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The planets are not exactly perfectly aligned for Scottish independence - I think there should be another inde ref and as a Scot I would certainly consider moving back there if it looked like Scotland would be a success in the EU, but the economic and social reality of a customs border between England and Scotland is just too horrible to contemplate. Scotland would be separated from an english speaking country of 60 million where 90% of its exports go. That would change over time, but I suspect that unless England remains in the single market Scotland would experience extreme financial hardship - especially with a 40% deficit and falling oil receipts. I can't really see there's any sense in a hybrid relationship - as EU is telling the UK - out is out and so it would be for Scotland and the UK. Will Scotland accept the Euro and the severe austerity to get the budget deficit under 3% of GDP. They call Edinburgh the Athens of the North - Scotland may well be the Greece of the North if it gets independence. No, I'm afraid there are no easy choices now - running from the UK into the arms of the EU is not going to be a straight forward release from this disaster.

There was an article that said they were to builiding towers outside the stadium to strengthen the roof. Ruben Look that there is some steel cables on the tower. Claúdio Silva As you see, the stage is not elevated as I said before. Now they're putting all the line arrays (more than 10 I read) and all the lights.

City Hall publishes photos Olympic Park 99% completed Olympic Park in images taken in June 2016 (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Missing just over a month for the start of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the City Government announces new Olympic Park photo gallery, in Barra da Tijuca. The site, considered the heart of the event and stage 16 Olympic sports and nine Paralympic, is already gaining the look that will get the world's best athletes from August 6, the first day of competition after the Opening Ceremony, On the eve. The works in the Olympic Park reached 99% completion. It is also now possible to see temporary structures like the Super Store of Rio 2016, large tents to support sports facilities and the Aquatic Stadium pool heating. Aquatic Stadium Pool heating Olympic Park (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Last Sunday, the city handed the Rio 2016 Committee the only facility that was missing, the Velodrome. In addition to this arena and Water Stadium, the Olympic Park is home to the Tennis Center, the Arena of the future, the three Arenas Cariocas, the International Broadcast Centre (IBC), the Main Press Center (MPC) and the hotel. In Tennis Center, the installation of temporary grandstands of 5000 seats arena is at an advanced stage. The facility will also house the paralympic tennis and football 5. The Olympic Park was built by two partnerships. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the city and the Rio dealership More, allows the construction and maintenance (for 15 years) the infrastructure of the Olympic Park, the Arenas Cariocas 1, 2, and 3, the MPC, IBC, the hotel and the infrastructure of the village of Athletes, which was also raised in Barra. To enable the construction of other facilities - Aquatic Stadium, Tennis Centre, Velodrome and Future Arena -, the city signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Federal Government. The Union contributed the resources and the municipality, through RioUrbe and Municipal Olympic Company, was responsible for the execution of works. Velodrome Rio Olympics in 2016 (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Olympic Park Tennis Center (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Aquatic Stadium Olympic Park (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Arenas Cariocas Olympic Park (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Center court of the Olympic Park Tennis Center (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Olympic Park in photo taken in June 2016 (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Arena Future, home of handball and goalball (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Maria Lenk Aquatic Park, the Olympic Park (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) MPC and Hotel Olympic Park (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) Olympic Park in June 2016 (Photo: Renato Sette Hall / City Hall) https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fgloboesporte.globo.com%2Folimpiadas%2Fnoticia%2F2016%2F06%2Fprefeitura-do-rio-divulga-fotos-do-parque-olimpico-praticamente-pronto.html&edit-text=&act=url

Luiz Eduardo Noleto

It seems like Rio 2016 reputation is ruined in USA as one of the nation's top tv show reports this..

Let's just hope and pray those 'someones' don't turn out to be Johnson and Farage! The frightening thing is that the majority of the country seems to have turned to THEM for political leadership in the last few days!!!

