Kenadian

The Vancouver 2030 bid is either a huge mess or a huge secret. The group that created the logo and website being associated with the bid isn't actually connected to the bid. Canadian Olympic officials say Vancouver 2030 group causing confusion | Vancouver Sun

And according to this article, the people behind the "Vancouver2030.com" website and brand are not actually connected whatsoever with an official Olympic bid. This is very strange. OPINION: Is it too late for a vote on Vancouver's 2030 Olympic bid? | Vancouver Sun

They are proposing a more "BC" bid and I don't know what that really means at this time. BC's four largest population centres are the Lower Mainland which includes Greater Vancouver, the Okanagan, Victoria on Vancouver Island, and the Kamloops area. They all have various winter sport infrastructure. As for a ceremonies venue, well BC Place Stadium is vastly improved since 2010. Nowhere outdoors in Vancouver will ever give the winter feels, unless they found something waterfront with views of the mountains, but there's nothing readily available. Well, there's an interesting space at Brockton Oval in Stanley Park, but that would never be approved for such large crowds and it isn't super accessible. Maybe a revamp of the Plaza of Nations area from Expo 86. It is next to BC Place and needs a lot of love, but it isn't very big. In 2010, it was used as a staging area for the ceremonies. Vancouver doesn't have a lot of grand plazas or open squares and what we do have are mostly small parks or they'd be problematic for hosting large events like the medal ceremonies and concerts. And David Lam Park, which hosted one of the party sites in 2010, often turns into a mud pit in the winter months.

Random thoughts on the oval for Vancouver 2030. I think reusing the Richmond one is the easiest ideas but if that's too complicated or expensive to reconfigure for an Olympics and then switch back to the post-games format. An outdoor oval in the Greater Vancouver area just can't be. It is never cold enough to keep ice. Maybe up in Whistler? A new indoor facility using the Richmond Oval as a template for Games and post-Games use could be built at Simon Fraser University (the original idea for the 2010 bid) and used as the university's rec facility. But they're also talking about this bid being a more BC-wide affair, options could include a new Richmond-type facility in Victoria, the Okanagan, or one of the Fraser Valley cities (Abbottsford, Chilliwack). The question of making this bid more BC-wide compared to 2010 seems unclear yet. Maybe some events in Victoria, Kamloops, Kelowna (they all have new-ish arenas with good capacity). Or maybe take the events that were held in Cypress to another ski resort (Big White, Revelstoke, Silver Star, Fernie, etc.). That would cut the risk of having to truck in snow again.

Yes, but North America only has two countries that can host the Winter Games - the USA and Canada. Sorry, Mexico and Cuba. And even in those two countries, there are really only four regions that have the required mountains, weather conditions, population bases, and winter sport infrastructure/culture: Western United States, Western Canada, Alaska, North Eastern USA (Adirondacks-New England). You won't see winter games in Texas, Ontario, Virginia, Minnesota, or Nova Scotia.

This is a development proposal for the Indigenous-owned property at the Kitsliano Reserve/Senakw area of Vancouver. Squamish Nation moves Vancouver forward with transformative Senakw project | Urbanized (dailyhive.com)

And my ordering idea on the next four games was a bit random. It might make more sense to place Sapporo over Salt Lake for 2030 given the timing with Los Angeles 2028. Then a put in a gap between a Winter Games in the USA and Canada with a European city. Europe never goes more than 12 years between hosting. The Summer Games of 2036 and 2040 will also play a role. I'm not sure which city at this moment is the front runner, but I feel pretty confident that 2036 will be in Europe. I'm also thinking the whispers of a Montreal-Toronto bid could fit the IOC's new objectives for something in the 2040s making use one of the most expensive ever Olympic facilities, 2015 Pan Am venues, and spreading the games throughout the Saint Lawrence-Lake Ontario region from Quebec City to Niagara. So maybe this: Sapporo 2030 Vancouver 2034 Europe 2036 (Madrid, Berlin, Istanbul, London?) Europe 2036 (Barcelona?) Toronto-Montreal 2040 (or an Asian city) Salt Lake 2042 Asian city 2044 (or Toronto-Montreal) Asian city 2046 But all speculative of course.

While the were 'only' 22 years in between Calgary and Vancouver, the difference is that they were in two different cities. The "too soon" notion applies to the way Vancouverites feel about it, not about another games in Canada. If Calgary sought 2030 or if Quebec City were able to find a suitable solution to their problems, I don't think the "too soon" sentiment would be as strong. The games of 2010 were sold to Vancouver as a "once in a lifetime" moment. But going into it again in 20 years isn't that. Plus, the world is quite different now and as a host city, the eight to seven years of building up and preparing to host an Olympics is a lot. There's a lot of political maneuvering, financial and economic considerations, and the disruption of any additional infrastructure builds. So the feeling of "too soon" is akin to how you would feel if you had a big party at your house and invited everyone you knew. Even if it was a huge success and lots of fun, you still had to do a lot to prepare for it and then clean up after it. So do you rush off and do it again a few weeks later? Maybe. Maybe not. But you know once again, it will take effort and money and scrutiny so maybe it's best to spend that on fixing up some of the problems you have in your house, like that old kitchen you've grown tired of.

There is another sliver of undeveloped prime land in Vancouver, at the southern foot of Burrard Bridge. It is the Kitsilano Reserve and is owned by the Squamish Nation and they are known to be interested in developing it with high rise towers. With the 2030 bid proposed as a being presented by the local Indiginous peoples, I could see this as a potential site for the Olympic Village, though as you see in my link to Google Maps, it isn't very big. But it is next to the now-abandoned Molson brewery which is up for redevelopment. Just south of that property is an Armoury and a Defense Department building.

My thoughts on Vancouver 2030 and from what I'm hearing around the community are this...20 years is too soon. We loved hosting in 2010 but 2030 isn't the right moment. Maybe 2038 or beyond. Not too far out from 2010 that the venues are decrepit and need total rebuilds, but not so close that the memories of 2010 are so vividly fresh. I also think the IOC might do a multiple set of host announcements all at once, like what happened for the Summer Games of 2024 and 2028. For example, the could look at their prospects for future Winter Games and decide to do something like: Salt Lake 2030 Sapporo 2034 Barcelona 2038 Vancouver 2042 Or any mix from that group. Would rotate the games, minimize new construction costs, assure a healthy list of future hosts, and give lots of time for development and maintenance of facilities, lining up sponsors, and securing funding.

There is a piece of prime real estate just west of the 2010 Olympic Village owned by the City of Vancouver. It is currently used as a parking lot, an impound lot for the Vancouver Police Department (I think), some road salt storage and city equipment/trucks, a food growing operation, and portable housing for low income people. The city has been looking for ideas on what to do with it. A possible Olympic Village site for the future? It is adjacent to the 2010 Village and it is either a similar sized or larger parcel of land than the original village. The proximity of the bridge might cause security concerns, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is earmarked for a future Olympics. The Olympic Village train station is very close, too. What should Vancouver do with the land on the south side of False Creek? City looking for input | CTV News

And they can stop singing "Imagine" at Olympic opening ceremonies, thanks. It's been playyyyyyed.

Given this trend, Paris 2024 will just use that cigarette lighter that temporarily re-lit the flame in Montreal 1976.

Oh...there's an outside torch in a snowflake.

They could have at least lit a candle.