reindeer

Forgot a really important one, Stockholm 2004 could have been really special reverting towards the old times and turning around the trend of extravaganza in a beautiful city. Some may say it is too small, but if Athens managed to do it, Sweden could also have pulled it through.

-Buenos Aires 1956 -Los Angeles 1980 or 1976 with Moscow hosting later. Just to see how different it could have been then and if there would have been boycotts. -Athens or Melbourne 1996 -Cape Town 2004

Sure, I'll look into it.

I once found their bid book or some brochure on the internet but I don't recall of having seen many pictures of venues there. Early 80's, I doubt there has been many illustrations back then.

Sydney was the last one. That was Samaranch's frase and fortunately Rogge didn't use it.

I would rather see the Asian federation split in two or at least somehow make two separate qualifying zones geographically. The distances can be huge like from Tehran to Sydney and I wouldn't want something similar in Americas. At the moment the Conmebol qualifiers are very straightforward and simple.

Not much new compared to Copa America where Mexico is a usual guest although often with a B-team. If this leads to a permanent change the only advantage 16 teams will offer is a better tournament format.

I was thinking more about the customer experience one could have as the service in Europe's big cities may seem cold and indifferent whereas the American style with overflowing niceties and smiles may seem a bit unauthentic to Europeans but it is just another cultural difference.

Never been to Japan but from what I have heard it's possible to go to Tokyo as a tourist on a relatively low budget. I doubt Tokyo would top or even reach the prices of the likes of Oslo or Zurich. Different people, different experiences and different mentalities. I understand this especially from an American point of view (no offence) but I was actually positively surprised of the treatment I got from Parisians. Granted, most wont be all smiles but with basic courtesy and some French (and yes, they also speak English) you can go quite far. Having said that, I'm not that thrilled about Parisian Olympic Games especially if the people don't even care about it. Only if there was another city in France able to host them...

Looks like you have chosen domestic league capacities for German stadiums, they are smaller in international matches.

It makes no sense to compare very different countries with their own traditions, strengths and weaknesses. China due to its characteristics is unique in that it has the resources to do things that probably no other country can achieve. There is a price for it in a lack of individual rights and the horrendous pollution though. In any case it would be extremely narrow-minded to think that the organization of great Olympic games constitutes to an overall development of such a huge country. As for Rio, I think only time will tell and in little less than two and half years we'll know for sure how it all went. Until then we can mostly just speculate and I for sure won't say anything definitive. It is alarming though that even Danny is admitting that there are some very worrying signs. Mind you, even when the World Cup preparations didn't seem to advance properly I expected the stadiums to be ready in time and I never thought that they would go down to the wire the way it has happened.

Spot on.

Actually I agree with you on this one too. Having said that I only watch the same sports as outside the games I might have expressed myself badly cause in reality there are many sports that I follow only every four years when they get into the limelight so it's not about following my traditional favorites only. On the other hand, for example football gets otherwise so much attention that the second class Olympic tournament doesn't interest me at all, especially not the men's tournament. Yeah, there might be some pleasant surprises and maybe you never can be sure without experiencing but some events are still tedious no matter what, be it in Olympic Games or somewhere else. Personally, I have never found swimming interesting on tv and after attending some other water sports I have zero interest in even trying to find out if I have been wrong.

I think for me the ideal solution would be a few days' visit to the host city seeing some of my favorite sports. What London taught me was that there is no sense in attending sports that don't interest me generally outside of the games so I would begin everything with ticket hunting. The Olympic status alone won't make them appealing at all. With London that was easy as it was a short hop from home but Rio would require a day of travelling to get there. As I couldn't and probably wouldn't spend two weeks in Rio I would have to combine the beginning or end of the games with a trip to somewhere else in Brazil/South America.

You can't blame FIFA for that because no one forced Brazilians not to choose the cities themselves earlier. As far as I've understood it was due to the corrupt Teixeira's politics and insistence on choosing 12 host cities when it is obvious that 9 or 10 would have been more ideal. Brazil went to the election unopposed so there was plenty of time, much more than with any other WC host since 1982, which makes these delays even more incomprehensible. Even South Africa fared much better with their preparations.

