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Is this a dream? Honestly guys this means a hell of a lot to me. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!! GET IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To finally see my logo on the roll with all of the other awesome winners is fecking lit I would like to thank everyone who voted for my logo over all of the rounds, you guys are the best and i am forever in your gratitude. To those who voted for the other logos - thank you for doing that also as it makes the comps fun and competitive and that nothing is certain in these things. Rols, buddy thank you for your promotion of the comp and also for your 2nd win Finally Yoshi - you bloody legend, when this comp could have fell into the abyss you have continued to make it fun and exciting every year, for that my friend... THANK YOU! Looking forward already to the 20th champions of champions comp and ofcourse next years. Heres to Gamesbids forums Thank you all

Hello, I'm new here; allow me to make my contribution to the discussion by providing you with some information on the artistic content of the OOC as they were recently revealed in the French press and which, it seems, has not been not mentioned here: First of all Thierry Reboul*, the executive director of the ceremonies, who was interviewed in a major French sports media: “The opening ceremony will be twelve scenes, twelve scenes which will follow one another. And there is a great novelty which was brought by Thomas Jolly, which is to say that we were going to take the artistic segments, that we were going to take the parade of athletes which is the backbone of an opening ceremony, and we are going to mix all that." "In fact the parade of athletes will cross these twelve scenes. And the ceremony will take place along the water following this parade. We will go from one scene to another." And another article** (this time paid) in which Thomas Jolly was interviewed where we learn that the first of these scenes was to take place on the Quai de Béthune, but the fragility of this quay requires that this scene either adapted or moved elsewhere. Also, the facade of the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris (just next to Notre-Dame) was to have scene planned on its facade (probably dancers? light shows?), but the discovery of asbestos prevented its use. The other information is that the Trocadéro will host the arrival of the Olympic flame, Macron's speech (thank God he will not make a parade on the Seine with the athletes) and the last scene; which probably means that there will be 11 scenes spread over the 6km of the Seine. The TV director has also been chosen since January and is working with Thomas Jolly's team. ---- * https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/jeux-olympiques/jo-de-paris-2024-douze-tableaux-un-film-de-trois-heures-on-en-sait-plus-sur-le-spectacle-de-la-ceremonie-d-ouverture-sur-la-seine_AV-202402270044.html ** https://www.telerama.fr/theatre-spectacles/thomas-jolly-je-suis-triste-qu-on-ne-puisse-pas-partager-la-ceremonie-d-ouverture-avec-plus-de-public-7019339.php

This thread is a textbook example of AFs modus operandi and obstructions. An innocuous thread gets started A few posters make a few comments that contain some criticisms of the IOC AF gets wind and posts a few press releases from the IOC (usually repeats of posts he’s made in other threads) to ry to cover up the dissenting voices. Other posters reply, continue criticisms AF embarks on a campaign of making sure all such replies are immediately followed by posts of his own, again usually re-posting previously posted press releases or banal “comments”, all the while putting @ alerts to anybody who’s posted. Other posters eventually are bludgeoned into giving up and walking away in disgust and frustration. @GBModerator - I know you seem pretty disengaged from meddling in the board, but could you PLEASE at least post restrict AustralianFan? He’s become incredible disruptive to any free flowing discussions on the board - in fact actively tries to prevent it. In this thread alone, he’s reposting materials from other threads and repeating posts from here in two other threads - if that’s not disruptive spamming, I don’t know what is. He’s turning many members away from the board, and I’m constantly flooded with PM requsats complaint about him and asking to :”do something about him”. A post limit, as happened to TonyELovesArchtiecture (to whom AF’s very similar, through he should be mature enough to know better), even temporarily, would seem highly appropriate.

