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Hello friends of GamesBids. It has been 5 years since I last posted here and at that time much of my life was in a mess: wife had cancer, problems at my job that caused me deep depression, among others. At that time I realized that if I stayed here reading the forums it would ruin the joy of receiving the Olympic Games in my beloved hometown of Rio. So I decided to simply avoid GamesBids Forums. I decided to face the lots of problems of my life and also enjoy my dream. I don't regret. Fortunately, my wife's cancer was cured in 2017 and I'm still treating my depression (it got much worse in mid-2017 and every day has been a battle since then). About the Olympics? I think you guys agree with me: It's the best event in the planet and Rio 2016 was perfect. For me it was. Rio and Brazil had, have and will have problems (just like all countries, some more, other less). But as I pointed above, we must face problems and enjoy life when possible. Rio did it. I did it. And unfortunately I couldn't did it here with some many "POVs" ruining my experience. During the years at the Forums I made a very special friend, Martin from Germany. He came to Rio 2016, we went to Maracanãzinho together watch female volleyball, he stayed few days at my home and it was one of the best days of my life. Martin is truly a gentleman and a special human being. He told me some members of the forums were in Rio. I wish I could have met all of them to have fun and show a little bit of the city. I was not invited to the rendervouz and that's really okay. Somehow this was/is a club of friends and I was never part of the club... "Danny is too sensitive to critics". You are right. Maybe I was to certain extent. But anyway it doesn't matter anymore. For those who came to Rio 2016, I truly hope you enjoyed at least one second of your stay. If you smiled once in Rio I'm happy. Smiles are more special than I thought before depression and smiles are the most pure expression of our souls. During the last 5 years I missed all the logo competitions, all the inappropriate bid contests, some jokes, some good talk, but I never missed some bad times we had here. Thankfully now it's past and no hard feelings. :) I waited 5 years to write this post. I waited the end of Tokyo Games so now Rio is past, Tokyo is past too. Right time to say something without Rio games in the mirror. I want to thank you for a great opportunity on understanding different cultures, to understand different backgrounds, to learn much of the English skills I have today (still not fluent). You guys helped me a lot with English! You guys also helped me a lot in the other fandom I'm part now. The "international mindset" that I learned here was a keypoint in my 5-year role as a chairman of an international event held annually in Brazil and respected abroad. Thank you! It was also a great opportunity to prove myself that we must focus in good things of life. It's way better than spend time trying to show other people with pre-existing judgements that things can be a little bit different. To show that maybe I was right to be happy about something we share the passion - Olympic Games. But Olympic Games in a different place, a place I love. To all those who read this letter, my respect and best wishes of good luck. To those few ready to write harsh words in the comments, my respect and best wishes of good luck too. To GBMod, thank you for everything in the past and I hope IOC bring back the bid process. It was much better. Greetings from Brazil (and Brazil continues a very amazing and beautiful place as always), Danny PS: Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony still the best after 5 years. Change my mind - lol

I love the idea of having the opening ceremony of 2024 in the middle of Paris. Heck, if your setting is Paris, why wouldn't you?! That whole area with the esplanade leading from right under the tower, the bridge, then that big square where the handover was looks like such an amazing venue, and the whole idea of transforming the ceremony into a street or river parade feels so perfectly French somehow. It'll scream THIS IS PARIS far more than anything they could do inside the Stade de France.