I've had yellow fever vaccination before travelling to South America but I doubt it is necessary in urban places like Rio. Not a big deal anyway. Going to Rio at this point looks like 50-50 to me, or maybe it's slightly more probable that I'll stay home. Rio will nevertheless require lot's of planning, with London I was quite spontaneous and made the decision to go only in late May after having visited the city two months before the Games, but even with all the hassle of ticket hunting for the most popular events it was a walk in the park compared to what a trip to Rio would most likely require both in terms of money and effort. 2020 will be equally distant and expensive and even though Japan as a travel destination is intriguing, Rio surely is a much more appealing host city. Even the 2024 games could have an impact as by next year the race for them should start to unfold. A strong bid from Durban without good European candidates could increase the possibility of me hopping on a plane to Brazil. Many don't agree with me but I might prefer to watch the games at home. Of course if you want to experience them there's no alternative to going to the host city but attending London reinforced my belief that if you want to follow the sports as closely as possible it's much easier at home when there are multiple channels available and you're not limited to just the live event you're witnessing and travelling between different sites. They can be both enjoyable but very different, it's just a matter of preference. In any case, with such a rare event it's best to know what one really wants.

Spain doesn't need to do any major work, the infrastructure is mostly there already. Even the renovation of Camp Nou should go ahead at the end of decade. The only big question mark is Valencia's new stadium. Having said that, I don't think Spain would be very likely to host, probably USA or some other loser of 2022 race would replace Qatar

In reality there are many with athletics track if the stadiums from 2002 would be used. I would add to this list England, Japan and Spain with a capability to host easily. Considering that the 2018 tournament will be in Europe, 2022 should go outside UEFA.

I agree, the winter games' sports are simply too tedious and look too much alike. It seems like there is always someone sliding on a snow or ice track with skis or skates one after another after another... Sure there are dull disciplines in the summer games too, but the variety is much bigger, so there's always something interesting to see. Agree on this one too. Call me conservative or whatever but these modern events mostly leave me completely cold and it seems that the athletes themselves don't care about the Olympic Games that much either. That may apply also to the summer games.

Just another pointless fantasy excercise.

I'm pretty sure the opener will go to Moscow. I agree that Russia is somewhat disappointing with the stadiums being on a smallish side. Even South Africa had bigger venues but maybe it's more responsible to avoid oversized stadiums, more white elephants is the last thing Russia and the World Cup needs. They are basically just fulfilling the minimum requirements.

I agree that Brasilia should HAVE had a semifinal, but at least the play-off for bronze medals will be there. However, instead of Belo Horizonte I would have switched Brasilia's place with Sao Paulo who will also have the opener.

The final is usually in the biggest city or the capital and often these are the same thing. Recent exceptions are 1994, 2002 and 2014. It's mostly a question of the best and most suitable infrastructure and in most countries that is found in the biggest urban centres.

Correction, I didn't mean the countdown but the initial alphabet section after the countdown.

I agree. I was also quite disappointed with London and rated it 7/10, but Sochi was an improvement and I'd give it a 9. I thought Sochi's ceremony was visually stunning and more cohesive than London's. Also it suited television viewers and was better directed for tv with some great angles like from the cars during the post-war period. This was also more classy and low-key than I expected but in a good way as with Russia there might be a risk of bombastic, near megalomaniac and tacky show. It might have lacked a bit of originality and there were some dull moments but I guess that's almost unavoidable with a show as long as this. The entrance of the athletes with the maps showing was nice although the empty benches behind didn't look that great, but that again might have been unavoidable with the athletes taking their seats there. Unlike many I actually thought the music was ok, nothing extraordinary but captivating enough. The girl felt like seen that been there but I found the countdown very beautiful although perhaps not that surprising and adventerous either. Overall a very good mix of on one hand traditional human mass ceremony and use of modern technology, and on the other humour and classic cultural elements.