Brekkie Boy

You can't win by a landslide in a vote with just one candidate. That's how corrupt dictatorships work. A "new norm" doesn't mean it's the right process. As I've said before Brisbane could be an excellent venue and I think it's good for the Olympics to scale down and possibly show that smaller cities have a chance, but anyone following the supposed bidding process knew their was other interest, especially post-covid, and that many other cities were taken by surprise with the speed in which the IOC made that decision. Even if everything was technically above board it's a process that felt like it wasn't, and just the latest in a long line of catastrophes under Bach's leadership. The sooner he is gone, the better.

Seems the last venue remaining which hosted the Cardiff 1958 games is set to be demolished, with the Maindy Velodrome likely to be sacrificed for an expansion of a high school, but a new track, presumably up to modern standards, to be built in Cardiff bay. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65348129 Suspect though that many cities who've hosted the games have little remaining of them considering the temporary nature of many of the venues.

Let's have an open transparent bidding process then, not murky deals behind closed doors. A large part of the reason there is more interest in 2036 is because the 2032 bidding process closed before most cities knew it had opened.

Do we even know who is broadcasting them? Was a report last year that a deal had been done with the EBU which would see it get PSB coverage on the likes of the BBC, France TV etc. but there is no indication they'll be screening them and a subsequent report names MediaPro as striking a deal to be the host broadcaster and distribute the event. https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/european-games-ebu-tv-rights-eurovision-sport-poland-2023-27/?zephr_sso_ott=8gEoWk https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1134518/european-games-television

Is it time to introduce a Commonwealth Beacon - a completely original idea based on the lighting of beacons to mark significant Royal Occassions, and in no way similar to anything you may have seen in any other international multi-sport event.

35,000 security personnel will be involved in the Opening Ceremony, which will also involve 160 boats and the Olympic Cauldron will be installed at the Eiffel Tower, but not on top of it. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/65685179 Must say based on the few attempts to do things along the Thames boat parades generally don't make great television.

The step has been made though.

The trouble is the IOC would probably not keep such a plan around long enough to get to the second cycle of the hosts. I think as things are now that they've dropped any pretence of a transparent bidding process they should probably seek to lock in 2030, 2034 and even 2038 probably out of a pool of former hosts, but I think it would be foolish to look much further ahead yet and it is still important that the IOC doesn't block out potential new hosts - there are certainly a few who though new to the Olympics wouldn't be new to hosting Winter sports events. I do think the sensible compromise for both the summer and winter games to slash bidding costs and encourage both new and former hosts to bid is to award on a two episode cycle, perhaps even with the caveat that for the Winter Games at least one of those two games would go to a former host.

Tell that to Qatar.

It's as if the plan really should be put together before the games are awarded. Although the final plan is never the final plan at least an open bidding process enables alot of the issues to be raised before the games are awarded, even if they're not rectified. As for the Gabba - as much as the games need scaling back a 50k Olympic Stadium is very much cut price - 65k sounds more reasonable, and it seems like Brisbane could probably sustain a 55k or so stadium post-games too. Always though slightly an issue when you've an existing stadia in the city rather than the luxury of building a new one in the centre of the Olympic Park - kind of makes the venue feels a bit disconnected from the rest, but ultimately once the show gets going that doesn't matter hugely. Still struggling to get excited for these games in the way as an innocent teenager I always knew Sydney would be a superb venue. As much as the games needs to not limit itself to the big international cities when they're overlooking the biggest two cities in a country the size of Australia there is always going to be a danger they might end up being third rate. I guess that's the point though - Brisbane wants to stand out internationally in the way Melbourne and Sydney do rather than be in their shadow so it'll be interesting to see whether these games achieve that long term or end up as a costly leaving present for Coates paid for by Queenslanders for generations. At the moment though it's feeling a bit Atlanta-esque.

Well guess who FIFA have given the rights to host the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup too. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64643889

Yes, nice to see things tidied up.