It is with great pleasure that I present to you my design for the Dublin 2036 Olympic Games The features behind my design include: The green and orange colours depict the colours of the Irish flag The logo is in the shape of a stylised d for Dublin and also has a shamrock style design. The logo itself honours the more traditional games logo types and also the traditional world renowned Irish culture. Whilst the logo is traditional in design the lettering of the font is more modern and depicts Dublins modern and youthful side. I believe that this logo encompsses and showcases the historical, cultural and modern sides of the Irish capital and present this logo to you for your votes.

It's official: I'm not a man of his word. I'm surprised that's it's only Robert that has realized that the EB effectively killed off the Swiss Olympic bid last Tuesday. Swiss Olympic's bid was a masterpiece in structuring something the Swiss people could accept. 1. Distributed venues: Would give the "whole" country a feeling of being a part of the games. This without potentially burdening any one town with too much needed infrastructure/accomodation. Further they avoided having any "single point of failure". If one town declined to participate, finding venues for one to three events elsewhere, and not necessarily together, would be manageable. Finding an entire new hub is much more difficult. 2. Financial Guarantees. The bid was structured expressedly to avoid asking for any government financial guarantee. Such a demand would more or less automatically trigger a referendum. Something Swiss Olympic was desperate to avoid. 3. Referendum. Referendums are bid killers, espcially in Switzerland. Even if opinion is favorable before the campaign all the negative aspects will be highlighed. In this case the whole Italian mess will be brought into light since it's going to be fresh in people's memory anyway. Now the EB requires that the bid will exposed to a referendum when the way Swiss Olympic had structured its bid could possibly have circumvented the need for one. So, I suggest that you start thinking about who's going to get the games in 2038. My money is on Beijing. Only for the purest of cynical reasons of course. A safe bet considering who's going to make the decision. As for the SOK bid. To be fair it wasn't Sweden that failed to get its act together. It was SOK. Sweden as such was never keen on the games. Neither was it really against. The dominant view was an overwhelming indifference. However, the 70% appears to correct as a figure. Only it's 70% out of some 35000 votes on the online question (on the sports pages on the biggest newspaper in Sweden) "Are you disappointed that Swden didn't get the games?" who say NO. Media in Swedish mostly just noted the decision and then went silent on the subject. If there's a gold medal to be handed out it's to SOK for their magnificent disregard of trying to enthuse Swedish opinion. SOK had even failed to hand in the formal application for government guarantees. The press secretary of the sports ministry said that had they done that last Tuesday the process would have been ready in April. And finally, as many have noted, it's rather stupid not to hava a back-up until the French pen is on the dotted line.

Lol, isn't it rich that you're being called a narcissistic troll, when it's that you-know-who troll that has multiple, alias accounts to lick, I mean like, their OWN posts. Not only is that narcissistic & trollish, but also desperate & pathetic. Yeah, if I had a dollar every time I (& others) have heard that one, too. lol

Hiii I'm pretty new to this community (I literally just joined yesterday) but ive been fancying myself in the world of logos for a while now and decided, why not join this comp? so may I introduce: My Dublin 2036 and Alpes Francaises 2030 logos!

I'm still very much alive. Thanks for checking.

and now i finally have time to present to you all, my DUBLIN 2036 emblem: Showing the Dublin skyline and the iconic cliffs of Ireland, this emblem is a representation of Ireland's urban and rural life, unifying the entire nation for the world's greatest sporting event. The people are embracing this emblem, and it can be seen on T-Shirts: Street art: And of course the official Games Poster: There is also a Welcome variant to be used for tourism promotion for the city of Dublin in the build up to the Games, which can now be seen on billboards across the world: for yoshi / sir rols, if you need a higher quality image of my entry for the voting period here it is:

What a load of unfounded right-wing political nonsense and conspiracy theories from bollock and lollick @StefanMUC @Gonzo

"ultra left wokeism" wow i didn't realize this was a far right forum

Well, we could be about to find out...

