Jump to content

How successful will Rio 2016 be?


  

65 members have voted

  1. 1. How will Rio 2016 go off?

    • Best Games Ever
      5
    • Good Games No Problems
      12
    • A few Glitches
      32
    • Many Problems / which seriously damager the games
      16
    • Disaster requiring many plan B changes
      0
  2. 2. Do you want Rio 2016 to be a success?

    • Yes
      56
    • Undecided
      6
    • No
      3
  3. 3. What will be the biggest success in Rio?

    • Sport
      22
    • Legacy
      5
    • Venues
      0
    • Atmosphere / Human
      23
    • Location / Nature / City
      10
    • Cerimonies
      2
    • Design / logo, look etc.
      3


Recommended Posts

7 hours ago, paul said:

All those empty seats were during the competition when Michelle Carter won gold....you can see all the totaly empty seats behind her below.

Everyone has seem many many empty seats in most sport, I cvan go through and do a sport by sport photo montage of empty seats if you like?

Looks like a pretty packed house in T&F tonight, though!!

7 hours ago, paul said:

I hate Rio.

Ugh, why don't you just shove it in your Southern California-centric piehole already! Your "hate" for Rio is totally obnoxious at this point! Your starting to sound like another L.A. a-hole as of late on these boards.

Give it a fu@king rest already, & move on to your next apocalyptic Games "counter-coverage", "the Tokyo 2020 fukushima radiation Olympics", like you did during the 2020 campaign. :rolleyes:

1 hour ago, Bezzi said:

Yes, we all know this. I even think that you celebrate when something goes wrong. But I don't care about your opinion. Keep searching the bad news while we (athletes and spectators) are here having fun.

Exactly! That's their xenophobic MO though, on these boards. The world ain't all sunshine & rainbows, unless of course you're in "sunny" Southern California. 

 Just keep going Rio 2016, & ignore all the naysaying haters out there!! 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 14 May 2014 at 1:51 AM, mr.bernham said:

Let the flame war begin...bad idea Paul, bad idea.

Well, of course that was always gonna happen. But this thread was always gonna happen too.

On 12 August 2016 at 11:59 AM, olympicdreamin said:

It's the only thing that makes me feel better about booing the American athletes. At least the cheaters are getting boo'd louder. I expect it to be consistent and want to see the same boos for Gatlin next week.

Well, you got it. 

7 hours ago, paul said:

I hate Rio.

I think it was pretty clear you'd made up your mind on this long before the games started.

1 hour ago, Ikarus360 said:

The whole Rio 2016 athletics in a nutshell

0292a808a274ce39d769597682b1830df94cd0f6

Not really for tonight. The stadium looks decently crowded to me. Thankfully.

Tennis tonight also looked to have had a good crowd. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"There were two or three other candidates in that (2016) race that would have done a much better job," Pound said. "There is a reason the games haven't been held here before. Every day is a challenge."

I can't believe that Pound would actually say something like this, but then again.. (he is afterall an "IOC" member nontheless). I know that he's more of a 'say it like it is' type of guy, but he's pointing these things out in hindsight. In 2009, the picture in Brazil looked much more optimistic, with their booming economy & their proven track record with the recently hosted 2007 PanAm Games. 

If the IOC was so concerned about someone else doing a "much better job", they wouldn't have sent one of the top 2016 bids home packing right after the first round of votes (bcuz of a petty squabble over revenue-sharing)! And it's not like Tokyo 2020 has been smooth sailing with preps either. They've also been having some big hiccups, relatively speaking, for a developed nation. And let's not get started on Madrid 2016. "There is a reason" (to quote Pound) why Madrid has lost three consecutive bids & why they were the first ones to go in the 2020 vote. 

But it seems that the IOC just likes to point the finger instead of ultimately accepting some of the responsibility. Like when Oslo 2022 finally pulled out of the race & the IOC was all to eager to give the Norwegians a chastising lecture of how it was a "missed opportunity" instead of looking at themselves as to why they have top-notch cities outright rejecting them.

But sounds so typical of what is the highfalutin IOC these days. It's everyone's else fault except their own. That's probably about the only thing Paul is right about when it comes to the IOC these days. They should be thanking Rio (for mortgaging their next generation) instead of bemoaning them for taking on the gargantuan task of hosting this circus that is the Olympic Games. Such ingrates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm saving my final thoughts on "success or failure" till, well, about this time next week. But on the Coates and Pound comments.

