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A slightly closer view of the Eiffel Tower Stadium which is progressing very quickly (and with nature returning to its green color!)

I am deeply concerned about the future of the Olympic movement as a whole because of the organization of Brisbane 2032. The Brisbane 2032 organization is in crisis at the moment, with the Queensland government supporting an agenda that makes the Olympics less of a generational opportunity that can harness infrastructure and capital for Brisbane’s benefit, but rather a cost cutting exercise that creates plans that only exist to be the cheapest option, not an option that harnesses the soul of Brisbane to make it a truly global city that is out for the better after the Olympics. The most egregious example of this is the move to hold athletics at QSAC, but the overall changes to cut multiple venues that would have had strong community legacy is worrisome as well. The constant debate occurring in Brisbane at the moment over this is damaging to the Olympic movement as a whole. The Olympic movement is not an afterthought, and I hate to see Brisbane go down the route of being a games of most convenience, where venues and plans are sacrificed for pure convenience. That convenience, however, does not allow Brisbane to use the moment to become a global city and come out of 2032 better for its residents. I don’t want the Olympics to be like this, something that is simply an afterthought and doesn’t change the core of cities for the better. Thank you for listening to my rant. Am I the only one who feels this way? Anyone who s disagrees with me?

Zeus demands IOC voting reforms, decries “fake”, “stolen” elections OLYMPIA, April 8, 2024 (NTONN): Reclusive former leader of the Olympian Pantheon, Zeus, has intervened in the current divisive and controversial International Olympic Committee presidential election campaign, calling for major reforms to the IOC electoral process to prevent another “stolen” election. The exalted one delivered his demands, which call for all future IOC elections at his held under his direct supervision at his temple at Olympia, Greece, via his earthly representative, Greek IOC member, Spyros Capralos. Zeus: “I’m smarter than Bach and Coates combined”. Picture: NTONN “Those pissants haven’t held a fair election in years. Sleepy Tom (Bach) and Crooked Coates couldn’t win a fair election if the were running for mayor of he Olympic Village. They think they’re smart, but I could wipe my marble floors with their innards,” the All Father said a a campaign rally alongside Capralos. ”Look at that Brisbane ‘election’. That was as fake and stolen as Donald Trump’s tan. Brisbane won fairly? My shiny gold, ivory and electrum arse it did! My arse sh!ts on that so-called ‘fair’ election,” he thundered. The tabled Mighty Zeus IOC Electoral Form Act 2024 proposes that all future IOC Executive Board Meetings and elections be held at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, under the aegis of the Merciful King of the Gods himself. All elections would be conducted by members casting their votes on pottery shards, or ostraki, which would then be carried in gilded vessels by the God’s priestess attendants to the Supreme Deity’s private quarters for his own complete and private scrutiny. Ostraki, or pottery shards, will be used to record IOC members’ votes ”I may require the sacrifice of a bull or two, or maybe even a virgin flame priestess, to interpret the results, but when I have ruled, you will know he results are just and fair,” the Wondrous One explained. ”In case of a tie, I will exhume Baron Pierre’s heart and read it for signs of the correct course.” Zeus said he would overrule any objections to his proposal by smiting “the craven traitorous arsehole with my divine lightning bolts”. ”If f**king Bach thinks he can usurp my throne with another term, he’ll learn the meaning of the term ostracism,” he decreed. Thomas Bach could not be contacted for comment. NotTheOlympicNewsNetwork

Q: then that would be quite serviceable "Brisbane, you have presented the world the most serviceable Games ever!"

The assembly of temporary infrastructure is progressing well. As for example with the Eiffel Tower Stadium:

oh you didn't know?

I would rather Italy first focus on actually figuring out how they're going to host the sliding events in less than 2 years before even thinking of another Olympic bid... (also, were they not interested on the 2028 YOGs? that would mean hosting three different Winter Olympics within 14 years!)

