thatsnotmypuppy

Which will be quickly eaten up with the maintenance costs of the venues. So yay - but hmm.

Well that'll give those venues a bit more use - still... not a good look.

I think we touched on this in one of the long gone fantasy bid competitions. I think the general concensus was the distance was prohibitive (700+km from Barcelona to Albertville, 800+ km from Andorra la Vella to Albertville) however that doesn't seem to be a huge issue these days. Yes - Milan to Cortina is half of these distances - however the IOC may be open to this plan to show they are serious about legacy.

Ah Barcelona again. I don't know. I much rather another summer Games from them or Madrid. Maybe Lisbon? I just can't equate Spain with winter sports. I know they have mountains but... eh. It's a stretch.

I'm hoping there are lots of escalators and lifts that I'm just not seeing because that is not a Paralympic friendly venue based on the latest pics...

Not a surprise. They are too expensive unless you have the vast majority of venues and infrastructure already in place. Adelaide most likely has enough venues - however they may not be of the right capacity for the CGF. It may get to the point where the CGF will approach cities directly. Melbourne again? Back to back in the UK?

Yep - that is what I saw - but to be honest they are both kind of adorable. Neither tops the 2008 Paralympic mascot though. Fu Niu Lele forever!

Valid points - but the Comm Games are costing in excess of a billion dollaridoos these days. There has to be a way to bring that right down - and the CGF is a good position to lead the way in making these multisport events cheaper.

We are here - however the 'No' is tempered with 'maybe'. There is a general lack of belief that this will come off - that it is still just politicians having a wank. We'll see.

I hear this a lot and frankly major changes need to be made. The Commonwealth Games should maybe fully integrate 'Paralympic' sports on an equal footing (same amount of able bodied and non-able bodied athletes), perhaps take a leaf out of the Asian Winter Games book and invite a couple of sporting superpowers to the party and finally look at the sporting programme and scale back those sports that already have sufficient international championships/exposure.

The locals didn't get behind the 2004 bid. I doubt there is much appetite for an Olympics there now either.

Isn't there serious talk of Belarus rejoining Russia anyway? There was a story not long ago that Putin can be President again if it happens... I'm not sure how much of it is fantasy though. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/01/29/a-brotherly-takeover-could-russia-annex-belarus-op-ed-a64326

www.reddit.com/r/olympics/

Gosh - I wish they double awarded 2026/30 now lol. Anyhow. So let's start #SLC30 right here and now.

But a precedent has now been set so there is always going to be the question when it comes to a head to head between two formidable potential hosts the IOC has provided themselves with a diplomatic way of getting out of any criticism. Will it happen again? Highly unlikely. Could it happen? Yes. Am I enjoying your passionate ranting? Possibly...

It's not "very likely" - however unless a competitive, locally supported bid from a proper Winter sports power (Norway etc) it may do the IOC good to just secure two solid hosts that will deliver events with the appropriate scale to perhaps entice the bigger players to bid again. Milan will help - but SLC and Sapporo - who both have the majority of what they need in place and more importantly are using the existing infrastructure - will help the IOC further down the line. Thus I wouldn't expect it - but wouldn't rule it out.

I think most European potential bidders will read the room and realise that SLC is a likely lock with Sapporo probably for 2034. The Japanese made such a song and dance about not bidding for 2026 because the shinkansen would not be ready (like that will be the main transport link required FFS) and with the completion now delayed until 2031 at the earliest I doubt they'll put their hand up for 2030.

But but but... ALMATY!!! I hear you though.

Come now - you aren't that new here...

Well that depends on the scale of whats to come. It's been 30 years and what happened in Beijing is still a vivid memory for many, many people. Either way - 2022 is in Beijing.

Sadly the Chinese are so integrated into the global economy now that any word of cancellation or boycotting may have real consequences - so I'd imagine nothing will happen.

Good luck with that - most of the Gold Coasters feel the Games were alienating and not worth the multiple years long inconvenience.

You have to ask your self - if I only am able to get a couple of tickets is it worth the expense? Hotels should be coming online now - as are flights so get in now. It seems a small amounts of tickets were being released off and on - and are being snapped up very quickly. As far as I know it has been over a week since the last ticket drop. In your list I have seen Women's handball (I know - not the gender you wanted), Hockey and 3 x 3 Basketball pop up. There have also been some Table Tennis, Wrestling, Sports Climbing, Golf, Equestrian, Athletics and Synchronised Swimming pop up in Australia's CoSport allocation. I have not seen any Ceremony tickets at all.

I was listening to some old compilation CDs (Grammy Nominee sets) the other day and realised something appalling - my tastes in music may have shifted. Considerably. I've always loved pop, country, rock etcetera but found myself getting into some weird songs that previously annoyed the sh!t out of me. Some examples - Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin Where Have All The Cowboys Gone - Paula Cole Walk This World - Heather Nova Has anyone noticed this? Maybe a song you always skipped you suddenly realise isn't too bad? Or maybe this is alzheimers and you are all a figment of my imagination?

I love that they are still trying to tell us that anyone internationally (bar the athletes and their families) gave a right royal sh*t about the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Even post Games polls on the Gold Coast show the locals thought it was a colossal waste of time. Either way - sure spend another $20 million that could go to fixing the storm water drains and lack of fire hydrants in my suburb - you know - things that matter.