Both Coates and Pound calls it as they see it- diplomacy go to hell.  And I still like them for that. It's a fair enough call - I'm sure these are a difficult games. So what? Pound's probably right that Chicago, Tokyo or Madrid would have been smoother and given the EC less heartburn. So what? I still think it's important that they brought the games outside the developed world and to South America. I still think they made the right choice. I'm not hung up on how glassily "finished" they come across.

i still haven't moved the games into my personal negative bracket yet. Don't even rate them in my personal "worst", or rather, least successful,  of the 21st century. 

 

Edited by Sir Rols
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, zekekelso said:

Rio does have more empty seats than London or Beijing. But you can't necessarily go by what you see on TV. The cameras are often pointed at the VIP/Olympic family sections that are almost always empty. It's a problem at every Olympics... Go back and do a search and you'll see.

Sonething the IOC seriously needs to fix!

As for the lower attendance, I see three issues

1) Tickets are overpriced vs wealth of the country.

2) The media did a horrible no good job hyping the problems of Rio and scaring tourist away. The Zika reporting in particular was horrific.

3) Locals don't feel the need to go to an event just to say they saw the Olympics. There were a ton of fans like that in London, not so much here.

And I would guess that point 3 feeds into point 1. 

I've experienced South American poverty first hand. My partner hails from the slums of Santiago. I've stayed with the family, and have seen how for such a huge swathe of the population day-to-day life is a continuing challenge. I can well imagine that for a bulk of people, a ticket to an event is beyond their reach at all, much less thinking that saying they saw an Olympics in person is anywhere near a priority.

i would have liked to see more effort by the organisers to reach out to the underprivileged majority of Brazil and give them such an opportunity. Still hope they will. But on reflection, I think we in the west are probably have to realise paying to go to their games isn't really an option for most locals there, and it's one of the pettiest of first world problems to complain that the stands don't look full enough for us to feel like we got the most out of the games on our big screen HD TVs. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

 But on reflection, I think we in the west are probably have to realise paying to go to their games isn't really an option for most locals there, and it's one of the pettiest of first world problems to complain that the stands don't look full enough for us to feel like we got the most out of the games on our big screen HD TVs. 

ugh but the pool water wasn't the right shade of blue.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Sir Rols said:

Both Coates and Pound calls it as they see it- diplomacy go to hell.  And I still like them for that. It's a fair enough call - I'm sure these are a difficult games. So what? Pound's probably right that Chicago, Tokyo or Madrid would have been smoother and given the EC less heartburn. So what? I still think it's important that they brought the games outside the developed world and to South America. I still think they made the right choice. I'm not hung up on how glassily "finished" they come across.

Well, I couldn't agree more. But like in the corporate/professional world, when big, difficult challenges arise, you want people that will rise to the occasion (it's what most employers want from their employees). Not listen to the ones that complain, whine & moan on how maybe we should've done it this way, or should've decided on  the other project or candidate & then we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

That's why I have a problem with especially Pound's words. As a veteran IOC member, he should know better. And considering all the crap that Brazil has had to endure (domestically, & the international media trashing them backwards, forwards & sideways) prior to these Games, relatively speaking thus far, they have done a fantastic job & the IOC should be grateful, not nagging on them like spoiled brats.

23 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

But on reflection, I think we in the west are probably have to realise paying to go to their games isn't really an option for most locals there, and it's one of the pettiest of first world problems to complain that the stands don't look full enough for us to feel like we got the most out of the games on our big screen HD TVs. 

Hear, hear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Serious question. What are you all basing success on? What makes for a successful games. Cause FYI you just wrote that the media has been thrashing Rio before the games but to be honest they were just reporting what was going on on the ground. If we look at what has happened so far the pool turning green, Ryan Lochte getting rubbed at gunpoint by men dressed as police officers, Then are we still saying these games are successful? I feel like the athletic storylines are compelling but that is a given they happen everywhere but logically and security wise are we considering these games a success because more drama than has been reported has not happened? Are we setting the bar lower for Rio than we would for another city? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, alphamale86 said:

Serious question. What are you all basing success on? What makes for a successful games. 

A good and fair enough question. It's one I'm sure mulling about in my head as I mentally prepare my Rio report card (God, that's already turning into a major essay in my mind).

1 hour ago, alphamale86 said:

Cause FYI you just wrote that the media has been thrashing Rio before the games but to be honest they were just reporting what was going on on the ground. 