requebram dancers to the rhythm of "small step" funk carioca in a tent. In a climbing wall outdoors, dancers rehearse precise movements. parkour athletes (urban sport to overcome obstacles) are oriented to give risky jumps amid a complex choreography on an imaginary stage. With headphones, each member listens to his music and the instructions of the choreographers. To the casual observer, everything happens almost in silence, broken by the sound of cars and trains neighborhood. As montassem a huge puzzle, hundreds of artists and volunteers rehearse daily in secrecy, all details of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio, most media spectacle of the competition. The hearing scheduled for the show is nearly 1 billion viewers on television in more than 150 countries. The Maracana, the ceremony stage, will be 46,000 people, including guests and paying. Folha had access to the backstage and followed on Thursday (23) for three and a half hours the tests. The venue for the training is a former military area of 39,000 square meters (equivalent to 18 football fields) overlooking the stadium, in northern Rio. "This is a military organization played by artists. We have to get the best of both worlds for everything to work on August 5 [date of the opening of the Olympics]," says Leonardo Caetano, Ceremonies Director of Rio-2016. He is responsible for coordinating a legion of almost 12 000 actors, dancers and extras, plus thousand producers of 30 nationalities involved in the event. The festival attractions are kept secret. Caetano Veloso, Carlinhos Brown and Arnaldo Antunes are some quoted to sing on the show. Designed to last nearly four hours, the opening of the Games is directed by Fernando Meirelles, Andrucha Waddington and Daniela Thomas and wants to tell the formation of Brazilian society in order to show that immigration is positive. The script is a synthesis of popular culture packed by the vigorous rhythm of Brazilian music, with choreography created by Deborah Colker. Samba must occupy almost 20% of the ceremony. Percussionists of Rio's samba schools batteries will join the party. Without the same luxury of the Beijing-08 and-12 London Games, event directors intend to surprise the audience with "mass choreography" enthralled by the volunteers at the Maracana lawn. With six ceremonies of Olympics in his career, the American Steve Boyd is responsible for replicating to all the show's cast choreography devised by Colker. Sustainability is one of the show's focus. "The strength of our ceremony will be working with more people and fewer things and props. Because when the party ends, things generate waste," explained Leonardo Caetano ISOLATION The "Olympic Broadway" runs from 9 am to about 23h daily. There, the excitement is constant since May. Despite rampant in and out, the place is an almost deserted area of the city, squeezed between the train station Maracana and the Morro da Mangueira. To maintain isolation, producers closed space with fences over three meters that prevent the eyes of the curious. The peak time is early evening when hundreds of volunteers arrive to test their choreographies. On Thursday, about 800 participated in the training. Everyone involved signed a confidentiality agreement, which provides for heavy fines (undisclosed amount) in case of breach of contract. At the entrance, they get the keys of the cupboards and the receiver, used to listen to the messages of choreographers. Then receive snacks and identification vests. In a huge tent, volunteers attend a lecture before heading to a huge asphalt track. There, the two producers designed Maracana lawn replicas. Full of markings, the track turns into a stage where different groups rehearse the choreography. "The phones serve not to disturb the other groups. Imagine every type of music being played for all these groups at the same time. Everyone would come out goons here," joked Caetano. "Other than that, these devices give us more time to work at night without disturbing and draw the attention of neighbors," he added. Experienced in Olympic ceremonies, Italian Sara Berutto says the secret to the success of the event is "this addition of small jobs that in the end makes the show." "Solidarity is here. We need the person delivering the key of the cabinets, the one that puts the chairs in the meeting room. If these people are not valued, the show does not come out at the end," said the Italian in Turin, manager cast of volunteers. AIR CLOSED SPACE The careful not to leak the details of the party so much that the organizers managed to Anac's approval to close the airspace of the Maracana in a radius of one kilometer. About two months helicopter recorded the first changes inside the stadium. A stage has being building there. The stage is getting set design and special light. "Our intention is to surprise the spectator. We want the fans get there and find a Maracanã completely different," said Caetano, who also coordinates the Olympics closing ceremony and the other two of Paralympics. This month, the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes (PMDB), said it needs R$ 250 million to fund the four ceremonies. He asked for help to the interim president Michel Temer. Source:http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/esporte/olimpiada-no-rio/2016/06/1786290-ensaio-para-abertura-da-rio-16-tem-fones-para-dancarinos-e-sigilo-absoluto.shtml "In a climbing wall outdoors, dancers rehearse precise movements." Deborah Colker dancers in a "clibing wall". Maybe are we going to see something like this? Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6GkCjcZ5RA

I'm still reeling from the chaos. I voted remain in the hope the UK could contribute to the EU reform process which is now inevitable. It's such a shame we've put ourselves in this hideous position. There is something stirring in the UK but it's not faccism. The political parties as we know them are finished. The conservatives don't realise it yet but they're finished. The Labour Party is also finished and is in the midst of committing suicide as I write. The truth is people are waiting for someone to inspire some kind of authentic and manageable change but we're stuck with the most mediocre set of politicians anywhere in the western world. I guess Europe is frustrated but there's no point in talking to a country that is so schizophrenic at the moment.

While I mostly agree, I think it's also all relatively speaking. In this case, for instance, no the USOC is not looking at this (2024 bid) as a form to keep them in the 'conversation' to go with "another city" for 2028, as what was how the initial poster framed the question. If L.A. loses 2024, the USOC most undoubtedly would go with them again for 2028, for all the reasons already discussed in this thread. But let's remember that Atlanta 1996, in the eyes of the USOC at that time at least (cuz of course the Atlanta bid committee thought otherwise), were not expecting to win that one. Back in 1990, the 1996 bid was looked upon by them as somewhat of a "dry run" (& in that instance I can see that they just wanted to be in the "conversation" for 2000 &/or 2004). Los Angeles 1984 being VERY recent back in 1988 when the 1996 bid first first got launched, & Athens claiming "the rights" for the Centennial, & back then Atlanta being the "backwater" town that no one else really ever heard of, especially outside the U.S., no, the USOC didn't think that they were "in it to win" that one, & were very well surprised (as was virtually everyone else) when they did. That's why to this day the anomoly that was Atlanta 1996 was & always will be the red-headed stepchild that defied all the odds to finally get to wear that glass slipper. Or in this case, the gold medal. Maybe the USOC should revised that strategy since it seems they get the results they ultimately want when they do.

I think after the 2026 race (the IOC most likely will go anywhere besides Asia for those winter games) Almaty should definitely bid for another one. So long as they continue to bid on hosting other events to improve their hosting experience the IOC will certainly take them into consideration. I think 2030, with 2034 being more ideal, is their best shot. If they end up building a permanent sliding venue before they bid on a games, then that's an expense they won't have to add to their budget for future bids.