yoshi

I think they can get there. And if they do, we may just be seeing the salvation of the Winter Olympics - assuming of course that the IOC learns the lessons. I particularly hope the Latvian aspect works, since suitable mountain ranges & existing venues sometimes don’t respect national borders, a proof of concept could really open it up to Central Europe especially.

I think they might even get there. Their biggest challenge was always gonna be getting to the vote - surely the IOC can’t turn Sweden down yet again, especially as their bid embodies what they’re supposed to be looking for now.

Do we like cricket? However much 10cc love it, it can't compare to the adoration of the game in this city - WELCOME TO MUMBAI! We are in one of the finest cricket grounds on the planet - the Wankhede (yes) Stadium in India's largest city to announce our summer logo comp champion for 2019, and although the IOC President & Olympic champion in jousting, 1796, Thomas Bach, is once again in the building, it is surely much more appropriate to hand this important role to the most worshipped god in Mumbai: No, not him...I mean Sachin! Good evening Mumbai, & GamesBids. This has been a real Test match of a competition, but now all six balls have been bowled, it is over. We've faced a sticky wicket a few times - round 5 certainly provided a googly, but after using the Duckworth-Lewis Method, we have our closing partnership. We know already that the Don Bradman of the logo comps, Paul, has yet another century - he's got almost as many as me now - but this isn't a Test match, we can't have a draw. So, with both his two logos in the corridor of uncertainty, the time has come to see which logo has carried its bat, & which is in cow corner. The logo with the highest batting average is: Paul's Mumbai! Yoshi: Thank you Mr Tendulkar. You can return to the commentary box now to finish your cake. Yes, that settles it, we already knew the title belonged to @paul, but it's now settled that it's his Mumbai leaf that will be his 8th spot on the winners' sig. The final scorecard reads: A: 6 B: 3. A decisive victory, & relaxation for me after the winter tie & the round 5 mess So ends the 12th annual edition of the GB Olympic logo competition, with @JDCLauron & @paul giving a mix of old & new to the winners' enclosure. Once again, thank you to all participants & voters, without whom this couldn't have worked. Special thanks as ever are reserved for the world's finest wombat @Sir Rols, creator of polls, giver of advice, & solver of impasses once again I know again, it was quite low-key & long, but it still got a field & votes - & I think it actually went better than last year's. There's a reason this is held when it's held. As always with Olympic crises, you can blame the low general traffic on here on Tommy the swordsman. So, with congratulations to Paul & JDCLauron, time to wrap this thing up. If I/we do this again, it'll be at the same time next year, number 13 (yes Paul, Denver is pencilled in for if I'm back for #13....not gonna think of any others for months yet). In the meantime, we've got bats, balls, & leftover tequila for everyone, Sachin's ready to teach any uninitiated, & Mr President is volunteering to stand at the crease for anyone who wants bowling practice. Let's have a cricket party! FAREWELL/विदाई!

Ladies & gentlemen, voting closed. Announcement imminent.

Less than a day left to decide between Paul & Paul

I promised you we'd be back in Mexico...have a drink! WELCOME/BIENVENIDO! As well as a rather strong beverage, Tequila is also a town in the state of Jalisco - & that's where we are for our final! Before we make the biggest decision, we must (finally) take a look at round 4 to see who's drowning their sorrows: A: 4 B: 5 C: 6. It took us a while, but we finally got there, a proper result - & after extra time, I'm afraid it's @JDCLauron's Mumbai that must leave the scene. Good luck next time, & I'm sure the winter title is good consolation Which all means that, once again, GamesBids' king of logos @paul is guaranteed an astonishing 8th title, with both his entries contesting the finale. This is GamesBids though, so there must be one winner. So this is it, the big one, a place on that signature on the line - as before, the final has slightly altered rules: This voting round will be open for (approximately) 48 hours - it will close at 9pm UK time on Monday, 21 January. This is the final round, with only two candidates. Whichever logo has more votes will be declared winner. Vote in the poll for your favourite logo. You have ONE vote, so make it count. Your vote is public and can be seen by all. Entrants MAY vote for their own logo if they wish. For transparency, I will not vote unless required to break a tie. Votes are valid if cast by members of GamesBids as of January 1 2019 with a bona fide posting record. I will rule on the validity of any suspicious or disputed votes, or who constitutes a bona fide voting member. I will not vote in this, or any subsequent rounds. However, if votes are level, I will reserve my right to vote in order to settle it. Be fair and sportsmanlike, this is meant to be fun and the entrants all deserve RESPECT So who will it be? Who will leave Mexico in high spirits as numero uno? The decision, of course, is all yours. We will reconvene in...well that's also your call - but it'll certainly be on Sunday. Good luck to Paul, &...Paul, & may the best logo win! GOOD LUCK!