Were they though? The zika scare was absolutely over-the-top and despicable in hindsight. Sailing's been on a few days now, and I haven't read any stories of boats plowing through sewage or rowers or sailors contracting gastro. The venues were finished before the OC weren't they?> (more than can be said for Montreal - and probably less last-minute at the end than Atlanta or Athens)

1 hour ago, alphamale86 said:

If we look at what has happened so far the pool turning green, Ryan Lochte getting rubbed at gunpoint by men dressed as police officers, Then are we still saying these games are successful? 

Yeah. The pool was a fail. And Sydney fumbled when it couldn't get its pommel horse (or was it horizontal bars?) to the right height when it counted - that was a fail. Vancouver's luge training had a death toll. That was a fail. I'm confident there's lots of other similar examples from past games to go on and on and on.

Both Barcelona and Athens took kicks at various times for poor crowd attendance at events.

Sydney had jail breaks (from a prison right next door to the Olympic Park no less) and gang rapes while its games were on. Athens had mad spectators lunging out at marathon competitors. German competitors lost their medals in London (admittedly, I can't remember if that was a drunken accident or a theft). A domestic whacko let off a bomb in Centennial Park in Atlanta - those games had a death toll. I'm pretty confident petty crime went on, went up, and goes on, during any Summer games - without the media obsessing over it. Yes, the bar is set a bit lower in that regard for Rio. We know they have their problems. I'm pretty sure personal security was at the top of the list of warnings most responsible NOCs were giving their teams and staff ahead of the games. I don't think anyone was expecting the games to fix Brazil's deep-seated social inequality and crime issues.

To me, a disastrous games would be Munich. Yet, up until the attacks there, they were probably one of the best run, joyful and prettiest games imaginable to that date. A negative games to me would be Berlin 36 or Sochi 2014 - both of which set new high bars in pageantry, presentation and organisation but which have taken on sinister undertones considering subsequent events. A poor games would be a Moscow 1980, where boycotts made them a real lesser event (though, no-on ever puts that claim against LA84, or to a lesser degree Montreal). I'm not sure where on the negative scale I'd rate a Mexico City, where hundreds get massacred by the government for protesting against the games a week before the event. 

I don't think anyone could mount a claim that Rio's reached the heights of a Barcelona, Sydney or London. In those cases there's x factors that lifted them above an average games. 

I think a lot of the carping criticism has been quite petty and inconsequential. Sports-wise, I think Rio's been a true vintage, maybe even one of the best - ever. Organisation-wise - so far - yeah, it's been a bit haphazard, maybe even sub-average. It's not affecting my enjoyment of them. 

Rio's not over yet. Real bad sh!t can still happen. We all pray it doesn't - no host really rests easy till it's all over.

Edited by Sir Rols
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

I think we in the west are probably have to realise paying to go to their games isn't really an option for most locals there, and it's one of the pettiest of first world problems to complain that the stands don't look full enough for us to feel like we got the most out of the games on our big screen HD TVs. 

But Zeke's right that the cause of that problem is the ratio of ticket price to income- ROCOG should have bitten the bullet and accepted from the start that they would need to make a large number of tickets available at very low prices by London standards. Any ticket sale is better than no ticket sale.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, JMarkSnow2012 said:

But Zeke's right that the cause of that problem is the ratio of ticket price to income- ROCOG should have bitten the bullet and accepted from the start that they would need to make a large number of tickets available at very low prices by London standards. Any ticket sale is better than no ticket sale.

That goes without question.

I never seriously looked at the pricing, but I thought they weren't too bad - compared to recent hosts.  Nevertheless, it would always be a tougher ask to market tickets in a developing country compared to a mature, affluent nation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/marketing/01/35/47/11/ticketfundinformationbooklet.pdf

 

The Initiative The Ticket Fund is an Official Initiative of the FIFA World Cup™ through which 120,000 complimentary category 4 tickets will be allocated to residents of South Africa by FIFA and the Local Organising Committee, with the support of the FIFA Partners.

 

Basically free tickets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a factor we rarely mention- all media outlets that do not have the broadcast rights to the Olympics have an incentive to try to destroy the Games, its reputation and image, to  minimise the commercial advantage of the rights broadcaster.

 

We see it in Australia every Games- Channel 7 this time has the rights, so Channel 9 and 10 try to make out the Games are not news, are a disaster etc.....this is the downside to the IOC of selling the rights to one broadcaster for big bucks- it creates powerful enemies in  the media...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Bezzi said:

Yes, we all know this. I even think that you celebrate when something goes wrong. But I don't care about your opinion. Keep searching the bad news while we (athletes and spectators) are here having fun.