@sebastien1214 This is why

The utter irony in all of this is, if the IOC had not rushed in to anoint 2032 so rashly, they could've avoided a lot of this mess. They would've had plenty of time to vet everything & everyone properly, & then make a much more informed decision. But no, they had to quickly rush in & crown a smallish city with a dubious plan at best, all at a time when the world was in the grips of a global pandemic & thus dealing with the one year postponement of Tokyo 202One because of that. All the while, completely ignoring 2030, too. Go figure. But most us already know why that was anyway.

She put much better what I'd been saying about the original Gabba plan - it's a lot of money for not a lot of stadium. If you're going to spend a lot of money, get yourself a lot of stadium, because the current Gabba doesn't stack up against Perth or Adelaide, never mind the big two. And there shouldn't be anything wrong, even in the "New Norm" with a city that needs a new stadium whatever happens, & would like a high quality, large one to improve its standing, seeing the Olympics as a chance to get one & doing it. Without sounding too much like AF, I thought the New Norm was supposed to be about fitting new spending & building to the city, not just "don't spend anything". That's why that Archipelago proposal for 70k in Victoria Park really felt like the only one that truly made sense, and would fit the Olympics and Brisbane's ambitions - as I said before it's not like you're agonising over building something that won't get much use, any Brisbane Olympic Stadium that isn't the current daft plan will join Melbourne and Sydney as one of the most used of all Olympic Stadiums the moment it opens. Now they want to spend at least as much, possibly more, to get far less, and still need to eventually build a new Gabba anyway as even Hobart overtakes it...

Oh Queensland doesn't get embarrassed. You need a certain level of self awareness for that

Honestly - as a long term Brisbane resident (shudder) - this plan is fine. Just wait until the sexy, sexy QSAC renders come out. The only issue I see is transport. Still it's next to a major freeway, has the busway close. Trains are out as Banoon is a slog. Suncorp is a great stadium. It'll get a moderate capacity increase but will be a fine ceremony venue. They can easily hang cables, most seats are undercover and access is decent. I've rarely had dramas getting out of a concert/event there The Gabba plan was always stupid. The Brisbane Live plan across the rail lines was also fanciful. Just moving it North is.. fine. The white water stadium plans are diabolical though.

An interesting, IOC-centric, view of the situation: The dispute over Brisbane's Olympic stadiums could have implications for the future of the Games

Paradoxically, the Seine will probably be cleaner in 2024 than in 1924. Moreover, the ban on swimming in the Seine dates from... 1923. There was a time "not so long ago" when the Seine was truly the trash can of Parisians. Under Louis XIV for example, it was a horror. Over the past ten years, water quality has definitely improved as more and more species of fish have been seen returning to the river. But that doesn't mean that it has become completely swimmable. There is still work to be done. There will be a huge wastewater collector which will come into service in May, which will be used in particular for heavy rains (because when it rains too much; like now; the sewers overflow and dump everything into the Seine). There is also a vast program, still in progress, of connecting buildings to sewers (because yes, there are still buildings which today have a pipe system which discharges everything into the Seine). Afterwards, we can always debate, make predictions, but we will only really know what is going on on the D-Day. We know that it is possible that there will be days when the water quality is good; last summer, there were a few days where it was OK, even though everything was not in place. If there is an episode of drought (= no rain) during the Olympic Games, there is no reason for it to go badly. As for possible terrorists who would dump harmful substances there... I want to say that this is in any case a risk that arises during freestyle swimming events, regardless of the location chosen. There is no doubt that the authorities are thinking about it (I saw that there would also be "pollution control devices" planned but I don't see what that involves)

As you probably know because I've said before, as a non-Australian whose first Olympic memories are of Sydney, & who's well aware that even now they're still regarded as one of, if not the, best Games ever held, I find it utterly baffling if organisers & politicians in Brisbane really aren't talking or listening to the people who made Sydney happen. They're in the same country, & not only is their knowledge gonna be in the reports, transfers & archives of Sydney, many of them are still very much alive & willing to help directly... Even from afar, I know Queensland has a reputation for being a bit parochial but to not ask for advice when the chance is there to learn from the best?! Truly gaga (Also I'd have thought the private sector would be all over opportunities from this, even the stadium itself. Who wouldn't want to get involved in Olympic development in somewhere growing like Brisbane/GC is? You obviously know how to handle mixed-sector development...)

the casual obsessive transphobia apropos of nothing is certainly one reason gamesbids has never been more alive these days.

