yoshi

Sounding increasingly like the hosting deal is done in principle, & it’s just waiting on formal agreement by the Queensland government. Hopefully it works, there’s not much that could do the Olympics more good than if they could prove that cities in that 1-3 million range can still host the Games.

Why the rugby posts? It would be pretty classic if they move the World Cup final last-minute & make that the stadium’s first event

Do FIFA do all their ceremonies in-house now? Only they’ve all felt very formulaic & similar for a few years.

Having been there now, I would’ve thought that if a bid with Milan & Cortina together is ok for the IOC, then Austria could actually have a bid with indoor events in Vienna & skiing in the main alpine areas around Salzburg & Innsbruck. Before the 2026 process, it probably wouldn’t have been plausible but now that they seem fine with Winter Games held at opposite ends of a country, stuff like that could be possible - & I can’t imagine they’d struggle to find a market for a new arena or 2, plus a few thousand flats in Vienna.

Because the Olympic opening ceremony can now only be held on the last or second-last Friday in July. In Melbourne, late July-early August is...bleh. I agree they managed to make the global sport schedule fit a September Olympics in 2000, so they could surely have the wit to do it again - & that that’d be a better way to get Australia the Games. But apparently it’s a big no-no.

Couldn’t you make use of a Perth type stadium to replace the Gabba? 60000 Aussies in a brand new Brisbane stadium would make a pretty intimidating place to start the Ashes...

If the IOC are desperate for an Australian Games (& with recent experience & the memories of Sydney, you can see why they would be), surely it’s simpler & better for everyone to allow Melbourne to stage it in late August/early-mid September? They say Brisbane has 85% existing venues across the state, but Melbourne could host almost everything in the city, & are almost literally ready to host now. Do NBC really wield this much power?

What is it with Qatar & innuendo? First Zaha’s stadium, now the logo is a crossbreed between a tampon & a dildo...I thought they were ultra-conservative?

There’ll never be another village/town-style Winter Olympics again. Not without decoupling the indoor & outdoor parts of the Games. With the best will in the world, no Lillehammer-sized town is gonna support 4 indoor arenas & an indoor speed rink. Even Gangneung & Sochi (fair sized cities) were struggling a bit as to what to do with their indoor arenas. So unless you’re gonna go temporary, you need a big city - there’s just no other way these venues will be used.

Should add that chasing being ‘iconic’ is what’s led the Olympic Movement into the mess it’s in. Far better to have something that works, is most effective & useful for its city, & doesn’t leave the city cursing the Games. Then you can make it look good. Hopefully Tokyo’s experience, then two consecutive existing stadiums, will end this stadium war, & cities can focus on being special in their own way. PS: I actually think that Tokyo’s stadium will be pretty iconic when the greenery is fully grown - & a stadium of planted walls sends a far better message than a mass of steel in today’s world.

I really like the stadium. It’s not flashy, but the combination of wood & greenery is already looking good, Tokyo needs all the plant space it can get, & its simplicity means it looks far more Japanese than Zaha’s bike helmet ever could.

Well, it’s out. The shape is the logo, & appears to represent a map of the West Midlands, hence the third triangle. Must admit, I’m not too keen on how the font looks awkwardly put on top of the logo. Also surprised how invisible the new CGF thing is, you’d think they’d have made a bigger deal of the new logo now it’s not awful

They finally got rid of the hideous thing! Whatever else is in the design, Brum already has a better logo than the previous few Games The new logo is nice, much better looking while still recognisable. Hopefully the rest of what’s above it will be just as good

Now it’s appeared in West Brom & Stourbridge, with added transparency. The London 2012 parallels grow... I must say, it’s quite a nice shape, regardless of whether it’s meant to ‘be’ anything. I also can’t imagine Birmingham Updates aren’t in on the whole thing & acting in their posts - good harmless fun though, & it’s getting awareness up

That’s a seriously nice ground, especially the outside. Bet they’re glad Brum got the Commies now, that doesn’t look much like it could take a track.