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RuFF, there's plenty of really smart people on these forums that have been studying the games for years. I've had many an enjoyable talks with them and they've taught me a lot. If you want to have intellectual discussions with them, be more civil in your discourse and I'm positive others will respond in same. A lot of the members here have valid insight to the games and they want, just as you do, for their insights and opinions to be heard and recognized. With regards to Paris, I understand your point about Paris, given its government funding, to potentially become a show of vanity. However, I would point to both Sydney 2000 and London 2012 as examples where games with government funding did not turn in to Beijing like vanity games. Cost overruns in both of those games was a result of underestimating costs and major infrastructure projects; in both cases the governments tried to reign in spending. I expect the same to happen in Paris. France is not in a good economic position and the French people would not respond well to their government spending billions and billions on the games. Additionally, as others have pointed out, many of the projects that will be completed for the games were already in the works. Many infrastructure improvements have been planned since the last days of the Sarkozy administration. While Paris' organizing structure runs the risk of potentially unnecessary cost-overruns (vanity), I don't think in this current economic climate it will happen. Paris also has a much better sporting infrastructure than London did in 2012. It was one of the reasons most people thought Paris would beat London during the 2012 race in '05. Since then Paris' infrastructure has only improved.

Look who's back?!? You sure got out of Charlotteville really fast, Truff. Anyway, back to the topic -- uhmmm, bringing the Games back to Paris will create several thousand jobs, even though those might average out to be 1.5 years each -- still that's employment for probably many young French people.

Thought I was missing something interesting that there were a bunch of new replies here. Should have known better than the real reason was because it has returned. Too bad, was kinda hoping it was gone for good. Not worth trying to rationalize with it though, especially since there's no longer a Paris versus LA comeptition going on. Yet it still is trying to make a case against Paris, as if that makes a difference at this point. 1 point though that needs to be fact-checked.. No, you can't say that, because it's not true. The plans for what will become the village were going ahead anyway, which is why they said only 2024 would work for an Olympic bid. That said, don't see why that needs to be brought up. The Olympics are happening in Paris. So whether or not the village would have been built is moot at this point. But whatever. This is why it's no longer worth replying to it. I digress to less ignorant posts (which precludes replying to paul as well).. I've hit on this before because until I had read a couple of articles like this, I wouldn't have thought to draw parallels between the `84 Olympics and the civil unrest in LA in the early 90s. Don't know how much the 2 are connected, but it does bring up a point that anti-Olympics folks may not be wrong about. Even with all the private funding and the investments from wealthy corporations and individuals, who stands to benefit from a successful Olympics? No one would dispute the positive legacies that the `84 games left LA and Southern California that still continue to be felt these days. But at a time in this country where there's a divide between the haves and the have nots, the argument can be made that something like the Olympics will increase that divide. No one here would dispute the non-Olympic dependent infrastructure projects going on in LA that are in place to benefit the population (although to be fair, now there is an Olympics on the calendar, so that element of any long-term project could become a consideration), but then what are the citizens of Los Angeles getting out of the $5 billion being spent? Is that the best use of their time and money? A lot of good would come out of an Olympics, but for whom? Still a fair question to ask if there will be people who don't benefit from the Olympics and the answer is probably a resounding yes. So yea, maybe I'm playing devil's advocate a little bit here. Assessing the situation, 2028 and Los Angeles are about as good a bet to host an Olympics in this country as we're likely to get in the foreseeable future, so it not then, than when. In the interests of being fair and balanced, it's not unfair to bring both the potential positives and the negatives to the table. And yea, we can - and likely will - do the same thing with Paris. But fortunately, there's another thread devoted to that. There's no longer a competition where 1 has to be chosen over the other, so comparing 1 to the other almost seems like a self-defeating prophecy at this point. Time will tell what history says about their respective Olympics.

More then two years after the close of the games, there is still drama around the stadium built to host football. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/ticats-soccer-1.4247402

Damn Baron. I've been on this board for four years now and this hands down was the best roast I've read here. Way to go.

My starting point was of course the city itself. St. Petersburg is cultural capital and has rich cultural heritage, which includes palaces, cathedrals, churches, gardens, sculptures and monuments. From all this information I realized that I want logo who reflects the authenticity and the classic vibe of the city. I found out about the khokhloma- Russian wood painting style and national ornament, which is known for its vivid flower patterns, and the effect it has when applied to wooden tableware or furniture, making it look heavier and metal-like. I want the athletes who will come to the olympics to feel the same thing on them- to be tougher and stronger like metal. To create more connection to the olympics, I chose to use the olympic flame, which represent the inner fire of any athlete, their passion and energy.

I agree, but the public perception against the Olympics is too strong because of the evidence in the likes of Sochi, Rio, Athens. And I think the opponents of an Olympics in the likes of Calgary, Sion, and Innsbruck would point to the proposed budgets of an Olympic host and then the actual budget. In an era where the public is highly skeptical of public spending, it's hard to see how simply pointing to Paris and LA would be enough to win over public opinion

It certainly has. I'm pleased to say that I'm still feeling my Pan Am buzz.

2 yeas since the Opening Ceremony! Time has flown by!!

For anyone interested the full video of the Parapan Opening and Closing ceremonies are now up on youtube. Opening Closing:

Its exactly one year since the games opened! Time flies!