If you build it, I will come! Love, Taylor xxx

I'd be hesitant to call it a "model" at that point. Paris and LA were both low-build options, sure, but I'd say that was an (almost) inevitable corollary of giving the Games to two well-prepared megacities rather than the basis for the decision. The IOC massively lucked out in having Paris and LA wanting the Games when the options aside from them were threadbare. They had to nail them down. If Paris or LA or both were opting to build a London-style Olympic Park I reckon the IOC would've made exactly the same decision. The other reason I don't think it's a "model" at that point is because it's not replicable (and this is a point I've argued with many LA-boosters about with their overblown claims of "saving the Olympics"). Saying "do it like LA" is fine, but that means the venues need to already exist, and for most cities they don't. It's paradoxical nonsense calling a city blessed with 100% existing venues a "model" if that's of zero help to the cities that come after. I think it's much more arguable to say the change in model has come with 2032, and it's come from the IOC which is the only place it could come from to be sustainable and replicable. My concern is that maybe the pendulum has swung too far the other way?

No, we will stay in LA My mate there is Australian and now lives permanently in the US.

That dream was a premonition about 2032.

I really don’t give any credence that comes out of ITG these days. If it was the old crew - Duncan Mackay, Philip Barker and co - I’d certainly listen to what they said. But the current bots they’re using can’t even copy and paste coherently.

People are sometimes oblivious to emojis. But when making a joke, especially a sarcastic one, would probably be better to use this emoji instead of this one

The Engaged Dialogue stage will kick in when an interested party in the Ongoing Dialogue phase shows a level of seriousness that sets it apart from the other interested partiesView the full article

He is in truth my brother, mon frère Pierre Estanguet! It is très triste, very sad. We ‘ave been estranged for many years. I miss Mon chere brother!

First large-scale illustrated, eh? Woohoo! That unearthed a bonus! I’d thought I’d lost al my tickets from Sydney 2000 - ben looking for them for ages - but look what fell out from the covers as I pulled the volumes out of my bookshelf!

What I want to see: Germany. Ideally Rhein Ruhr but Munich would be fine - I can't see anywhere else trying but it's long past time for the new Germany to get its chance. Madrid could actually have its shot now too. Too soon for us, even if it's the north or Scotland. What I think will happen: India. Not against India hosting eventually on principle but I'd be much more enthused by Delhi or Mumbai than an Ahmedabad that'll just be Modi's 1936. Let's be real though, they're so connected already & everything happening seems to be leading to it, right down to cricket coming in - the only thing I can see might change it is if Bach either doesn't extend his term or he doesn't want to go more than the traditional 12 years between European hosts. That'd open Istanbul - or... What I fear could happen: Russia. I don't think Bach will ever let go of the hope that one day he will be able to give his boss the St Petersburg Summer games he all but promised. So I wonder if he will try to drag the bid race out in the hope that he'll be able to get away with a Russian Olympics after all if the current war ends. It would probably be the end of Western (especially European) participation in the Olympics - but I'm not sure Bach would really care. He'd probably try to wangle the Nobel Prize out of it...

i dont know if anyone's noticed but the Games-time website is now up: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024 (different from the OCOG website which is still https://www.paris2024.org/en/) the Olympics mobile app is now in Paris 2024 mode as well which is pretty cool