And now it has come to this: 16 days have flown by, as usual, and the Tokyo 2020 Games which took place in 2021 will be coming to a close about 12 hours from now. So, in order to continue the tradition, I am very curious about your verdict about these Olympic Games. Here are my two pennies worth: The organisation and atmosphere Of course this is a tough verdict to make - not only because (like everyone of you, I suppose) I watched the Games only from home but also because these Games took place under extraordinary circumstances. There was almost no crowd that could cheer and applaud for the athletes, there was hardly a glimpse (even for the TV viewer) into the host country and how it soaked up the Olympic atmosphere (or not), there were just venues and athletes, officials and the logistics and staff to make the Games work. But judging by what I heard and read from people who were able to witness the Games in person, they were truly impressed by the quality of the venues, the organisation and (when they were able to meet Japanese people in person at all) the friendliness and kindness of the hosts. And I must say that the athletic performances made it surprisingly easy most of the time to forget that hardly any audience was present at the venues. But I can hardly imagine how odd it must have felt for the Japanese to play host to a sports event they could mostly watch only from a distance. We all know about the large opposition in Japan against staging these Games at all or at least in this moment of time - and I have nothing but respect for Japan that they were forced to stage the Games due to the will of the IOC and their own government, had to swallow their fear or anger and still helped to make these Games a relative success, under these tough circumstances. Of course: These Games are still facing a rather mixed response in the Japanese population even despite the mostly smooth organisation and the many Japanese medals, but this could have turned out so much worse. I guess the IOC can call itself lucky to have awarded these difficult Games to Japan where protests traditionally tend to be not too big and too controversial or even violent. There were still clear downsides, though: The hot and humid weather was a problem to many athletes, it harmed many of their performances and even posed a serious risk to their health. In 1964, the organisers of the first Tokyo Games still were honest enough to stage the Games in October. 57 years later, we have to deal with an organising committee which already claimed in its bid that July and August are a pleasant time for world-class sports activities in Tokyo and which even "forgot" that due to climate change, Sapporo is no cooler alternative for staging the race-walking and marathon events anymore. One also has to raise some doubts about the anti-doping measures at these Games - not only due to the alarmingly small number of doping tests taken worldwide especially during the start of the pandemic, but also due to the laxness shown during the Games. A German camera team showed how, despite the rules, athletes could walk around the venue for many minutes after their events and although they had been selected for a doping test, were left unaccompanied by officials or were even able to ignore them. This should never happen at Olympic Games that were marked by a surprising number of world and Olympic records and after all the doping scandals we have already witnessed, this should not even happen at a smaller sports event. The sports Bearing this in mind, it's easy and hard at the same time to rejoice in the excellent athletic performances we could witness at these Games. I feel bad about a Russian team ranking 4th (as of now) in the medal table after the huge doping scandal and the government's unapologetic stance towards critical media and observers worldwide. I feel bad about athletes shattering world records hailing from a time decades ago when illegal medication was probably already fueling those records. And yet, I felt amazed yet again by stories of athletes overcoming heavy obstacles (let alone by the pandemic) and giving their best and maybe even winning a medal in Tokyo, especially in that weather and atmosphere. I'm happy about the host country's strong showing after all the troubles Japan went through in the lead-up to these Games. I'm also happy that these Games had the most medalling nations in Olympic history. I'm surprised (or should I, when I think about doping again?) that the US have such difficulties surpassing China in the medal table (if one uses the international method of counting the gold medals first), but that probably shows that even for former sports powerhouses, it has become a lot tougher to maintain their status and not fall victim to the increased international competition. I'm not so happy about my own country's showing in these Games, though. Team Germany has lost many of its former powerhouses: The rowing and canoeing produced surprisingly few medals and for the first time in 25 years, Germany hasn't won a single medal in any ball team sport. Yet again, Germany is having a discussion about how to fund and prepare our athletes adequately for such an important event. Adding to that, the German athletes were unlucky: Annika Schleu lost her very good chance for a gold medal in the modern pentathlon because her horse refused - and created a debate about animal protection and unlogical rules in sports. Jonathan Horne was deemed a strong contender in Karate and seriously injured his arm five seconds before the end of his second fight. Johannes Vetter, another gold contender in the men's javelin throw, could not deal with the unusually soft track at Olympic Stadium, stumbled and failed to deliver any good throw. On the other hand, Sarah Köhler and Florian Wellbrock were able to break the 13-year-old "no Olympic swimming medals for Germany" spell and sailing and wrestling produced surprisingly good results, compared to previous Games. In the end, Germany can call itself lucky if it remains one of the Top 10 sports nations in the long run - and has to seriously increase its efforts in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Games. The overall impression So, this is clearly a mixed bag. These were definitely not the best Games ever - which is no surprise probably, regarding the unusual circumstances. They haven't been a disaster either. But, just like the Rio 2016 Games, I still feel as if these Games took place at the wrong location and the wrong time. Yes, it was great for the athletes that they still got their chance to compete and for me it was a welcome distraction from these dire times. Yes, Japan has showed once again that it is highly capable of staging the biggest sports events in the world. But Japan has had and will have to pay an enormous price for this luxury item called "Olympic Games". While these Games have brought a lot of distraction and even joy to me, they haven't distracted my thoughts about the Olympic Idea fighting for its survival. In times of over-commercialisation, greed, corruption and doping in sports, climate change and increasing opposition against the Olympic Games, one has to ask how long this can work. Six months from now, when Beijing welcomes the world for the Olympic Winter Games, this question will probably be even more prominent, because then we will have to add China's repressions and poor human rights record to that unappetizing mix. Under these circumstances, I can sadly only give Tokyo a "Well done" or 6 out of 10 points. Tokyo and Japan are not or only partially responsible for the problems the sports world and the entire humanity have to face right now, but it could also not give the world a light of hope. Tokyo brutally confronted us with everything that is wrong on our planet right now. I will always feel sorry for the Japanese people that they had to take that burden and could not show their full potential as hosts at these Games, due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The brilliant handover in Rio five years ago showed what could have been. Just like the already rather jagged opening ceremony showed: It wasn't meant to be. Here's hoping that Paris can be host under different circumstances in 2024. Otherwise, humanity and also the IOC will be seriously screwed. Nevertheless: Arigato, Tokyo - arigato, Nippon!

Fully free to read, properly translated page: https://aramajapan.com/news/tokyo-2020-opening-ceremony-original-plan-leaks-in-full/114631/ This other Reddit thread that came up overnight is interesting too: Seems like Dentsu and that particular man in charge, Mori are more to blame than Covid - sounds like Japan's famous (and often admirable) respect for elders went rather too far if the OP of that thread is right. Is there also a bit of misogyny involved with some top level decision makers at places like the organising committee and Dentsu, that's twice that an innovative major proposal by a woman has been dumped for much more staid male replacement. Admittedly that was just as well with the impossible stadium but this is such a shame.

For those of you who are interested in what I have been up to since my last visit here: 1. I did a lot of growing up and sorting out my life 2. I got a new job 3. I found my soulmate and got married last year under COVID restrictions 4. I have not been back to Scotland for 7 years - was planned for 2020 but COVID hit 5. I have a beard - part of being older and wiser 6. I still love the Olympics

You also got the memo about making a comeback my friend. Glad things with your wife's health came good but sad to hear you are still. having a hard time with some stuff - stay strong man Hopefully you will be up for a logo battle in December - I sure am.

Fair enough. Sure there’s exceptions, but on the whole I just think we don’t really treat the anthem as hand on heart sacredly as the Americans - as I said we joke that hardly anyone even knows the words. Just as you don’t see flags out the front of homes as is common in front of many US homes. Getting the southern cross tattooed on you these days is seen by most as borderline fascist. The most patriotic I’ve ever felt, and I’ve felt a crowd to be, was the night before Sydney 2000 opened, and thousands of us were at Sydney Town Hall to see the flame’s penultimate stop. And an Aussie folk singer, Slim Dusty, played Waltzing Matilda on guitar and everyone, all the thousands, joined in with gusto. THAT was emotional. It touched a core. I don’t think our anthem carries that type of emotion for us.

Paris has a river as well as streets!

/\/\ Why do you keep HIJACKING other threads with Sydney stuff? WHy can't you at least give some respect to the topic of this thread - Paris 2024's Handover portion -- and do your Sydney stuff elsewhere? Now, a few questions about the music for the Paris 2024 preview? What is all this hullaballoo about Woodkid's "composition"? They used La Marseillaise throughout; how can that have been Woodkid's "work"? Another scam??

A few thoughts... I dislike Bach's signature of Fencing 1976 as much as the next guy. However, I'd like to think it's a way to relate to the athletes, like "hey I'm an Olympian too." In addition to my hatred of projection mapping, I am not a fan of augmented reality at all. The ceremonies are for the athletes and local spectators, not for the viewers at home. All of this made-for-tv stuff is annoying and cheap. Also it was a copy of Dream Rings from Beijing 2008. The Handover was nice for what it was. Was nothing like Tokyo in 2016 which was the best handover. I'm not sure how I feel about this idea of ceremonies not in stadia and bringing them into the streets. If its not broke, then why fix it?

Who else noticed Mothra attached itself to the red ring on the speech podium?

This article is time limited (not sure for how long) but it's the full MIKIKO proposal that got tossed. Such a different ceremony it could have been. https://bunshun.jp/denshiban/articles/b1486

Once again the athletes did what they needed to do and the competitions were good. HOWEVER it is hard to judge from the looks. We don't know what went on behind the scenes. We don't know the full picture about the billions of dollars waste (even before covid). We don't know why so many people quit the organizing committees. These things tell me the games did not go as well as people imagine. I am stunned at how biased the MEDIA has been about Japan. For example, did you see the pollution of the water in Tokyo's bay? So much dirtier and smellier (according to witnesses) than in Rio, but the last Olympics got much more trash talk. And the fear mongering about zika last time? This time I see NO journalism concern about athletes bringing fresh covid variants home. In Australia, we have hotel quarantine which should take care of it, but how about the countries that don't? I also didn't see the media giving the wider population a chance to express themselves. I still don't know if the narrative that the majority rejected the games is true or if most people actually wanted it (think of those hundreds gathered on a bridge trying to catch the BMX, or the many apologising for the terrible ceremonies). I think Japan could have allowed attendance to the stadia with proper social distancing as they are not in lockdown, but they sacrificed the local's involvement in order to look "responsible" to the rest of the world. It's bullshit. Therefore, the media once again takes the medal for narrative fabrication (in this case, positive for the Japanese government), and the country will leave unscathed from much criticism. Especially after the crappy ceremonies (worst ever). If it had been Rio, the media would have called it a disaster. But to them (and to us in the receiving end), Tokyo is fine. These Olympics highlighted the persisting prejudice and privilege. These Games will be forever elitist.

Just crawled out of bed again after watching the live coverage of the ceremony. The replay is on again at 4pm Calgary time. Just got off the phone with my parents as they've been watching the games everyday. My parents too think that the IOC should go back to Tokyo and give them a chance, 2032 would've been good, but Brisbane. So, we're in full support of going back after Brisbane and if the Japanese would except it, Tokyo 2036!

Must not cry....

I understand the desire to downscale the Ceremonies after COVID, but to be brutally honest they didn't even try....I am really shocked how a creative powerhouse like Japan can present itself to the world like it did at the Opening and Closing. I have been to school concerts with better staging, lighting, music and emotion. The Games themselves were a triumph of the near impossible. I feel sad- I have been to Japan 5 times, learnt the language etc... I dont like to criticise them... but that what a chat site is about.

Or just integrate the two and have 3 or so weeks of just all sport and two amazing spectacular ceremonies

I feel sad for the people of Tokyo. Very expensive games, high expectations turn out to be disappointments in terms of ceremony execution and empty stadia. Let's see what Tokyo taxpayers will say when the bill comes up.

I strongly disagree. Tokyo's handover in 2016 was superb, and if they'd trusted the same team for the 2021/1 opening ceremonies they could have achieved something truly special

I don't. The darkness gives the ceremonies a more intimate feeling, and the fireworks and the Olympic Flame don't look impressive at daylight.

I watched parts of the 1992 men's football final in Barcelona yesterday on YouTube, and for the medal ceremony, they simply announced the then-IOC president as "Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, International Olympic Committee". Our pompous a** Thomas Bach could definitely take a leaf out of Samaranch's book.

There was enough controversy with him being in the opening ceremony because of public contempt with the event, and Japanese people take his role as being an unifying symbol of the nation very seriously. He had to avoid using words like "celebrating" in his opening speech in a similar way how the mexican president did in 1968 because Tletaloco Massacre was just a couple of days before the opening.

Great to see you here F! Thanks for starting this up. At least one tradition is still active! Hmm. What to say? I’ve been thinking about it a lot the past few days, but it’s still difficult. I don’t think I’m able to break them down as usual, or give ratings. These will forevermore be the Covid Games. A special circumstances. They’ll always have an asterisk next to them. They were not the joyous, celebratory, fun and quirky games the Japanese or we anticipated. They were not the utter disaster the alarmists, far more than usual, predicted. They didn’t hit any heights of greatness, but they in no way were a flop or failure. They just were. I think we all feel sorry they Japanese didn’t get the games they deserved or experience the joys of being host to the world’s biggest party. We’ll always wistfully wonder what might have been. But I think it’s important that they actually went ahead, despite our doubts on the wisdom of doing so right up to the opening ceremony. On ceremonies I won’t say anything. The ceremony fanatics have already said all there is to say to oblivion. The circumstances of Tokyo 2020 meant the laser focus was on nothing but the sports, and it reminded me just how much fun watching all these athletes from so many countries in so many different and novel sports can be. I had a blast again and really enjoyed them. Loved most of the new sports (only skateboard street was a bit underwhelming, and surfing wasn’t as picturesque as I thought it would be - I look forward to seeing surfing come into its own in Tahiti!). I suppose, to me, the only thing the sports lacked was a breakout star or legend. Maybe it would have been Simone Biles, except…. . But there was no Phelps or Bolt to leave their mark. I guess that while Rio was the crowning moment for the last generation of superstars, Tokyo is now the first step for the next generation, who’ll write their legacy in Paris and LA. For Australia, and for me personally, these were a Great Games! Our best ever gold haul, tied with Athens. Our swimmers came good, more than good, and we got some really special moments from the likes of Jess Fox in the kayak, Logan Martin in BMX Freestyle and Keegan Palmer in the skateboarding. We’ve been longing for a games like these since Athens and got it finally. And we got it a a perfect time - we are in a grim lockdown, a captive audience in need of some positive vibes, watching a successful Games for Oz in our own time zone. I suspect these have rated through the roof here and will have inspired a future generation of Aussie Olympians. Just perfect or us. The vaccine we really needed for the Covid blues. While on our local coverage… I have to give kudos to Channel 7, and the 7+ App. Meant I could, on my TV, switch to the OBS feeds of any sport. Finally I was able to flick through, watch anything I wanted, and catch up on sports I rarely get to see, even in highlights. Technology at work at its best. I really missed the GamesBids Games Carnival. I used to be such good fun and became part of my traditional Games experience. It’s a pity the board has declined so much, but nice to see so many of us at least look in. Most of us have moved on and bidding just isn’t really bidding any more. My heart’s not in it any more, but I’ll still keep looking in, at least to keep zapping the fake passports spam. Hope we’ll all bump into each other again come Paris. We’ll always have Paris. Ah, Paris! I really look forward to those games. Sooooo hope they run like a classic games and meet all expectations. Would love to attend, if circumstances permit. So, well done Tokyo! You didn’t drop the baton and while it wasn’t a party, we still had fun.

It’s not the creatives. They’re the only bits of interest I’ve had in ceremonies lately, and they seem to be getting less and less of the pie. I just blame my weariness with all the formalities and obligatory set pieces. I will just say that the creative sections were starting to get to a point of diminishing returns of one-upmanship and bombastity. And while I approve of the dialling back a bit since Rio, I acknowledge it’s meant a little loss in sheer spectacle and can see why it’s not pleasing to the hard core ceremony fans. For me it’s been the closing ceremonies that have been more enjoyable - less rigid, more joyous, creative and fun. For a long time now they’ve really been outshining the openings. I agree, but it seems the mere thought is upsetting to the ceremony die-hards.