Sir Rols Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 If they throw together a good enough bid - at least as good as Doha's (and you'd assume they would with all their riches) - and come up with an acceptable proposal for the dates, it'd be interesting to see how the IOC could cut them from the short list. They'd have to really explicitly spell out their other concerns, which they'd likely be loathe to do. Depending on the calibre of opposition, I could see the IOC letting them through to candidate phase but then pegging them back on the final Evaluation Report - "Dubai could stage a good games, but we havee strong concerns about ... etc". And then Prince Albert can be let loose to grill the Sheik about whether he will commit to legislate full equal rights for women by 2020 at the final presentation or whatever. I still think Rio has hindered more than helped a Cape Town bid for 2020. I reckon this is still more a Europe (Rome) versus Asia (Japan?) affair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FYI Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Leave it to Prince Albert to jab it to the candidates, as he usually does. Anyway, I used to think that a Rio win would pretty much knock out a Cape Town victory for 2020, but know is seems plausible. If everything goes okay, for the most part, next summer in S. AF. with the WC & they can come up with a decent bid plan, & Rio (& Brazil) in 2013 is right on track with both their mega events, I can't see why Cape Town could not have a big advantage with those circumstances, not to mention that they'd be the last continent the IOC needs to check off their list. At the very least, CT would be the "little engine that could". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 I still think it would have helped Cape Town more for Rio to be just pippeed at the post for 2016 and come in a creditable second. I just feel the IOC is going to want to wait to see how their South American venture plays out to the end before committing to another leap of faith again so soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aluz Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Btw, when was this incident with the Brazilian woman at the Dubai airport? Because isn't the UAE the most progressive out of all the Gulf states? Was it more of an issue with the airline she was flying with? Another Gulf state carrier, perhaps? It was last year and I don't recall the carrier, but it could only be Emirates or an European carrier, otherwise there would be no flights to Brazil. I can ask, but I was told it had nothing to do with the carrier, but a passport control problem. When, one flies to the US, the VISA is checked during check in, so is a child travelling with one of the parents in Brazil, where the other parent must sign an authorization. By the way, I know many Brazilians and Portuguese who worked there and they all reported issues with women treatment. The girlfriend of a friend of mine was retained in the immigration until she said that she was meeting her boyfriend. Not to mention that the men in the company where they were working as consultants, simply refused to talk to women during meetings and ignored any remarks made by them. According to them, foreign women can enjoy some kind of freedom when areas typically visited by foreigners, but the overall treatment is quite disrespectful. Qatar and UAE are definitely more liberal to women than Iran and Saudi Arabia, but, frankly, that doesn't mean much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympic USA Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 That may be true, but my GAY friend who lives there for 3 years has a "straight" arab boyfriend who is married, and says the arab men dabble regularly. Also says underage sex is common and just swept under the rug, no pun intended. I guess this may be the case in many places around the world. Of course there are going to be men who have sexual relations with other men in the UAE but they have to be far more hush hush about it then they do in Europe, North America, or Australia for example. The law is still the law in the UAE and if the men who dabble regularly there are caught then they can be prosecuted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aluz Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 I still think it would have helped Cape Town more for Rio to be just pippeed at the post for 2016 and come in a creditable second. I just feel the IOC is going to want to wait to see how their South American venture plays out to the end before committing to another leap of faith again so soon. Well, in 2013, the South African WC will be in the past and Rio should be advanced for the preparations for the SOG, since there is overlap between WC and SOG preparations. Maracanã would be finished and the Confederations Cup might be played there. A lot of the transport infrastructure and the accomodation availability should be upgraded by then. So, there should be enough info for the IOC to decided whether to go for a Cape Town SOG. Besides, taking the Games to South America and Africa back to back would leave a great legacy Rogge's presidency. So, he might work for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 We forget, RSA's big test is next year. I hope they will do a halfway decent job. And then the IOC convenes in Durban in 2011. I really don't see how that...plus playing Lula's card as "Last Continent Left Un-hosted" especially after they have proven themselves with a WC while Rio was chosen WITHOUT a recent World Cup under its belt. And Mandela of course will play his "I want to see this before I die" card, too. Why not? I really don't see how the IOC can say "no" under that chain of events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FYI Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 And Mandela of course will play his "I want to see this before I die" card, too. Why not? yeah, if Samaranch can play it, y not Mandela, too! Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 Mandela is 91, in 2013 he would be 95, I am not sure he's going to make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympic USA Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 Mandela is 91, in 2013 he would be 95, I am not sure he's going to make it. Well, if he passes away shortly before the election then the Cape Town bid team can just say "Do this in honor of Mandela" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roux Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 , I would suggest for Istanbul to jump in if a lot of Arab countries bid at the same time. The IOC would rather give the event to a Muslim countries which doesn't share all the issues listed above. North African Arab countries, like Morocco, might also benefit from that. I understand Rabaat is considering a bid. That should be interesting. It would also be amazing to see the Olympics in Egypt. With so much history and culture, they'd have so much to use to make an awesome opening ceremony. But alas, I just don't see it possible in the forseeable future. Random fact related to this, Alexandria, Egypt was the first African city to bid for the games, bidding twice in 1916 and 1936. Cape Town, South Africa was the 2nd, but that didn't happen until 1997 (bidding for the 2004 games.) Cairo submitted a bid for the 2008 games, but failed to make the shortlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 /\ Egypt will NEVER happen. Cairo is a hellhole. If people think that Beijing's pollution was a problem, I believe the pollution in Cairo is 10x worse. Besides, it's another muslim country...so there are the very real terrorist dangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Assuming of course Cape Town is selected. They could go for Durban. It has its main stadium and using the logic of some, is therefore "obviously ready" to host the Games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Assuming of course Cape Town is selected. They could go for Durban. It has its main stadium and using the logic of some, is therefore "obviously ready" to host the Games. Durban also seems to be the one making the noise. C'mon MO, you must have your ear close to the ground in Cape Town. What's the word? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 I understand Rabaat is considering a bid. Do you know any moer about that. The only references I can see about that are a mention on Wikipedia with a link that has since broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feheva Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Where's zenica now? He was all the fun of this thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Where's zenica now? They have dissapeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feheva Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 They have dissapeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 Exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emre Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 the strongest arab candidate can be alexanderia i guess... cause dubai and doha are just buildings :S nothing special no soul... made by money... also Beirut can be a good candidate if they can make the infrastructure better and rebuild the city:D which impossible:D still the most likely host city in muslim world is Istanbul... so say we are:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FYI Posted November 7, 2009 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Yeah, agreed. But Istanbul needs to drastically improve their Olympic plan for any chance of success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotosy Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 'Olympics is less about economics' Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Bringing the Olympics to the Middle East has less to do with economics than developing sports at the grass-roots, according to a leading sports branding expert. "From the international perspective, there is a health warning for UAE. While it is trying to attract the big events and build a platform, it's the grass-roots level of sports that needs attention," said Tim Hill, Marketing Director of FutureBrand, which organised a roundtable discussion in Dubai yesterday. "Money isn't the issue in the UAE. The Olympic movement is about democratising sport. If it [the region] only becomes a beautiful showcase for Formula One, you are going to get less international attraction, because then it becomes only a monicker," said Hill. While the UAE is looking at the feasibility of bidding for the 2020 Olympics, having formed a working group under the Chairmanship of the Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum last year, Hill acknowledged that Dubai had the potential to stage an event of that magnitude. However, he cautioned that the emirate had to get its strategy right to make a pitch for the Olympics. "If you look at host cities that have won bids, there is usually an economic element to it," Hill said. "I question the importance of economic development from the UAE bid on the basis that – from an international perspective – the issue of finance and money regeneration doesn't seem to be that important." Europe-based Hill, who is working with the organisers of the 2012 London Olympics, said they focused on development in the East side of London, which is very poor. "You just have to look at how other venues increased their profile, like Beijing who had to clean up," he said. However, there were no such issues for UAE. "The region has already shown that when it sets out with a vision to build something new, it does it. They have the tallest building and man-made islands. It [the region] generally delivers. And their infra structure seems to be improving all the time. "It's important they understand the path. It matters what they do with the sites, arenas and sports facilities when the Games get over. It shouldn't become an issue as it became with Barcelona, where they built this amazing park and when the Games were over, the place was literally a ghost town," he said. "The Olympic promise is not about elitism. It is egalitarianism. You've got to be careful the UAE doesn't disregard its grassroots. When it is starting to bid for the Games, it must keep that as the cornerstone," he said. http://www.business24-7.ae/sports/other/olympics-is-less-about-economics-2010-03-17-1.69535 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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