Faster Posted October 15, 2009 Report Posted October 15, 2009 Still, Almaty isn't a destination that's on the top of most peoples travel itineraries. But again, to each their own. And I didn't mean grim & dreary in the literal sense, but rather figuratively. "Also when it comes to Asia, any new potential host is 'intriguing'." Really? One wouldn't think so considering how harsh you are towards Pyeongchang. I'm harsh towards Pyeongchang for very valid reasons, their bid sucks, their venues suck, their organizational skills suck. The time of podunks is over for the Winter Olympics. Korea has a more viable option in Chuncheon but they instead use PC. Also the spread of their venues is unbelievable bad, especially given the vast amounts of criticism Albertville gets for their spread out venue plan. And if Vancouver is having problems with accommodations what chance does a town of less then 50,000? Honestly give your head a shack. I'd say a repeat of 2014. Like you said, Russia & Kazahkstan are culturally similiar, so that's one minus against them right there. I don't think landmarks are an important factor either, especially for the Winter Games. But at least Albertville, Lillehammer, Nagano & even Pyeongchang, seem to have that mystical aura about them that I just don't get that vibe from Almaty. Oh but I guess it would have been alright by you to have London-Chicago with their similar cultures. Newsflash, Kazakhs aren't Russians, and cultural practices are certainly different as is the core of their society, own being Orthodox Christianity the other being Sunni Islam.
FYI Posted October 15, 2009 Report Posted October 15, 2009 Oh but I guess it would have been alright by you to have London-Chicago with their similar cultures. Newsflash, Kazakhs aren't Russians, and cultural practices are certainly different as is the core of their society, own being Orthodox Christianity the other being Sunni Islam. I'm not the one who initially said that Kazahkstan & Russia have similiar cultures, that was Kendegra. Besides, we did have Atlanta-Sydney with their similar cultures, & no body really balked at that one. I'm sure if Toronto also placed a 2016 bid you wouldn't have had a problem with that either right after London. And about Pyeongchang, yeah some of those points are valid, but really, if their bid was so damn bad, why did they come so close, twice? Certainly if they don't have their act together somewhat, they would've lost by much larger margins both times. If Rio, with the most spread out venue plan for 2016 won over 3 other cities, that by far had more compact plans than the Brazilians, that says that the IOC is not always consistent.
Kenadian Posted October 16, 2009 Report Posted October 16, 2009 I've always wondered why Pyeongchang does so well in the voting. My fear is that some of the IOC members don't care as much about the Winter Olympics. African, Asian, and Southern Hemisphere members don't have much of a constituency for them. Or there could be other sinister things at hand. I never felt the bid was strong enough to perform as well as it has.
Sir Rols Posted October 16, 2009 Report Posted October 16, 2009 I have far more sympathy for Almaty than PC, but two former-USSR hosts in a row is almost certainly not gonna happen. But I do like the idea of Almaty slowly bidding up to a more realistic tilt in the next round or two. If it COULD make the shortlist this time, it'd be a big boost for future hopes. And winning a bit more metal at the games in the meantime would help heaps too. if their bid was so damn bad, why did they come so close, twice? That's twice they went in with "rotation" and "new frontiers" on their side, and twice that wasn't enough. To be fair, though, the first one was more of a surprise that it came so close to toppling Vancouver. But of course when it comes to the WOGs, the IOC votes are always a excursion into anything's possible land. Those huge ranks of members from non-winter and non-winter-interested countries make the winter selections more of a lucky dip.
Faster Posted October 16, 2009 Report Posted October 16, 2009 I'm not the one who initially said that Kazahkstan & Russia have similiar cultures, that was Kendegra. Besides, we did have Atlanta-Sydney with their similar cultures, & no body really balked at that one. I'm sure if Toronto also placed a 2016 bid you wouldn't have had a problem with that either right after London. And about Pyeongchang, yeah some of those points are valid, but really, if their bid was so damn bad, why did they come so close, twice? Certainly if they don't have their act together somewhat, they would've lost by much larger margins both times. If Rio, with the most spread out venue plan for 2016 won over 3 other cities, that by far had more compact plans than the Brazilians, that says that the IOC is not always consistent. Yea spread out over an entire city, not an entire province. Huge difference. And the evaluation reports don't lie, the bid was ranked 4th in 2002 and scrapped by, by the then power of the Korean IOC presence and in 2014, they was really only one good bid. Salzburg. Sochi, Pyeongchang, Sofia, Borjomi and Almaty all had problems that would require vast amounts of money to solve. Almaty straddled the benchmark in 2006 but it was knocked out. Go figure. PC is probably the weakest bid to come as close to the Olympics as they have. There is no way they can solve the accommodations problems, unless they bid 10'000s of white elephant hotel rooms. Thankfully Toronto was not as stupid in putting forward a 2016 bid as another city. Canada's had their quota of games and any bid in the near future is futile. I don't delude myself. And in 22 Winter Olympic Games, really only Chamonix, St. Moritz, Innsbruck and Vancouver have any tourist cache. So saying Almaty is not on the top of the list of tourist attractions is not exactly a hindrance. Its not like Pyeongchang, Sochi, Torino, Salt Lake City and Nagano have been high on top tourist destination lists.
FYI Posted October 16, 2009 Report Posted October 16, 2009 And in 22 Winter Olympic Games, really only Chamonix, St. Moritz, Innsbruck and Vancouver have any tourist cache. So saying Almaty is not on the top of the list of tourist attractions is not exactly a hindrance. Its not like Pyeongchang, Sochi, Torino, Salt Lake City and Nagano have been high on top tourist destination lists. I never said that the lack of tourism was a hindrance for Almaty. The only reason I mentioned that is because a couple of you guys were refuting the "grim & dreary" comment. I know very well that Pyeongchang, Sochi, Turin, SLC & