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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/08/2023 in all areas

  1. Hi everyone! I hope you missed me hehehe. I haven't posted in a long time here but I HAD to come here and talk about this. It's been two days since the Pan Am Games ended in Santiago and I feel so emotional about this event. Sure, I always wanted the Pan Ams to be finally held in Santiago after so many failed attempts, but... they weren't the Olympics. Good but not great, right? And Santiago hosted the South American Games a few years ago and it was okay, but nothing spectacular. But omg we, as a nation, had such a great time. I'm not sure if it was because the Pan Ams are something else (not the Olympics but close enough), because they were so well organized or just because we needed an event like this to heal after the 2019 social unrest, the pandemic and a polarized and confrontational society. I feel, after these amazing weeks, that the Pan American Games united the country and made us feel like these rough four years are gone. Who knows if this will be maintained after the Para Pan Am Games end but you can only hope. ----- The Games itself were a joy. Most of the venues were amazing and, although the National Stadium is clearly an outdated venue, it was okay. I moved two months ago to a new apartment less than a kilometre from the National Stadium so I could even see from my balcony the rehearsals of the opening and some medal ceremonies. I walked every day last week there to see a different event and I had so much fun. The people were enjoying everything and it was amazing to see sports that you have no idea about but still be able to talk about them with a stranger next to you and support athletes you've never heard before. On the good side, Chile clearly demonstrated that we can host big events. Besides small problems, the new venues and the city infrastructure worked perfectly. There was a great atmosphere and you could see the political support needed to make the Pan Am Games succeed. I read somewhere that approx. 1.5 million people attended the Games, three times more than in Lima 2019. And how could anyone not mention Fiu, the mascot and star of the Games. Everyone loves Fiu now and if someone asks if he should be in our flag, it will be approved unanimously. I can't even mention how many souvenirs and collectables I bought... the only thing I can mention is that I'm seriously thinking about tattooing it myself (and I know people who have done it haha). Obviously, not everything is perfect. The opening and closing ceremonies weren't really good... but, honestly, who really cared about them? I'm pretty sure the only country where it was broadcasted was Chile so I don't think spending a lot of money would have made any sense. And I do think we missed the opportunity to bring back some winter sports, at least as an exhibition event. ----- Sure, after the success of Santiago 2023, a lot of people are raising the idea of applying for the 2036 Summer Olympics (even the organizing committee and the official Twitter account mentioned it) but I personally think we still have a long run before that. A new National Stadium, more modern and twice its size, is something that we need already... but besides that, I think all the current venues are appropriate for a city like Santiago. To get the Olympics we will probably need to enlarge most of those venues and they will become white elephants. And, still, I don't know if we have enough political relevance to defeat a bid from Turkey, China, India or some country in Europe. I do think that we can start thinking bigger. I've mentioned several times the idea of the Winter Olympics and the Pan Am Games proved that we could do it for sure. It's not as expensive as the Summer Olympics and we have the city infrastructure for sure, but there are other problems for the Winter Olympics (the schedule, the lack of snow due to climate change, etc.). Another alternative could be the YOGs. Also, President Boric has confirmed that Santiago will apply to host the 2027 Special Olympics. ---- I joined this forum I think around 15 years ago. I remember I was still in school. And, if someone asked me why I joined this forum... I wouldn't have an answer. I guess just because I loved watching flags and men playing sports. Now it is because I've never seen my city as vibrant, happy and energized as with the Pan American Games and I can't wait till I can see something like this again.
    2 points
  2. Marseille has more logic if they want to keep the PACA region in the bid. There's le Grand Palais, le Palais de la Méditerranée and if possible expanding the omnisports Palace. Also, Marseille is more direct linked by TGV to Lyon and then Grenoble than Nice.
    1 point
  3. i thought you knew about this lol however I do now realize that the orientation of the field in the USC renderings is different than the orientation shown in the LA28 renderings and how it is now which is interesting and slightly confusing
    1 point
  4. That's why I was thrown off when I posted on the previous page that the orientation of the rendering was all wrong vis-a-vis the Uytengsu. So, it looks like from the LA28 rendering, they've turned it around already and the "roofed" portion of the stands (for the working press desks, I imagine) will now be facing west??
    1 point
  5. Just found this on Twitter, this was announced back in June.. So based on that, they are completely rebuilding the baseball stadium and they're going to reverse the orientation of the field. Right now, the field faces northwest. In this new configuration, it will face mostly to the east, towards the existing Uytengsu Aquatics Center. I think the moral of the story here is that they could have done any or all of this without the Olympics being there. But now they can basically tell LA2028 "do whatever you want with this space" and then they're ready for all the brand new construction afterwards
    1 point
  6. This sketched overlay might help to orientate the actual photo of Dedeaux Field with the LA2028 venue concept diagram: Yellow lines - temporary grandstands aligned with the two pools Blue - diving and swimming competition pools Compare to the concept diagram belowcfrom the Organising Committee: Red lines - baseball field of play (for orientation only) Yellow lines - temporary grandstands aligned with the pools
    1 point
  7. Fencing 1976 yesterday basically all but killed German ambitions (surprise surprise…) by saying at a discussion in Stuttgart a German bid can only be considered if anyone accredited by the IOC is guaranteed to enter the country. This of course aims at the German govt beng at odds with the IOC/Russia policy and declaring some time ago they would not give visa for Russian/Belarusian athletes for sports competitions here (some -oh the irony! - fencing events were already moved because of that). Given Bach‘s and the IOC’s „popularity“ at home, there will not be much appetite from politics to change this just to appease Big Leader. At the same event (not a sports discussion, but a legal forum!), Fencing 1976 (a lawyer!) said when asked about the obviously orchestrated calls from IOC members to extend his term: Rules will always be broken - there‘s laws against burglary and people still do it. (His own comparison!!!) And all discussion about that particular rule just started but would be held internally and fully transparent (oxymoron is not a word known to him I guess, or maybe just the second part of it). As long as that guy and his gang have anything to say, there will never again be German Olympics clearly.
    0 points
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