News about the opening ceremony (and not only that). First of all, the announcement of the musical director of the ceremonies who is Victor le Masne. It was he who notably composed the version of the Marseillaise for the Tokyo 2020 handover. He is also in charge of the official musical theme for Paris 2024, of which here is an extract: Otherwise, like every month, Telerama has released a new interview article* with Thomas Jolly where we learn new things (these are really my favorite articles - the ones where we really go into detail about the artistic process): - Some artists at the ceremony will be foreign (Céline Dion? She still has an Olympic history) - The only non-French music will be... Imagine by John Lennon who will be back for the umpteenth time (this is the bad news of the day) - The article mentions "twelve or thirteen scenes", while initially they had planned only 12. The impression that they have not yet decided how to integrate (or not) the Olympic cauldron of the Louvre into the history. - Not counting security, there are around 18,000 people working on the ceremonies * https://www.telerama.fr/musique/exclusif-thomas-jolly-nous-devoile-le-nom-du-directeur-musical-des-jo-et-un-extrait-de-sa-composition-7020343.php

Please Istanbul, save us from this dusty, boring dump.

The closing ceremony should be at Nice but not in a stadium: it is planned to be on the seaside, at the Promenade des Anglais. https://www.lequipe.fr/Tous-sports/Actualites/La-ceremonie-de-cloture-des-jo-2030-devrait-se-derouler-en-bord-de-mer-a-nice/1463385

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

LOL this has always struck me as amusing in the first place. The regional council of mayors were like "We thought the Olympics were a good way to bring necessary PT upgrades to the region", as if thats a thing. I know transport planners in QLD who were fuming at it (I work in policy in that area). If you want upgrades, advocate for them on their own merit -don't use them as bait for something that will take funds away from the BAU services that are actually needed. And yes, the Brisbane Metro/CRR were going ahead regardless of the Olympics.

Alexa, this is the final announcement. I don't just need a big Irish name...I need the biggest of them all. Don't let me down... OK that's it Alexa, you're sacked - bring on the real opener! They had to appear eventually, and what could be more suitable for the night where we finally find what we've been looking for since December 1? We have visited Munster, Ulster, and Connacht so far, so we need to go to Leinster, the province of the capital city - and the home of the only place we could finish the crawl. The greatest pub of them all. Welcome to the iconic Temple Bar, Dublin! Dozens of pub crawls end here, and that's just tonight - but none are more special than this. It's time to announce our winner for the Dublin Olympics, so please welcome back to the stage one of the most famous & most available Dubliners of all, Bono! B: Thank ye. To be sure, it's been a great contest, on The Edge right through to the final. And before I announce the winner, I can say this'll be the most watched ceremony ever, broadcast live on every iPhone on the planet! Sure, whether they want it or not, because that's what we do... Anyway it gives me great Pride to declare that the winner is...ow! Ow! What's this about?! This is meant to be my job! Y: Tommy, what are you doing?! Bach: * sings * Oh Scotty Boy, the Pipes, the Pipes are calling…Jaaa, it is go time! Woohoo! B: Bloody hell, what are ya playing at? Oh ffs...top of the Joshua Tree is: SCOTGUY II! Yoshi: Thank you. Tom, really, you've only had one whisky... @AustralianFan! You want a job? Take Thomas off to sober him up! The final result was A: 12. B: 7. I was sure for ages I'd need to vote again, but no - it turned out comprehensive. And so after 17 years and presumably 34 attempts, including in his home city, @Scotguy II has finally won a GB logo comp! No less a figure than Rob (the London version) said it was unbelievable that you've never done it, but finally the non-existent trophy will cross the ditch to Scotland (or cross the world to Wellington, I don't know if he's still there). Congrats at last, and congrats to @Glacib too for getting to the final. I think @krow wants to buy you a beer. Krow! Krow - don’t spike Scotguy’s drink! It's going to be a long night... And that's it for 2023-24. Thank you to all the participants and voters, especially @Sir Rols for the usual grid-making, advice, and additional quips for the announcements , and for being one of our winners alongside @Scotguy II. For now though, we are in the Temple Bar. It's Saturday night. And at the fifth time of asking, that wombat over there is paying for the drinks for once. Party time!