Sorry, but Aussie Kiwi’s Melbourne comparison was spot on, certainly in terms of the political dynamics feeding and driving the present state of organisational paralysis. As AK said, uncannily so. Melbourne, which promised a huge new stadium, dithered over costs, and eventually “settled” for an MCG revamp when they were backed into a corner - all the while stoking fears they weren’t going to pull it off. Wikipedia’s (it was the easiest to quickly access and quote) description is telling: “Many members of the IOC were sceptical about Melbourne as an appropriate site. Its location in the Southern Hemisphere was a major concern since the reversal of seasons would mean the Games must be held during the northern winter. The November–December schedule was thought likely to inconvenience athletes from the Northern Hemisphere, who were accustomed to resting during their winter.[citation needed] Notwithstanding these concerns, the field of candidates eventually narrowed to two Southern Hemisphere cities, these being Melbourne and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Melbourne was selected, in 1949, to host the 1956 Olympics by a one-vote margin. The first sign of trouble was the revelation that Australian equine quarantine would prevent the country from hosting the equestrian events.[2]Stockholm was selected as the alternative site, so equestrian competition began on 10 June, five and a half months before the rest of the Olympic Games were to open. The above problems of the Melbourne Games were compounded by bickering over financing among Australian politicians. Eventually, in March 1953, the State Government accepted a £2 million loan from the Commonwealth Government to build the Olympic Village, which would accommodate up to 6,000 people, in Heidelberg West. After the Olympics, the houses in the village were handed back to the Housing Commission for general public housing.[11] At one point, IOC President Avery Brundage suggested that Rome, which was to host the 1960 Games, was so far ahead of Melbourne in preparations that it might be ready as a replacement site in 1956. Construction of sporting venues was given priority over the athlete's village.[12] The village was designed as a whole new suburb with semi-detached houses and flats. For the first time both sexes were to reside in the same buildings, separated only by fence.[12] As late as April 1955, Brundage was still doubtful about Melbourne and was not satisfied by an inspection trip to the city. Construction was well under way by then, thanks to a $4.5 million federal loan to Victoria, but it was behind schedule. He still held out the possibility that Rome might have to step in.” Capetown2020 was also spot on describing the Montreal and Delhi comparisons as wildly inaccurate. As opposed to Montreal’s hubristic overspending or India’s systemic corruption, Brisbane’s travails are all at the door of penny-pinching politicians terrified of spending and prepared to sacrifice legacy for a parsimonious balance sheet, and so paralysed that both sides of the political divide are unwilling to commit to ANY decision for fear that whatever they said would be weaponised against them in a election year. Athens might be more apt… if we were just four years out, in 2028, and the situation hadn’t changed. We’ll have to wait to see on that. .

The irony that it's an Airbus plane, from the 2024 host country, & not a Boeing plane, from the 2028 host country. I know business is business, but still find it ironic.

Yeah, cities before had 7 years, but they also already had a plan ready to execute on day one of winning their respective bids. Brisbane, OTOH, is still fighting on what exactly to do. And for a smallish city slated to host the Olympics this century at a point when the Games themselves have only gotten bigger over the last 25 years, they also have the most work to do than any other recent Summer Olympic host, which calculates to no time whatsoever to be messing around still. They totally squandered their bonus years, & even other Aussies have admitted to that. It's good to be optimistic in life, but it's also very important to be realistic & not let clouded by certain blinders. And until Brisbane finally get their house in order, this is still going to be a roller coaster ride that will have all the parties involved in a dither. If things continue like this by next year at this time, like even the Brisbane mayor said "we'll be running out of time to get things done".

Yesterday there was a full-scale rehearsal of the Olympic torch relay in the Aube department in the presence of Tony Estanguet and the Minister of Sports. For those who are interested, here is the link to the Paris 2024 press release including photos and a video of around twelve minutes. https://presse.paris2024.org/actualites/la-flamme-sest-preparee-a-briller-dans-le-departement-de-laube-61fe-e0190.html https://sharing.oodrive.com/share-access/sharings/xlLTtZgS.o5Lg5ILg#/filer/share-access

Maybe Cathy Freeman, Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and Steve Hooker could all run towards the cauldron with a torch each, trip over and then get overtaken by Stephen Bradbury who gets to light the flame.

I vehemently agree there’s huge problems in the host and venue plan vetting processes. But what’s exacerbating that is the shouty, adversarial world we find ourselves in now, where everything from public health and hygiene measures to pictures of Michelangelo’s David become huge frenzied culture wars - much less public spending on sports facilities. Sydney 2000 would have been a hot political sh!t fight in these times, whereas Brisbane would have come across as unremarkable, even bland, in the 1990s. Today, yeah, Brisbane’s now demonstrating a masterclass in keystone cops ineptitude, but a lot of that is fed by polarised politicisation and a media actively encouraging and amplifying outrage and manufacturing crisis.

