so, after Madrid presentation, I went to a work meeting very close to home thinking that, when it was over, I would see the 'obvious' result that Rio had lost again. Instead, time has passed and, during the meeting, I haven´t heard anything from outside, good or bad. Usually, in events like that, even when we lose, there is a lot of noise from people. After the meeting, people asked me about Rio presentation and I told them "it was bad, we won´t make it". So, I left the building and went back home to eat lunch before going back to work.

When I was walking on the street, I saw the TV screens and I couldn´t believe it. It was down to Rio and Madrid! How come? I started to rush back home and turned on the TV to see the anouncement. Then, as the envelope arrived to Jacques Rogge, my heart was pumping and I started to repeat myself "OMG, we won, OMG, we won" (actually I wasn´t EXACTLY these words, but this is a 'family' forum, no need to use some words ).

Then, when JR actually opened the envelope and spoke "Rio de Janeiro" I was shocked and speechless for a minute or so. Impossible! We never won those things! And it wasn´t a contest, it was a washout! It wasn´t supposed to be like that! Not with THOSE people on the Brazilian Olympic Committee! And what about the race track? Meanwhile, there was a huge roar that erupted like Brazil had won another World Cup or Flamengo had won another national championship.

I went back to work shocked, I was never able to fully work because I was shocked,  I was driving to my running workout and I was listening to radio when it started "The Hour of Brazil", a daily 60 minute compusory government program that is broadcasted at 7pm every weekday and suddenly the anchor started to say something like "In Brasilia, the senator from some state when to the balcony to defend his project" and I yelled "Who cares????? We won the Olympic Bid!!!". I actually barely remember that I did a running workout after work because I was shocked. I went home shocked.... and when I went to sleep I was still shocked.

I think I was only back to normal Saturday morning but, still, I went to the newstand to buy all the major newspapers to save the moment. And in the next days I realized that, OK, this might not be the dream bid I was hoped for, but let´s enjoy it. Mike Lee and Scott Givens should have a statue in front of the Engenhao Stadium, being the masters of Rio plan.

Since then, I have been following as closely as possible to everything related to the Games preparations. And I am very happy how things are going so far. The only thing I am really sorry is for the Race Track, that will really disappear in the next couple of years without having another one built to replace it, and I am really sad that is gone. Besides that, everything else is going nice, not perfect of course, but much better than it could be (considering the previous mayors and governors, the risk was really high). Our mayor is doing a fine job IMHO and I hope that he is reelected this October, as it looks like, because he deserves to be the Olympic mayor.

As for myself, like anything in life, this have also changed, since Rio won I was twice on TV to be commentating on cross country skiing and biathlon, had an small injury during a half marathon, which made me step back for a while regarding the sports that I practice and love and, last but not least, went through a tough time with my wife to have a baby, who will seat next to me in 4 years to watch lots of events and, who knows, will enjoy the Olympics as much as her father did when he was around her age (well, a little bit older, since my first one was Los Angeles´84, but I was already a F1 fan).

Now, time has come, the ball is on our ground. Everyone will start looking about everything that happens here for good or bad. I don´t know what will happen from now on, but it will a pleasure to watch how it will unfold in the front seat. Hopefully, in 4 years, I can come here and write that Rio made a great Olympic Games, just like London did last night, and finally have one of dreams finally come true and remember for the rest of my life. Welcome, everyone, to Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad.

....and I promise I will come here more often (I will try)