Of course he celebrates, he's been doing this for weeks now... he's obsessed with it. Pity. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

Here's a factor we rarely mention- all media outlets that do not have the broadcast rights to the Olympics have an incentive to try to destroy the Games, its reputation and image, to  minimise the commercial advantage of the rights broadcaster.

 

We see it in Australia every Games- Channel 7 this time has the rights, so Channel 9 and 10 try to make out the Games are not news, are a disaster etc.....this is the downside to the IOC of selling the rights to one broadcaster for big bucks- it creates powerful enemies in  the media...

 

The only fix to that (and yes, I've seen much more disaster-style coverage of the run-up to Rio 2016 on CNN International than on the still somewhat balanced BBC World News) would be to insist on handing the rights to a consortium of broadcasters. Not sure how practicable that would be in terms of market value etc, though...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The NFL has always had a deliberate strategy of making sure the Superbowl gets rotated among broadcasters. That way the networks have an incentive to let this years broadcaster get huge ratings so that the game will be still be attractive to advertisers in the future years when they host. 

But I don't think that would work with the Olympics, where NBC seems willing to pay to have the reputation as the Olympic network. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually do not rank Games as better or worse because usually my enjoyment of them are affected by circumstances that have nothing to do with them. In this case my enjoyment has been diminished by 1) my wife dealing with some health matters (nothing super serious, but her well-being is always my #1 priority), and 2) the insufferable heat and humidity that is suffocating Pennsylvania and many areas elsewhere which is proving a battle for my air conditioners and is causing visions of biathlon and luge to dance in my head.

Rio has faced very formidable challenges and the Games themselves have been fine. The financial issues are something that are going to be well-publicized long after they end. Anti-Olympic activists will regurgitate this whole thing over and over in their crusade to bring the Games into extinction. Non-rights holding media  and phony internet "journalists" will continue to present these Games in a negative light and publish material that will go beyond the pale. Even IOC members, probably upset at the lack of catering and other forms of pampering, will gripe about the whole affair. How good these Games are will depend on who you ask and the quality of their experience. Many athletes, spectators, and volunteers will no doubt rank these two weeks as the greatest experience of their lives. For others,they will have been one giant nuisance. So when forming a final opinion on these Games, it is best to take all the glowing PR releases from Rio 2016 and all the negative reports from various sources and find the truth somewhere in between.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, discussing about if the IOC should have awarded the Games of 2016 to another city is nonsense - it didn't do it for reasons.

It wanted to reach new boundaries and it is reaching new boundaries - I as a visitor encounter something new also.

I had never been to South America or Brazil before and I didn't expected that I will have the same what I have in normal life in Germany - traveling is about to encounter something new always - otherwise you can stay home...

To compare "Rio 2016" with "London 2012" or another Olympic Games is like comparing "apples" with "pears" - you can't do that! I remember that many people said, that they were glad that the London Opening Ceremony was not "as bombastic" like the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony. Maybe there are people around, who love everything "bombastic" - maybe there are people around, who don't want to see something bombastic like the Beijing Opening Ceremony. Both is fine, since everybody can decide on his/her own, if you like something or not. Some people said here that you didn't get something for his/her money at the Rio Opening Ceremony - I enjoyed it and I think it was every single penny worth, which I paid for the Opening Ceremony ticket.

What I can say about being in Rio at the Olympics right now is, that there are things which I would do differently, but that is not the question, since we are experiencing Brazilian Olympics - not German, not British, not European, not Asian, nor North-American!

I can't speak Portuguese, which has a huge impact on everything - I would face the same problem if the Games are in Paris, since I do not speak French. 
I am not used to such high temperatures and humidity all day, which wears me out a lot - that is normal for a lot of other countries/regions around the world.
I underestimated the distances, which wears me out a lot also - you can't have all venues at one place.

One event per day is far too much - two events per day is all over the top - that is very exhausting and you start to skip tickets (which by the way causes empty seats also)




 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rio is putting on a good show - I'm not in Rio but the city look breathtaking on TV.

There are a few spoliers though 1) lack of spectators in the stadia - although as we have entered the 2nd week this seems to be getting better 2) the lack of finishing on the venues (here I mean the lack of decoration and application of the look of the games) and the lack of the look in the streets 3) the olympic park doesn't look great on TV - like a big industrial estate (could have done with more application of the look of the games) & 4) the opening ceremony was rather underwhelming

That said I'm not there on there on the ground and just watching on TV and what I am seeing is great sport! I also appreciate that Rio has had to cut a lot back due to the financial crisis - London also had to do the same thing. 

Enjoy the last few days y'all

!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...