Which is where I think Brisbane is a textbook example of that. There’s little doubt that either of the more expensive options would represent better legacy and long term value for the city. I certainly do give the IOC some credit for taking concrete steps to pushing hosts towards more sensible plans. And yeah, much of the heat, this week especially, is more the doing of the local politicians than the IOC (though Coates played his part). But there’s no one size fits all formula for hosting plans, and much of the marketing of the “New Norm” was how it would introduce greater flexibility and work with the cities to produce what’s best for them. In some cases, however, a blanket “we want the cheapest plan” is exactly NOT what’s best for the host.

Which again shows why the bid process was better. Let cities decide what is best for them, with input from the IOC, then the IOC decide what would be the best plan for the Olympics. If the New Norm had been in place for 2012, they'd have probably told London to use Crystal Palace for athletics & swimming, Manchester for cycling, more of Excel (or maybe Brum's NEC) for the other indoor sports in the Park. I don't know what the total cost would've been. But I think we do know the Lower Lea Valley would now either be the same derelict industrial site it was in 05, or a Battersea-esque Wild West of tower blocks with no green space or public facilities. I don't think anyone would say that'd be better for London than what we got.

Big information that has just come out: according to l'Equipe*, the Olympic cauldron would be installed in the eastern part of the Tuileries garden. It's located between Place de la Concorde and the Palais du Louvre, in the "extension" of the courtyard of the Louvre (you know, where the pyramid is). The location is also located in the “royal axis”: the alignment of the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysées, the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre Palace. To give you an idea of what it looks like in terms of perspective, a photo taken from the Tuileries gardens: One question still remains to be decided: will the flame be lit, during the OOC, directly in the Tuileries garden, or will it be lit at the Trocadéro (then "moved" during the night to its location definitive)? *https://www.lequipe.fr/Jo-2024-paris/Tous-sports/Actualites/Les-tuileries-favoris-pour-accueillir-la-flamme-olympique-pendant-les-jeux-olympiques/1455898

Got tickled seeing this posted on SSC Here is the main bus transport interchange at the moment at QSAC. Ready for the Olympics!

You still get the medal as an individual, but it doesn't count for a nation. Rest assured, Putin will do his best to try and propagandize those medal winning athletes

I think every time it's got into the public eye here by hosting something it's had a different name - so until they do the decent thing & name it after Cathy Freeman, Stadium Australia it stays

Surely an Aldi Olympics is one where the organisers fall out and end up splitting the enterprise in two? Hmmm...maybe it is an apt description actually. I look forward to seeing Brisbane's two logos, one adorning each of their Olympic Stadiums.

When I read „Aldi Olympics“, I‘d just like to point out that Aldi was founded and is still seated in Essen, central to the Rhine-Ruhr area of course. Oh the irony…

And Bingo! We have lucky stadium number four!

Just use Suncorp for ceremonies & Carrara (it's a bit nicer facility than QSAC anyway) for T&F, and just be done with it. Just figure out the best way to get the people in-&-out. I know T&F is usually an Olympic marquee event, but at this point, beggars can't be choosers. It's not like the core of the Games will be right there anyway. Le Fin.

Jeezus! Go out for an hour and come back to find we’re onto our third Olympic Stadium in less than 24 hours! You couldn’t make this stuff up!

I think that in the end, what will happen is that the IOC will confirm its principle of "neutral athletes", which will effectively reduce to only a few dozen eligible athletes, and that to avoid being humiliated Putin will decide on the boycott. In a certain way both parties will save their honor: the IOC will be able to say "we tried an intermediate solution, it is not our fault if there are no Russians" and Putin will be able to say "we are not going to be humiliated by accepting these IOC conditions." Either way, I find this story about neutral athletes completely stupid. The IOC demands that Russian athletes not support the war, but how can they be 100% sure that all eligible Russian athletes are opposed to this war? If a Russian athlete wins a medal and starts making the Z sign on the podium, what a monumental humiliation that would be for the IOC. This story should have been resolved since February 24, 2022 by prohibiting any presence of Russians (& Belarusians) as long as the war is in progress. And if the IOC needed an justification, they only had to say “since you broke the Olympic truce*, then we are punishing you”. And again, they wouldn't even have needed to come up with a justification because it seems so obvious. (*indeed, it happened 4 days after the end of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. But it was also before the start of the Paralympic Games; they can imagine an “extensive” version of the Olympic truce which also includes the Paralympic games)

