olympicdreamin

How's that for the look of the games?

What a farce these games were. When will the IOC learn its lesson and stop awarding to countries like China and Brazil without the legacy infrastructure. Just because they can overspend to build the games doesn't mean the owners of the facilities after the games can afford to keep them. Worst Summer Olympics in memory. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/12/509465686/maracan-jewel-of-rios-olympics-now-languishes-in-disrepair

I think they should, create a strong segment dedicated to the A-bomb and nuclear nonproliferation like Rio did with climate change.

Every day the election seems to be breaking more and more Hillary's way so that shouldn't be a worry too soon.

Amen!

It's the only thing that makes me feel better about booing the American athletes. At least the cheaters are getting boo'd louder. I expect it to be consistent and want to see the same boos for Gatlin next week.

I really hope Pyeongchang can present a WOG that gets more nations interested in bidding after the damage that Sochi has done. There are already murmurs of 2026 bids from Europe but let's not forget Europe didn't not bid for 2022, they didn't have the public support. Let's hope Pyeongchang restores some public faith so that democracies will want to host these games again.

And Brazil's paying the favor back with their years-long national embarrassments.

Most people will but I certainly won't all of those segments were absolutely beautiful and unique to their games.

Spot on. The opening ceremony was colorful, vibrant, and fun and presented a great summary of Brazilian culture for both foreigners and Brazilians. I thought the use of performers and music like Gizelle walking into the Girl from Impanema were both entertaining and cheaper I'm sure than building big props.

I wonder if anyone has an update on the Sochi medal table? I know Russia finished on top in 2014 but the New York Times reported that a third of Russian medal winners are involved in the doping cover up. Athletes like Lilly King should set the example for others, we shouldn't tolerate cheating from anyone, plain and simple.

I completely agree with you about Beijing 2.0 but I wouldn't be so fast to write off 2018 or 2020. I suspect one of their ceremonies will show off some truly innovative technology that their countries have become known for. Plus the KPop segment in 2018 will surely be a sight.

Rols, out of curiosity from you or any other members, I was young when the games were in Athens and I have vague memories of news reports about unfinished stadiums but really remember some great athletes and an overall great games. Of course we know the legacy problems Athens is having but how was the organization of the games as a whole and how does it compare to Rio. I'm taking away similar impressions of Rio and Athens: great, soulful games in a unique city that were a joy to attend but marred by poor organization and legacy that ultimately caused more problems than it was worth.

I don't recall nearly such praise from NBC and in the American press, every journalist was covering their broken hotel bathrooms and being locked in when their keys wouldn't work. Not to mention the whole games were painted with a broad brush of corruption- the $51 billion price tag was a focal point with individual seats costing thousands and thousands of dollars.

Are you serious? Sochi was a muddy mess leading up to the games. They were woefully unprepared in terms of accommodations, hotel rooms were falling apart or simply not ready when visitors arrived. Corruption and kickbacks to Mr. Putin's friends sent costs skyrocketing in addition to anti gay laws passed in Russia and all the criticism they faced from that are hardly signs of the best-organized games of the 21st Century. I'd strongly recommend Sydney or London for that title.

The calamities associated with Athens and now Rio have shown me the IOC is completely right to be adopting this position now. Frankly put these cities and governments weren't ready. Watching Rio has made me completely rethink my support for Istanbul a few years back. Thank goodness the IOC isn't rolling on from Rio to Istanbul and dealing with Erdogan.

I agree with you that the test for Rio is going to be their legacy. London has developed a very sound legacy for their games and I think the success of London is what brought some European bidders back to the table in 2024. Even Hamburg was an initial bid for 2024. However, I disagree that Pyeongchang will have tons of white elephants. Their bid had lots of plans for the stadiums in Ganguang and around Korea. I do think the use of temporary stadiums and stadiums that can be relatively easily deconstructed and rebuilt in other cities has been a positive development in Olympic legacies due in large part, I feel, to Athens and Beijing's white elephants. The Olympics clearly have a problem with the scale of the games that most countries are unable to put forward a bid for political, economic, and public opinion reasons and the only nations bidding are the likes of Putin, Erdogan, and China. Rio has been really disappointing and I'm looking forward to finally moving past them and really focusing on Korea and Japan over the next 4 years. I expect Tokyo to show everyone that they should've hosted in 2016.

Yes, he's a little bit of a mess lol

The U.S. put together the Copa Centenario in about a year so bring it on.

@Ikarus360 I didn't think about the Sochi look until after I posted and came to the same conclusion. But hey, at least the logo isn't Bart & Lisa Simpson or plain typeface for the website.

London perhaps spoiled us with such a complete and composed look but surely Rio could've at least executed the look they had. Not to detract from Brazil and Rio, but the execution and delivery of these games is just an absolute complete mess. It really is a shame that silly mistakes like these detract from Rio's ultimate moment in the sun. Rio is hands down the most beautiful location for a games but the subpar execution throughout large parts of the Games continuously dampens the mood and feel for what could've and still will be in some parts, a fantastic olympic games.

This is the thread every 4 years where most people learn lol

Frankly, all that money has to buy something. If it can't buy the U.S. the Games it can at very least influence some programming times.

Can someone explain to me what is happening with the 2019 European Games. I remember them being awarded to the Netherlands and the games would be somewhat spread out across the country but just read on Wikipedia that the Netherlands have withdrawn. Is this true? If so, who is likely to host in 4 years?

A year ago I was worried that Rio would be woefully unprepared and the venues would be unfinished. Everything has come a long in the past year and I can't wait for Rio 2016.