Hard to believe it's 4 years since Lausanne 2020 just before COVID hit and disrupted the next two normal Olympics in Tokyo and Beijing. We were lucky to get through to the 2020 W YOG. Will be looking forward to this. Brings me back memories to PyeongChang 2018 which seems like an eternity six long years ago. Let the YOG begin!

You're giving people ideas lol - but I don't think the IOC members would be keen actually. They wouldn't like having other gods in the area while Bach's in town

No AustralianFan, get off the stage. This is my job, not yours. Security! We need this stage for the President…now, where was I? Ah yes, our intro. As we are here, just minutes from the bobsleigh capital of the Mediterranean... ...Alexa, play me a song about Monaco's most famous Monacoan! (?) He might be from the wrong side of La Manche, and not all that big there now, but Mika is a huge name in both France (proof - he was booked to open last year's Rugby World Cup final) & Italy (proof - he was booked to host Eurovision 2022 in Turin) - making him the ideal link between the country we're in & both the ones we're next to. He's also quite the showman, so if something like an Olympic closing ceremony was due to happen in France anytime soon, I'd expect him to be there to help the party. Anyway, we have seen all of France's Winter Olympic story in this huge year, and now it's time to look ahead. It's time to focus on the host city for the fourth French Winter games in 2030 - the only city that we are certain will be one - Madames et Monseiurs, Bienvenue a NICE! Not very wintry, but it is very beautiful. We are of course here to announce our logo comp winner, giving Nice/Alpes 2030 their first proper logo, before they even came up with their own! Aren't we nice. To announce the winner, please welcome the owner of Olympism's longest finger, and most useful Google Translate account, the President of the French Republic, Mr Emmanuel Macron! Macron: Je déclare ouverts les Jeux de Paris... Y: Um Mr President...it's not July yet... M: célébrant la trente-... Y: Mr Macron... M: troisième Olympiade... Y: MANU! YOU'RE GIVING THE WRONG SPEECH! M: Quoi?! Merde. Attendez. Ah oui. Le gagnant du concours du logo olympique est... Plus vite... Plus haut... Plus fort... SIR ROLS! Yoshi: Merci Mr President. We look forward to July 26 almost as much as you. It went the distance and then some, the final result being A: 7. B: 5. 12 voters too, sorry krow. Krow? Krow! Stop throwing profiteroles at AustralianFan, you! It was close but decisive - and it means @Sir Rols has only gone and done it again! I confess, I thought it was more of a railway poster than Olympic logo, but the people have spoken & put the wombat on the roll of honour once more - and a very worthy winner it is too. Congrats Rols, & while I'm here, thank you for the grids/general help as always. Congrats to @corn_zxl too for a great debut achievement, & thank to everyone for voting/interest I'll give a day for last minute submission for Dublin, and we will begin the voting in Ireland on Friday. Until then, as this has been Rols' day, you can blame him for this closing song - it was not my idea Au revoir!

great, that extension will give people an even wider window to not vote.

[ ignore @krow who is the biggest most negative, narcissistic troll hiding behind a keyboard on gamesbids.com ] ______________________________________________________________ >> On with the Round 2 Nice 2030 Voting !

So this means that we should vote harder, then? Let fun reign here, it is related to the forum's focus after all.

Youtube: Chariots of Fire (1981)

if you do not want to continue that is fine, i will respect that - but like this isn't the only time tangents occur on GB threads lol may you gain some more humanity in the new year.

