TorchbearerSydney

I would pick Melbourne over Brisbane (or Sydney) anyday as the next Aus host- it really could do it with four years notice if it had to.....its facilities are second to none. As people point out, it is the timing that is the issue....it is 2000km South of Brisbane, and the Games would have to be held from October.....Sydney just squeezed its in September (and luckily had unseasonally warm early Spring weather.

Prediction..the Tokyo 64 cauldron was lit by a 19 year old born on the day of the Hiroshima Bomb...the Tokyo 2020 cauldron will be lit by a 19 year old born in Sendai on the day of the tsunami???

Amen- the Youth Games are a joke- 99 percent of people don't know they exist. They are not televised anywhere. They were supposed to be a little 'budget' Games, then Singapore and especially Nanjing blew huge amounts of money on them. They should never have gone to China-they host the real thing.

I think Adelaide Oval will be wide enough as it is a cricket/ AFL pitch. It has an open end, so the track can be pushed out that way. It is the most sublime stadium- all lightweight and open, surrounded by parklands and in the centre of the city. Capacity about 55,000..

Yes- Gold Coast snatched defeat from the claws of victory! I found it so refreshing in an era of PR Spin and corporate speak, hearing Joanna Griggs and Basil of the host broadcaster stand in front of a camera and say- that was a load of crap! Respect to them for risking their jobs to say that. And respect To Beattie (chairman of GOLDOC) for fronting every media outlet this morning and say they stuffed it up.

I just moved to Adelaide- so I really want it to host. Had it got its act together, it would have had 2018. It is its turn as Australais 5th city (GC is 6th). Adelaide has now got its fantastic new stadium in the city, a new Aquatic Centre (it will host the Olympic trials in 2020) and a pretty good second one, an indoor velodrome...plenty of indoor venues, so facilities are not a problem. The weather has been very good the last couple of weeks (but will soon get cold). The major problem would be accommodation-then again the Gold Coast had a huge excess apparently when the locals cleared out. The state budget is in surplus too (as opposed to the mining states).

My God- just watched the host broadcasters in Aus calling the closing an embarrassing piece of s^&t!!!! They really let rip....absolutely unprecedented. One caveat I would put on it is not to criticise all the volunteer performers (the hundreds of kids) who put in months of practice for fee. They did their best...this will be a highlight of their lives. There were seven speeches in a row!!!! WTF

Having been to Sydney 2000 and Melbourne 2006, and being aboriginal, I was pretty blown away by the ceremony. It was classy, universal, inclusive, the indigenous segments were inspiring and embracing (like taking the smoking ceremony up to the dignitaries)...the parade was pacey with athletes really having fun, relaxed, avoided all sorts of cliches...and on a pretty tight budget. Great combination of live action/projections, often simultaneously. Who would have thought the flashy Gold Coast could pull that off?

Indeed...all the logos, bunting and decorations were 'tweaked' for legal reasons obviously....there was one big error though, in the movie in 1992 her coach comes up says 'the IOC have decided there will be a Games in 2 years instead of 4 years'...this decision actually happened in 1988, 4 years early. Great movie, sad error.

Rio didn't 'glorify slums'....it celebrated high rise living- a celebration of all the peoples of their great cities, from the super wealthy in their penthouses, to the poorest in the favelas. I actually thought that was rather brilliant and inclusive.

It is a fine balance- too cold and wild for events, or too balmy and warm for good snow....

As far as empty seats go, they have to do something about ticketing. I would have gone to Korea except the only way for me to get tickets was through the stupid agency- that charges a fortune for a few D class tickets (first round curling, womens hockey, etc).... they didn't open the general ticket office to the world, even late, so I wasn't going to risk getting to Korea and try my luck. Now I sit at home and see empty seats I would have happily bought, lets say 3 months ago. Arrgh...but every Games is the same.

As for the cauldron lighting...as a layman watching at home I 'read' the industrial/ agricultural/ crude flaming metal pole as Korea rising from the ashes of WW2 and Korean War into the shiny new modern age of the glistening white cauldron..... Apparently I read too much into it- but it makes more sense than the 30 rings/ year story.

Good point about the stadium cost......not very 'eco' friendly either...

Here's a thought...why not lit the cauldron by drone...Yuna KIm could light a little drone that fluttered up to the Cauldron...too risky of malfunction I suppose, but a lot more elegant and keeping in theme..