LuigiVercotti

Channel Seven news just ran a story tonight here in Sydney and were referring to Vancouver 2010 as 'worst games', though this seemed to be more a grab from the Guardian's piece. Plus it doesn't hurt to have a jibe at a major feature of a rival station's current line up. One thing's for sure, no matter which way you cut it ticket cancellations, luge deaths and the fenced off Olympic menorah cauldron of solitude has affected people's perceptions of the games and their organisation. And as we all know perceptions can be confused with reality.

Sorry guys...had some tech delays with getting the Roy & HG/Katarina Witt video up this morning so will try again later. However in the interests of Deutsche/Australien Freundschaft may I present Barcelona 92... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyZpfTgEH4c

Finally decided to download the album using ITunes...Bang the Drum does what I never thought possible. Makes me actually enjoy a Bryan Adams song. So two thumbs up there VANOC. But as for 'O Canada'...oh dear.... Also went for the 'Hallelujah' version by k.d. lang off her EP, which has the version recorded for the OC. On a slightly deviated track, I wonder if our friends from the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoyed listening to a lesbian singing a song using an archetypal Christian word of joy

And as an added treat I've got a promo vid for the Smiggins Holes 2010 bid Will hopefully have these on YouTube in 2 hours or so

Found it boys...stay tuned

Was this on the 'Eddie McGuire Jingoistic Dick Head Comedy Hour' SR? Bugger...sounds like I missed a highlight (as opposed to the lowlight with Ed the D-Head arguing inanely about DBS's silver). I think I have somewhere the full interview between Roy & HG and Katarina during Salt Lake...if I can dig it up I'll post on YouTube

I think in all fairness the article is not so much attacking Vancouver as an event or as a venue, but more the 'Own the podium' program. Now it must also be said this is an op-ed piece so unlike straight reportage is designed to be unbalanced, to present a subjective view. So...is this a fair representation of the Vancouver Games as a whole? No. Is it an interesting opinion piece about a change in Canadian sporting culture that actually may be less impressive than the sought for results? Yes? And of course anything written by Americans about Canadians (and vice versa) must have huge cultural sensitivities that few outside that context can understand (I guess it must be akin to how we Aussies feel about Kiwis and them about us).

In another thread there were some intriguing points made about how the events at Vancouver have been amplified by the world's media partly through the use of new media. This has got me thinking along the lines of how does Vancouver fare when it comes to the net. Feel free to throw up issues like twittering, blogs, online reports, the Vancouver website, YouTube...whatever. To kick things off, is anyone using the Vancouver IPhone app? It's a bottler...very nice piece of free kit that makes following the games in a mobile context very easy.

Nice points about the impact of new media and social networking on how news from Vancouver is being possibly amplified, twisted or exaggerated. And in fact we ourselves here at GB are part of that process (though I'd think not negatively). One wonders how Grenoble 68 would have fared with its two deaths in the age of twitter, satellite TV and forums... I feel a new thread coming on...

Not sure about Rogge being the one who made the suggestion, but yes this was fixed very shortly. I sooo want to play devil's advocate because it must be said that the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili has cast a pall over these games and certain parties (not Canadians or more specifically VANOC) need to have blame shafted home to them. And let's not forget the British media are writing for a domestic market concerned and suspicious about London 2012. It could be said Cypress was a venue with some reservations but quite rightly everyone can say that no one at the IOC or at VANOC can control the weather. Every games deserves to be critiqued and analysed, but at the same time from half a world away Vancouver 2010 seems to be being enjoyed by so many there as well as many watching on TV, and it's certainly drawn more positive attention to the city, the province and to Canada than if the games were not being held there. Falling into the trap of having a perceived malicious dig at the Canuck hosts leaves you wide open for a go at the Brits in 2012

Meanwhile, over in Pyeongchang it's a balmy -2 degrees C, and Salzburg is going to be frying at 3 degrees later today. Oh you fickle mistress of the OWGs mother nature