It's that exciting time of the year again! Here's my submission for the Dublin 2036 games, will publish my submission to the winter games soon

I see someone has been seduced by Hamas propaganda. There is no apartheid in Israel. Jews and Arabs live peacefully side by side and both are allowed to thrive. As opposed to in Gaza where the leadership chooses to let their people suffer. The population in Palestine has been steadily increasing for decades. How is that a genocide? Fortunately for those who like playing the whataboutism game and making false equivalences, we have an article to cover that topic for you.. IOC's ban on Russia cannot be compared with Israel situation

IIIIIIT'S (very nearly) CHRIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAS! Are you hanging up the stocking on your wall? Are you hoping that the snow will start to fall? Are you in Australia, where you're more likely to want to cool down in the sea than slide on down the hillside? Wherever you might be, I am here in the classic British Christmas weather (mild, dull, raining), and I am making an intervention - I like to keep hands-off in this stage, as you can tell, but what could be more worthy of coming in than to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS! It's Christmas Eve, which means it's exactly one week until NYE! So I'm doing our traditional mass @ to everyone previously targeted at the start, plus some from last year's @, with a warm seasonal greeting to everyone involved: @Bear @TinaAus @Palette86 @Victorian @cfm Jeremie @Anthony @Guilga @AustralianFan @zigzag @TorchbearerSydney @Olympian1010 @JDCLauron @BigVic @ulu @krow @Glacib @Australian Kiwi @Karenina @PikyoK @Qss212 @baron-pierreIV @AliciasBlade @paul @fatixxx @Mr Tickle @Aussie bum @Lord David @Rob2012 @thatsnotmypuppy @mr.bernham @woohooitsme83 @VIK @JMarkSnow2012 @nzl @Utkarsh Verma @Athensfan @Citius Altius Fortius @JO2024 @Nacholympic @aismanggo @Jon Will Chambers @DannyelBrazil @ScoBit @Fiorenzo @pcutone @Olympic Fan Darcy @Athens 2004 forever Only Scotguy and Rols have submitted both - Bear has a summer one but Nice is waiting for him. We would of course like to see more, especially during the festive period

It is with great pleasure that I present to you my design for the Nice-Alpes 2030 Winter Olympic Games Doing what the French do best - Simple yet stylish chique.

Still doesn't sit well with me. Germany hasn't staged one unblemished Olympics so it seems already tarred.

I have to apologize. First of all I have to truly apologize if I have given the impression that the SOK is even marginally competent. To believe that they did all they could but couldn't convince people is a gross distortion of reality. SOK didn't. I'm also truly sorry if I have given the impression the little irritated interview answer by Ms Wanngård was of any importance. I doubt FHC and EB even were aware of it. That irritation did not change anything substantially, however it was an indication of SOK's failings. There is absolutely no denying that Swedish political support was weak and the French wasn't. I highlighted that already in July and also stating my conviction that France would land the games. The reason for the weak support in Sweden is quite simply that most Swedes don't give a d**n about the winter olympics (just as most French didn't in their poll, but when Dieu, sorry Macron, wants something ...). Sorry guys. Sweden, as defined as the Swedish population, just don't want the games. Except maybe as a Christmas present without pain. I don't think we really can blame the politicians for that. Repeated rejections by IOC has much more to do with that. Or, as was commented: Run up the flag and have your trousers pulled down again (the comment was from 2019). I have to admit that I'm personally very relieved that Sweden will not have to deal with the IOC or more specifically the EB, preparing a WOG. As I said earlier I have not seen the questions Swiss Olympics had in their poll. Wjthout havding done that I can't be sure that it wasn't another "Do you want presents for Christmas" poll like SOK's and the French poll. Regardless, that Swiss poll concerned the old, unsatisfactory and unworthy bid. Public support for what EB wants, and what SOK (as opposed to Swiss Olympic) tried to provide, is an open question. As far as I understand Swiss politicians had yet to be asked to have an opinion and apart from one personal view from one minister hadn't. However, EB has declared "Ex cathedra" that there is Swiss strong political suppport so who are we to doubt such a sanctified tenet of faith? (I'm quite willing to be a true believer if I see even a shred of evidence). On a final "Ceterum/Praeterea censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" -style note: Apart from the principle of the thing, it's all rather irrelevant since after having spent four years and a lot of money Swiss Olympic will find that they can't make EBs demands and what the Swiss (politicians) are prepared to accept to meet.