This is where the current behind closed doors bidding process is an absolute failure. No bidding process is perfect and all are open to corruption, but for decades we had a cycle that essentially worked of the host city being selected around 7 years before the games and one process being worked on at a time. As mentioned above they were so focused on inexplicably giving the 2032 games to Brisbane without a bidding process (despite wide interest) that 2030 was overlooked completely. Of the options supposedly on the table Salt Lake City is probably the safest bet - not overly keen on back to back summer and winter games in one country but would rather see the games in the US than a third Asian games in four cycles, as much as I'd like to see Sapporo host.

It is just boringly practical but it would feel somewhat like making the games a closed shop. I think perhaps reserving every other bid process for previous hosts might be the fairer way to do things - that way it isn't cutting off new applicants completely.

Given where the economy is at the moment probably the latter. Still think 2036 is too early and we're better off targeting the 2040s. Ideally it would visit at least another couple of locations in Europe before returning to London.

Isn't that often the case with host cities.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Nobody but Brisbane seemed to know the 2032 bidding process had started when they were announced. Also have to wonder whether such a long lead time between the host being announced and staging the games is a good idea. The actual cost of course always comes in significantly above the cost at the time they bid - partly due to inflation, partly due to other issues. An extra 4 years or so on the prep time is only going to add to that, and sometimes giving cities more time to prep actually just gives them more time to spend money, plus it can effectively mean any allocated land for related projects (i.e. the Olympic Village) has to go an extra few years before it starts earning any money back.

Any of these cities got a prominent IOC member who needs a leaving present? That's how it works nowadays right?

Stumbled across this years - the BBC Sportsnight programme on the eve of the announcement of who would host the 2000 Games with details of the Manchester bid and an overview of the others too.

There is something that just feels a bid more laid back and relaxed about them - was the same in Glasgow too. Perhaps just so little expectation around them, unlike the IOC backed European Games which pretty much felt like they had flopped before they even got started. Ideally they'd sort their act out and join forces for a proper Eurolympics, but if not I think if the European Championships can get a more permanent commitment from athletics and swimming they could exist longer term. Would love a Winter version too.

No doubt about it Germany could hold a very successful summer or winter games in the not too distant future, but 2036 would be a major own goal for both Germany and the Olympic movement considering the games of a century earlier. I don't think there has been any sign of revived interest in a Munich Winter Olympic bid but Munich 2030 could solve a few headaches for the IOC.

If it's an event in it's own right then fair enough. Just need to be kept well away from actual sporting competitions. E-Sports is a skill, not a sport.

Realistic it's very unlikely - rebuilding starts with homes, schools, hospitals. Bobsleigh tracks and curling rinks won't be high on the agenda. Sarajevo bid themselves for 2010 but it was just too soon and as much as a games bid can provide hope for a recovering city and country, it can't stage the games. We've seen too with Christchurch in NZ too that although the idea of a Commonwealth Games forming part of the rebuilding process (following an earthquake in this case) in reality that just isn't even on the agenda. Cities have greater priorities and can't afford to take on the potential debt.

Members posting multiple lengthy posts back to back in a short period of time is a much bigger issue than the ads here - just went in the London 2012 Memories thread expecting to see a couple of pages of forumers memories but just got a repost of anyone who'd mentioned it on Twitter, which TBH we'd read at the time. Seems odd we're restricted on how many times we can "react" to posts in a day but there is seemingly no restriction on posting. Overall though I appreciate that this site is still here - I've seen a couple of long running forums in other areas disappear in recent years as those who launched them move on with their lives and don't need the headaches of the members anymore. That said though 100% agree the admins need to tidy up the forum menu page and archive the forums dedicated to past games.

It's actually an event where very little hype about is actually helped - it was outstanding and no doubt the crowds made it, but even taking out the covid factor there is something about Britain's ability to sell out a crowd even for morning sessions which just isn't something that is the norm in many other countries - the first couple of days in Munich and you generally saw more seats than people in the crowd.