baron-pierreIV

The French have this proclivity to do strange things with their ceremonies. And they like to do outdoor/"theatre in the streets." 1. weird Albertville 1992 ceremonies 2. Med Games 1993 - held lakeside, or by a beach in Languedoc-Rosillon. (There's a partial clip of that on UTube.) 3. this FIFA 1998 World Cup 4. Jeux de la Francophonie 2013 in Nice when the OC was held at the Place Messina (the public square) in Nice. I hope they don't f*ck up 2024 with their weirdness. Oh, well, Cirque du Soleil just filed for bankruptcy becuz all their shows in Vegas closed -- and of course NO TOURING shows either.

Yoshi, Almeria is the Spanish coastal city where they filmed the final battle scenes of the film EL CID!!

Not happening.

There is also the Istanbul Canal (which is like an alternate to the Bosporus outlet), supposed to open in 2023. But Istanbul proper is soooooo overhuilt. Kinda like the situation in Rio where the new Oly venues and the OV were like 1.5 hours from the old part of the city. From what I remember, and unless they add express trains from the old part of Istanbul to the Ataturk Stadium and I image where the OV will be, that was about 2.5 hours by surface transport from the heart of Istanbul. It's going to be a very technically difficult bid.

Where's Bernie? Michael? Paul? Jeffrey?

Exactly my point. Hawaii might be a perfect case in point -- with at least 4 major inhabited islands (Oahu, the big H, Maui and Kauai) there would be enough room for even 40 cruise ships -- and 28 sports spread out over the 4 islands! Honolulu is big enough to be the major anchor city. Football in Honolulu, Hilo, Kona and Princeville. And Surfing could have its choice of coastlines!

Ah, brings back memories of when I first moved to NYC in the early 1970s. I first lived in the Flushing-Bayside area. That natatorium, of course, wasn't even on the drawing boards then.

I would say those images are owned by the IOC. So best to write the IOC directly. Try www.olympics.org; then go to Videos. Look for a "Contact Us" link -- and they will then direct your query to the right party.

Aha! Found another "inspiration" source for Paris 2024's logo. It's a person-made "crop circle" though.

I've already seen ads on Facebook for "official" Tokyo 2020 merchandise. (I was going to buy a T-shirt, but when I clicked on it, it was obvious it had been blocked.) So some suppliers are trying to unload their stuff illicitly now.

I think all of the above was based on the pre-Covid-19 situation. Contracts with the IOC, especially with quality partners like Japan in contention, can be up for negotiation. And I don't think the IOC will want to screw Tokyo and the Japanese gov't if 2021 doesn't happen at all -- because there will go Sapporo 2030. The IOC has more to lose if it tightens the screws on TOCOG more than is reasonable and fair.

FLASH! With more than 60 or 70 cruise ships laid up around the world, why a potential coast city could host an Olympics with 2 years notice! With between 2,000 - 3,000 capacity each ship, a potential host city could have BOTH its Athletes' and Press Villages up and running in a month's time!! Calling Durban, SOUTH AFRICA!! IOC, now is the time to give 2021 to Durban!! Forget Tokyo!! You can check the Africa box on the list if you give it to Durban tomorrow!! They already have their Olympic stadium. They just need a few more installations! Of course, your port will need to host a dozen cruise ships! But YOU CAN DO IT, SOUTH AFRICA, IOC and AFRICA!! GIBRALTAR, bid for the Winter Games as well! You can do it also!!

Why is "ALMANAC" scratched in? What was the original word?

You still might -- for 2023! It seems the University of Birmingham (UK) will now play host in 2023 for the World Games for the Blind. Whew! That was a close one. At least the visually-impaired won't be making a mistake in 2023 as to which Birmingham they'll be heading to. https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1094115/birmingham-2023-ibsa-world-games-host

While I agree with you for the most part -- and the IOC can do it, with an organization of more than 600 PAID employees, sure. But between global pandemics and the Olympics being the most blatant example of how a new virus can be so quickly and intensively spread, I think the IOC and the sports federations might have to think of new models. (Why, there's even question at this point whether the Democrats will go ahead with their convention this year. The Republicans, pandemic or no pandemic, will go ahead with their show in Charlotte, because Donald loves that sort of thing and the coronation (notice the built-in word there; - virus missing) ceremony. They will need to wow people with the footage there. But I digress . . .) I think the IOC and its choice of host cities -- and its contracts with NBC and the other big networks -- will have to be open to the fact that their big shows might not go on at all in the future. So contingency arrangements will now have to be spelled out ad infintum in the Host City contracts. But the IOC shouldn't feel too bad; they don't have the billion dollar stadia like the newly opened Chase Center, SoFi and Reliant stadia with no games to fill them. That should also be a lesson for cities to stop fronting public monies for these showcase white elephants. But I think the real story behind this pandemic phenomenon -- that Covid-19 is really a Russian invention -- out to sabotage the IOC, has yet to be told!!