One thing I noted from the IOC press conference today was that apparently the vast majority of French corporate sponsors signed on for Paris 2024 have also indicated they'reon board with Nice-Alpes 2030. I'm sure that was a significant factor in today's decision, along with the government guaranty. Switzerland basically needs a public referendum in support of 2038 plus a slight re-working of the venue plan and them they'll be all set, and they've got 4 years to get it done.

One minute the debate is on the use of Dedeaux Field at LA2028, the next second @baron-pierreIV sent this cowardly private message. —————————————- _________________________________ I don’t give in to bullies. Enough is enough

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.

If have never understood the hate for the Youth Olympic Games on this forum… Who with a sane mind can honestly compare them to the Olympic Games? The budget of a winter YOG is less than the budget of bidding for the Games… Having had the chance to experience, among others, both Buenos Aires 2018 and Lausanne 2020 I can assure you that both of them have been tremendous local popular success: BA and Lausanne have experienced incredible youth festivals, have seen some sport facilities built or renovated for the benefits of both grass roots and local elite athletes. For the sport movement, the YOG are a good lab to facilitate the introduction on new sports / disciplines / formats: 3x3 basketball, sports climbing, ski mountaineering, mixed-gender formats have all made their Olympic debut at the YOG. Is it a money maker? No. Does it generate a huge audience beyond the host market? No. Is it a reasonable investment for the host and the Olympic movement? I would argue yes. If you want to discuss projects with huge investment and a ROI to be demonstrated, look at Olympic Channel. Great content yes but who is watching?

Thing is, complacency and jingoistic self belief are the greatest enemies to ensuring Brisbane lives up to its potential. Yes, it should be a success. We’ve got the base ingredients and experience to achieve it. But it’s delusional to already be basking in premature self back-slapping or think Australia has some innate natural talent for doing it all perfectly without breaking a sweat. Lots of things could still spoil the party. Some out of our control or we can only contingency plan for - terrorism or war, a health pandemic, major financial crisis or depression, extreme weather events. And a lot we can control or influence - bad planning, over-spending on unnecessary accoutrements, misplaced priorities, delays in constructions or preparations, inflationary impacts on costs, hiring of inefficient or incompetent personnel or contractors, falling public support fuelled by modern media channels. As much as it might annoy or dismay one to see kvetching and criticism, it’s actually necessary if the games are to fulfill the potential we can bring to it. Poking fingers in the plans, criticising and looking for weaknesses are more vital to success than constant and unrelenting Pollyannarisms, pretty pictures and “she’ll be right mate”. You can tell yourself “Australians have a natural gift for this, we can do it in our sleep”, but you just have to look at the example of Victoria 2026 to see that we’re not immune to f*cking things up if we don’t have critical and transparent oversight. As to political factors - the sometimes great, and sometimes not so great, thing about minor parties, independents and mavericks is that they can and do influence mainstream parties and policies. I myself vote Greens precisely because I hope they keep Labor honest and force them to be more progressive, rather than in the hope they’d ever hold power in their own right (the gods help us if they ever did!). Minor political players wield far more clout, through balance of power or appeal to the major parties’ “bases”, than their sheer numbers would indicate. Especially in this era of divisive popularism and megaphone social media. You only have to look at our upcoming referendum - what should be a commonsense and uncontroversial enshrining of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is quite possibly facing an embarrassing and tragic defeat because of the forces of division and extremism. Mainstream political parties and the “sensible centre” can’t be taken for granted any more, and Australia’s not immune. And neither are the Olympics.