Reasonable points Athensfan, though actually I don't think the bid cities forget as much as wilfully downplay the negatives whilst trumpeting the positives. Like any huge economic and political endeavour there are spin doctors in from the get go, and they will weave their stories of Olympic inspired largesse to anyone they can because both the IOC and the bid committees need positive news like a drunk needs booze. Then, when the whole hosting process is complete and the last athletes fly home and the stadiums empty, its the void between what was promised and the growing list of doubts and perceived failures that then make that experience better or worse. Sometimes, like in Munich or in Atlanta (and arguably now in Vancouver) death will overshadow the games. Sometimes (such as in Sydney or Barcelona) the negatives are less visible in public consciousness because there wasn't too big a gap between the promised good times of the games and the bad. When all is said and done Juvenal got it 100% right over 1900 years ago...it's all panem et circensis...bread and circuses. We get enough bread and the circus entertains then the Olympic hosting experience is welcomed. Little financial reward and a bad experience from the 'show' and the Olympics are cursed by the unhappy hosts.

Poor Obama...he comes into the final presentation to press the flesh and smile the winning smile, and meanwhile he's got a slightly wonky product that has lost traction in a cabal that would make the editorial room at Fox News look like play group. If hadn't have fronted up to the IOC when he was in the neighbourhood he'd have been pilloried, he did and the bid goes down and he gets it in the neck. So very very few politicians have ever used the Olympics well and artfully to improve their standing, or at least bask in the glory without being seen as exploitative. Tony Blair and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have done a good job of taking IOC plaudits and a winning bid, but the best was John Fahey. He went from being the premier of the largest state in Australia to being now the WADA supremo.

Excellent choices Sir R...have met Little Pattie and she is an absolute class act, and as for the Bundy very very drinkable. If you can get your hands on a bottle of their distillers No.3...closest I've had to having a single malt style rum

Remind you of any recent games SR? (hears the sound of bazoukis and smells yeeros on the grill). The world's media can be like sharks going in for the kill when it comes to smelling organising committee blood in the water...

Mon dieu...c'est ce une conspiracy du Georges Bush son et pere, Toni Blair, les rossbeefs, les Baron des GamesBids, les nasty Romans that kept hassling Asterix et Jacque Rogge (pour sont Belge biere)... Et les Americans tout sont

Without negating these obvious defects (and in the luge situation downright tragedy) I see a few similarities with the Wily Old Falangists best games, my beloved Sydney 2000. We had... Bus drivers getting lost A hiccup in the cauldron's mechanics Ticket problems and controversies before the games Gymnastic apparatus set at the wrong height Flatwater canoe venue with weed and wind problems A lot of these things were fixed in 2000 and I'm sure VANOC is doing its best re their probs (bit hard to go them for the weather for now, but not maybe for venue selection). But if we were talking Atlanta...well, that's another story

Hey baron...not sure (haven't got access to my vids at the mo) but I recall Albertville only had a solid surface which was for inline skating, whilst Lillehammer was down on the apron of the ski jump arena so they had the performers on mini skis. Feel free to correct dude...

Steady Baron...it's a very pertinent question. After all, if we knew the cauldron was going to misfire so to speak then maybe we wouldn't be discussing it so much. If we knew Bryan Adams was going to be brought out of his cryogenic slumber then there'd be no debate over 'Bang The Drum'. I think Ruling Czar's onto something. In fact, lets stop the secrecy of the 2018 and 2020 bids now. Munich and Tulsa will win the games and our Belgian mate's gonna drop in and tell everyone in here why tomorrow at 6.30pm Vancouver time.

Bugger!

Are we going to see a reverse of the Torino scenario when the Swiss had bugger all success on the slopes and it was the Austrians who brought home the bacon

Alex Pullin is qualifying No.1 for snowboard cross so far...bit of a turn up so here's hoping we can snaffle a surprise gold for the Green & Gold Ice Machine

Hence the Eleusian Mysteries have been brought back to life thanks to the Olympics.... Which all goes to prove that the games are in fact a subtle attempt by sex-crazed pagans to seduce 'the youth of the world' into villages every 2 years for intermingling and the creation of a new super race

What...and have David Atkins try and help him get it to rise...now that'd be something for the NBC censors to edit out.

Hey Baron...anyone ever asked Dick about the relationship he and Alex Giladi have vis-a-vis the IOC and broadcast rights? Must be a great position to go into any bidding process for broadcast rights being best buddies with some of the head cheeses, lose money on the deal and still keep your job...