StefanMUC

Qatar is also the main sponsor of PSG, apart from the two German clubs the only one resisting the Super League call. They were clearly pulling the right strings here.

The DOSB is currently facing huge accusations against its President and his inner circle about a climate of fear they created internally. A little distraction with another bid discussion cannot harm there. German sports officials are at an all-time low. Basically the entire top ranks of DFB (football) have imploded this week as well.

LOL, I am not. "pretty safe" is actually a very vague statement that can mean all and nothing. Of course he has to spread confidence, but reassuring, this is not.

This is still being debated as conditions in the countries vary. UEFA and DFB have put enormous pressure on Munich to guarantee spectators with a deadline tomorrow, I think. But the city is not willing to give in to demands at this point. Bundesliga matches are still played in empty arenas and will most likely do so for the remaining matches. UEFA has apparently threatened to remove Munich from the list for EURO 2020 but the overwhelming majority here supports the stance of the city.

On paper, that reconciliation with the past has gone well - however there is clearly a movement of establishing far-right mindsets in centrist politics, nowadays mostly going after Muslims instead of Jews, but with the same fascist ideology. Needless to say some conservative politicians are quite keen to open doors there. This absurd bid idea could also be interpreted as instrumentalising Jews to help a German cause. It feels really awkward and is actually being pretty much laughed off in media here.

Well, in this case, incompetent officials in Germany tried to shift blame to the IOC. So it’s quite understandable they hit back.

"Top German sports officials"...the "German Olympic Association" is not the German NOC, that's the DOSB (German Olympic Sports Confederation). So Mr Meng might hold a nice title but not much leverage. As for Mr Kowalski, I've never heard of him, but apparently he moved away from a role in athletics to eSports. The idea alone of getting Olympics to Berlin is, as FYI righty pointed out, at least "problematic", no matter which year. And 2036 should really be a no go - of course this would push the Olympics even further down the road, mid-40s at the earliest if 36 goes elsewhere in Europe, but inc

They will go near Pyongyang if they think that gets them the Nobel Peace Prize. Which is of course very cynical. In related news, North Korea just cancelled participation in Tokyo citing COVID fears. Probably the most sensible thing to do for them - they are even more isolated nowadays than before, and if someone catches the virus in Tokyo and brings it back into a country which has a health system that will not be able to deal with it, this could be absolutely catastrophic.

Thanks! Yeah, I don’t really expect to be banned, but there’s really need for better moderation here, not only if some Hungarian or Chinese bot attacks. While there’s not much proper “bid news” to discuss these days, it’s clear that AF is just pompously trolling around here, especially when it comes to belittling those being taken by surprise from the 2032 decision. I’ve improved on my ignoring trolls skills, but sometimes ir’s good to vent the frustration.

I miss the days when obnoxious trolls just haunted folks in Northern Europe and turned into stone at dawn. Nowadays they live all around the world, even in Australia, and spread their smelly brainfarts 24/7 online. In case this gets me banned: so be it. A forum like this is worthless if such spamming (not just the Hungarian stuff today) is being left unmoderated.

It feels like I subscribed to a newsfeed from a local paper in South Queensland.

Do you know who these individuals in the IOC are and what their history with morals is? I’d call the track record there dubious for some of them, at least. But as long as Republicans instigate voter suppression at home, they’re not only hypocrites but also give Beijing wonderful counterarguments. Stupid is as stupid does.

Maybe he can line up Florida for that one too, like the plan to stand in for Tokyo.

I'm wondering if, had let's say...Jakarta...got the nod so early on by the IOC based on the "Agenda 2020 + New Norm", you would have defended all those changes all so vigorously as well or if you had posted endless rants as to why the IOC played unfairly.

I don‘t think anyone was surprised about Brisbane bidding, they were surprised that the IOC acted in the way they did.