Go Europe

The city that has an Olympic record hosted 3 times while never won a competitive bid vote!

I miss the times when we used to have daytime ceremonies! Best backgrounds are actual city backgrounds!

You are right, didn’t think if this, just had visions of the Eiffel Tower snapping to two on live tv!

I hope they have tested the force such a flag will exert on the tower! Especially if windy!

They could set another record and reuse the same cauldron that maybe the more environmental thing to do but I doubt they will go for the “green” choice and recycle.

So far there have been some surprises and commentators say that there maybe more as few international championships happened lately. So let’s see!

Not exactly by current standards, both the distance of the top seats to the pitch as well as the exposed seating to the elements are not ideal. Nevertheless, it was/is an iconic venue. Stronger memories from USA 94 were large venues always full of passionate spectators! Looking forward to United 2026!!

A quick question apologies if previously mentioned. When the combined piano and Kabuki performance took place was the camera supposed to be directed at the piano for most of the time or was that a mistake? We got only a few seconds to a minute or so from the the performer and most of the piano performance but this did not make so much sense?

It looks nice especially the bright red colour. However from the image it is unclear how far down the curved part the flame will travel. Hopefully they have sorted this out and tested it under different wind conditions to avoid accidents.

Overall, it felt weird. Some parts definitely gave me COVID PTSD and overall it was a somber ceremony. It was really an impossible task for them and IOC to combine the fact that this is meant to be a celebration of the world and the young athletes with the fact that so many deaths and lives have been changed for ever the last two years. Overall the balance was significantly skewed towards the memorial than to a celebration but I feel that the victories over the next days may change the atmosphere and the closing ceremony should be more optimistic and celebratory.

In the case of Athens it is not very fair to judge the Games under the circumstances in view of the very difficult financial condition that Greece is. But lets put some things straight 1. Organisation wise the games were successful much more than some of the preceding games wanting it or not. 2. The opening ceremony was an artistic event and as such, not everyone will like it or has to like it for that matter. It may have appealed more to people that have a specific background and specific educational background (and you can see than sometimes in the nationality of the commentators) while others failed to connect with it because they could not, or the creators failed to make them, understand the message. It was not some much what was shown it was more a message that the artist tried to present. It was not the technology or tricks shown it were the message. And believe it or not the whole Opening ceremony had a single story to tell which was unique in that respect compared to any other before or since. 3. The problems of the post-game use of the venues started long before Greece was in any financial constraint and just mirrored a certain disrespect to public property and funds that the Greek politicians and society has developed in the last decades and still, unfortunately has.

Also there are still some people secretly hoping for Qatar 2022 not to happen and therefore this thread to remain as it is...

10,000 Tennis centre according to international tennis federation site among others

All Olympic bids are just unpredictable, in this case if the Istanbul unrest was a week before the election and a nuclear leak in Tokyo the day before as well, maybe we would be talking of Madrid 2020 today! This however, is a too desperate and expensive technique to get the Olympics "try until you are at the correct point at the correct time as the only viable alternative". On the other hand if there was zero chance for them to get it why were they shortlisted to beggin with?

I thought next european stop would be Istanbul !

Also Nebiolo did it on several occasions, during and after the IAAF world championships and during the final week of the bids. However, I do not beleive this was the crucial point that led to Rome's loss. On the other hand this bid race is a three horse race which because of the way the voting procedure is designed could lead to many surprises depending wich city will be eliminated on the first round.

Come on there were same speculation for Athens in 2004 and they pull it off. I think it will out. I meant there was the same speculation..... and they will pull it off.

I am afraid that the general consensus (excluding possibly Mitt Romney and the American Media) is that the 1994 winter games were by far the best organised recent Winter Games and a golden standard to which all following winter games are compared ( I do not mean the ceremony but I mean the venues, environmentally friendly policy- possibly what you called primitive!!- and absence of scandals e.g. buying IOC votes...) .

I for one although I loved all Barcelona, Athens and Sydney OC in a different way can not wait until I see the Beijing opening ceremony. I think it will be very impressive and totally different to any of the previous ones. It is the time for China to show itself to the world. The only sad part is, and this does not apply only to Beijing but pretty much to all previous and future hosts that the Olympics have become an advertisement or some might say a mean of propaganda and much less a pure athletic (dopping or not included) event. P.S. Katerina Thanou will take part in this Olympics ! Enjoy!

I think they did that in order to check also the natural lighting as the ceremony proceeded. (Simulate the original conditions...)

<_< <_< I thought 2104 will be the 25th time LA would host the games (being so successful)! Or is it going to be the 13th time Sydney will (extremely successful as well)! Oh I can not remember!!