Voting actually closed this time. Proceed to Mexico for a free tequila & final vote.

Yeah, thanks anyway but I don’t think that’ll work somehow I’ll leave that to the IOC

ANNOUNCEMENT Ladies & gentlemen, your votes have landed us in an...interesting situation. The votes at closing time are: A: 4 B: 4 C: 4 As you can see it is a total tie in an intermediate round, something which has never occurred before, & is obviously rather hard to resolve. As such, in the hope of resolving this awkward impasse, I, on advice from Rols (thank you) have decided to keep the voting open for an extra 24 hours.in the hope of extricating at least one logo from this lockdown. Voting will now close tomorrow at 9pm UK time. Thank you

Halfway through the voting, all to play for

We couldn't not have AR Rahman now, could we? WELCOME/स्वागत आहे! His song for the 2010 Commonwealth Games welcomes us to Delhi, New Delhi, & the world-famous Lotus Temple! So world-famous I always thought it was in Mumbai...anyway, we're here for the next round, but not before we investigate the results of Round 4: A: 3 B: 1 C: 4 D:2. Closer than a confidence vote, so quite clearly no logo has the required majority. Nonetheless, there is a clear loser of this round, & sadly we must say goodbye to @Scotguy's only logo, for Mumbai. Hopefully you'll have another try next time. Just 3 logos left then, & as always, it's your decision who stays & who goes. Rules: This voting round will be open for (approximately) 48 hours - it will close at 9pm UK time, Friday January 18. Voting will now be conducted in rounds until one entry has an absolute majority and is declared the winner. In this and following rounds, the logo with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated at the close of the poll. Vote in the poll for your favourite logo. You have ONE vote, so make it count. Your vote is public and can be seen by all. Entrants MAY vote for their own logo if they wish. For transparency, I will not vote unless required to break a tie. Votes are valid if cast by members of GamesBids as of January 1 2019 with a bona fide posting record. I will rule on the validity of any suspicious or disputed votes, or who constitutes a bona fide voting member. I will not vote in this, or any subsequent rounds. However, if a tie-breaker vote is needed, I will reserve my right to vote in order to break it. Be fair and sportsmanlike, this is meant to be fun and the entrants all deserve RESPECT Time to make that decision in this penultimate round. If nothing has a majority, then in keeping with the alternation, our final will take place in Mexico, unless both finalists are for Mumbai. Wherever we go, may the best logo win! GOOD LUCK!

Voting closed. Get your bellies to Delhi!

4 logos, 4th round, & only 4 votes so far - make your opinion count!

There are indeed 4 - told you we'd be going loco! WELCOME/BIENVENIDO! Our introduction is provided by the Four Tops, & after that song, there is only one city we could possibly be in - Monterrey Acapulco!  Formerly one of the Americas' most glamorous resorts, it's sadly now a centre of the Mexican drug wars, one of the deadliest cities in the world - & we will be killing off one of our logos right here, albeit in a democratic way. But not before we sum up Round 3: A: 2 B: 1 C: 2 D: 2 E: 2. Rather close to the host’s nightmare, a total tie, but we do have a clear back marker. So sadly we must say adios to @Glacib‘s Mexico City, meaning he’s completely eliminated - better luck next year. It's now all about 4, Round 4, 4 logos left, 10 bullet points. Oh: This voting round will be open for (approximately) 48 hours - it will close at 9pm UK time, Wednesday January 16. Voting will now be conducted in rounds until one entry has an absolute majority and is declared the winner. In this and following rounds, the logo with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated at the close of the poll. Vote in the poll for your favourite logo. You have ONE vote, so make it count. Your vote is public and can be seen by all. Entrants MAY vote for their own logo if they wish. For transparency, I will not vote unless required to break a tie. Votes are valid if cast by members of GamesBids as of January 1 2019 with a bona fide posting record. I will rule on the validity of any suspicious or disputed votes, or who constitutes a bona fide voting member. I will not vote in this, or any subsequent rounds. However, if a tie-breaker vote is needed, I will reserve my right to vote in order to break it. Be fair and sportsmanlike, this is meant to be fun and the entrants all deserve RESPECT Here we go again, time for another logo war. Unless something gets a majority, it's back to India for what would be Round 5. Until then, may the best logo win! GOOD LUCK!  (Apologies for the lack of emphasis. Needed to do this on my phone :))

Voting closed. We go loco shortly.