Courier-Mail has the full report Paywall cracked -> https://archive.md/ZB4QD Coates QSAC option rejected over cost ($1.6 billion) --- KEY RECOMMENDATIONS: VICTORIA PARK A new $3bn-$3.4bn 50,000-seat stadium be built here, on a site to be determined, to host Olympics and Paralympics track and field events – and AFL, cricket and concerts into the future. ROMA STREET PARKLAND A new $2.5bn 15,000-plus seat indoor arena be built on an existing carpark and maintenance depot at the northwestern corner of the parklands. ROMA STREET STATION That the arena not be built here, due to cost constraints, but a new pathway be constructed to link the station to the new arena site, 500m away to the north. SUNCORP STADIUM No upgrade is recommended, but a new bridge from Roma Street Parklands over Countess St to the top of Caxton St would better connect it to the city. THE GABBA The stadium be maintained to a minimum standard until the new Victoria Park stadium is constructed, after which the Gabba would be demolished and the site “repurposed”. QUEENSLAND SPORTS AND ATHLETICS CENTRE, NATHAN Not to be used as an Olympic and Paralympic Games venue to host the track and field events. ALBION PARK RACEWAY The government does not proceed with building an indoor sports centre at this site. BOONDALL/ZILLMERE A new indoor sports centre to be built here to service Brisbane’s northern suburbs. SLEEMAN SPORTS CENTRE, CHANDLER Proceed with building a new indoor sports centre here, as well as expand the site and upgrade existing facilities. REDLAND WHITEWATER CENTRE, BIRKDALE Proceed with the project as scoped, and scrap the consideration of Penrith in NSW as alternative option. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS # Proceed with the Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre project, but increase its size. # Continue with planning and delivery of the Logan Indoor Sports Centre. # Progress the investment decision for the Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre. # Proceed with the Wyaralong Flatwater Centre near Boonah as a competition venue. # Progress the investment decision for the Sunshine Coast Stadium upgrade. # Continue with the Barlow Park project in Cairns as scoped. # Do not proceed with the Toowoomba Sports Ground project. # Continue with the Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre upgrade as scoped. # Consider what works are needed to ensure the Queensland Tennis Centre is fit for purpose.

i had a dream last night where i watched the opening ceremony. it was a basic boat parade with people doing random dances on barges that slowly floated along the river. i hope the actual ceremony is much more exciting than that!

It's like all new things, unfortunately. But be sure that if this OOC is a great success, if ever another city (LA?) wants to have its own OOC in the heart of the city, surprisingly there will be much less criticism the next time. What's the funniest thing about this is that ≈80% of the critics aren't even on questions of "taste" (like "the artistic segments will be less beautiful than if it were in a stadium ", etc) but on logistical questions (like "we will never be able to use lots of boats it's impossible"), giving the impression that according to these critics the average people were much more competent, that they already know everything, and and that according to them the organizers are the incompetent people who have never worked on the subject (even though it is their job). lol

I love the posters - Paris hasn't really put a foot wrong with the design of the Games, except maybe the stubby torch. I still say that's actually an escaped high-end perfume bottle

It should come close to covering the operational costs. And to be honest, the Commonwealth Games hosts shouldn't really be taking on massive capital costs anyway - with the notable exception of the athletes village, which can serve as social housing after the games. Since Guilga has already compared the Commonwealth Games to the Pan-American Games, it's worth noting that the Pan-Ams work perfectly fine with a temporary athletics stadium seating only 13,000. An 18,000 seat Kuala Lumpur Stadium should be acceptable. Kuala Lumpur also has a decent aquatics center, a velodrome, a cricket stadium, and so on. They shouldn't really need to build any new venues.