Gabba Olympic Stadium Design Perth’s high tech, multi-purpose Optus Stadium with it’s 60,000 capacity, and closer to the Gabba’s 50,000 projected capacity is certainly an “Australian counter-part venue” that you’d expect designers will “take into account” when coming up with a rebuilt Gabba. Legacy users of the Stadium include AFL, Cricket, Rectangular Sports, Entertainment events and able to accommodate an Athletics Track. Like the new Gabba Stadium, Optus Stadium in Perth is also served by a train line and has it’s own train station. These are some of the features of Optus Stadium in Perth: AFL East:west field orientation to replicate alignment of the MCG and Subiaco Oval. Field of play dimensions: 165m x 130m boundary line to boundary line. This is closely aligned with the MCG, which is 160m x 141m. Dedicated changing rooms for both local AFL Teams Deducated facilities for female officials. Female changing rooms for Women’s AFL and cricket matches. State-of-the-art LED lighting to illuminate home team colours around the ‘halo’ roof. Cricket Optus Stadium hosts Test Matches plus all Big Bash League Matches. Design meets International Cricket Council standards and requirements. Five drop-in cricket wickets to replicate the character of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) wicket plus 16 outdoor practice wickets. Playing surface 177m x 141m fence line to fence line. Sight screens positioned to reduce impact on fan views and maximise seating for a minimum of 55,000 fans. State of the art team facilities including an indoor cricket warm-up and practice wickets for each team. Two dedicated Player Viewing Rooms with direct access to changing rooms and playing surface. Rectangular Sports Potential capacity up to 65,000 seats. Up to 5,000 drop in seats on all four sides of the boundary. Permanent seating is raised approximately 1.5m from ground level ensuring the drop-in seats can be added without comprising the fan experience. Unobstructed, quality views of the field of play. 12 hour turn around time to install or remove drop in seats. Design meets Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), International Rugby Board (IRB) and Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) standards and requirements. Some of the largest home team facilities in Australia including change room facilities, coaches briefing rooms and three warm up space. Athletics Capable of hosting international athletics events, such as the IAAF World Championships and meets Commonwealth Games requirements. Removable concrete plats on the lower bowl to facilitate reconfiguration into athletics mode. 60,000 seating capacity Media facilities with the capability to accommodate an increased contingent for international events. Entertainment Range of different stage locations: eastern stand, northern stand or centre of the pitch. Maximum capacity in concert mode is 70,000 when the stage is located in the centre of the pitch. Event and non-event day products More than 50 food and beverage outlets offering a wide range of choices. Premium facilities available for year round use for conferences, functions and meetings. The Coaches’ Room is flanked by the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers coaches boxes. Sound can be projected from the Coaches’ Boxes into the Coaches’ Room, giving patrons unrivalled insight into the game. The Locker Room offers fans the opportunity to watch the the players warm up and view the post-match media conference. The Sky View Lounge is located underneath a one of the two super screens. Patrons can stand and watch an event plus take in the views back to the City. A premium public bar for 200 people available on event and for non-event day functions. The River View Rooms on the western end provide spectacular views across the Swan River and can operate independently or combined, accommodating a total of 1,200 people in one connected space. A 150 person capacity a la carte and a 300 person capacity buffet restaurant are located outside the Stadium, adjacent to the western entrance, providing a destination on both event and non-event days. Credit: Optus Stadium Credit - images: Austadiums.com - Optus Stadium, Perth

I haven't been proven wrong on anything - my point remains that the federal government is chipping in billions to this event. Its a budget package that covers multiple venues. I guarantee that if the Federal Government withdrew its contribution the Qld Govt would be up **** creek in terms of funding the balance of the infrastructure program. I work in policy and I'm well aware of how comms teams craft these things for public consumption. You're on some obsessive compulsive binge reposting these comms pieces without any critical discussion. You seem to get extremely combative when others try to discuss elements of this massive project. Why is that? Why can't you engage in discussion without resorting to condescension? Why is it that you've managed to piss off basically every other user on this forum? Is it everyone else and not you?

New Zealand are now favourites to win the tournament after last nights historic victory

Seriously give it a rest. You seem mentally ill.

Well if 2024 goes to plan, I can probably see France bidding in the future.

Couldn’t happen at a worse time for the IOC. Has baron already shouted LOCK HIM UP at Tony E?

"Total chaos". It's official, Baron is the Fox News of the Olympic Movement! Your obsession with Estanguet is very similar to the one some of the Fox News anchors had with Obama. Mistakes were made on 8 sessions out of 760: it is already too much but to call that "ticketing chaos" is ridiculous.

Yay, this one's for you Marta (More to the point, this one's for anyone at the FA capable of seeing beyond their own thumbs...2031) Although obviously the final at the Maracana will be a wonderful occasion in its own right

Earlier today there was a hearing of the Minister of the Interior by the Senate, concerning in particular the security of the Olympic Games and more particularly the opening ceremony. It was an opportunity to provide details on security elements, but not only that, and it also unintentionally answered certain questions asked here, in particular the question of disembarking athletes after the end of the parade. On the few points which may interest you and which are the most important: - The ceremony will last three and a half hours, from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (UTC+2). The original idea was to start at 8:24 p.m., but that certainly had to be abandoned due to logistical constraints linked to the evacuation of the public by transport. Sunset time in Paris is around 9:45 p.m., so we can say that about half of the show will take place during the day and the other half at night. It seems like a long time since an opening ceremony had its daytime artistic spectacle? - The number of spectators is set at 104,000 people on the low quays, 222,000 people on the high quays, and around 200,000 people in the buildings which have a view of the Seine, which makes nearly half a million people who will attend the ceremony (knowing that the number of spectators on the high platforms can always change) - There will be around thirty floating structures on the Seine for the purposes of the artistic show (and the athletes' boats will also be decorated). - On the boarding and disembarkation of athletes: the pontoons will be spread over 2-3km at each of the two ends. If I understood correctly, for the arrival, there will be shuttle buses so that the athletes furthest from the Pont d'Iéna return to the bridge. There were many other points raised but if I had to put everything in this post, it would be far too long (and it would probably not interest you because these are really points of detail which mainly concern Parisians). A small image anyway to show the presentation of the "stadium". This is a map that shows the distribution and use of bridges and quays for this opening ceremony. - the platforms in orange are the low platforms (paying, 104k) - the bridges in orange are those which welcome the public and are included in the 104k of low platforms - the platforms in green are the high platforms (free, 222k) - the bridges in blue are the bridges which remain accessible to pedestrians to cross both banks, but still with safety checks. It will be impossible to go from one bank to the other by metro or vehicle. - the bridges in red are those which will be used for the artistic part of the ceremony. Either for logistical reasons or for scenes to take place on these bridges. (and you will have noted the two most iconic bridges in the city, Pont-Royal and Pont des Arts, will maybe be used for the artistic part...)

This is the 12th and final scene planned: the destruction of all the bridges of Paris in order to make this OOC even more spectacular than Beijing 2008.

Yeah, there’s two simple things that would drive up board engagement * The IOC could drop the New Norm and bring back bid city campaigning and a contested host vote; * AustralianFan could quit. I know a lot of people who’d be more active if he wasn’t trolling the place constantly and trying to monopolise attention on himself

Anyone else feeling... apprehensive about the ceremony plans? I just feeling like they're making things a lot harder for themselves than it needs to be re: security. Paris was always going to be a significant target, but when its the Olympic host, with a large opening ceremony held in a non-enclosed environment.. just seems like a massive target. I recall the early planning of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games proposed the ceremony to take place on the Yarra River, but this didn't eventuate after events like 9/11, Bali bombings etc.. Paris should have included the Seine in a limited way like 2006, but hosted the bulk of the ceremony in the safe and enclosed SdF.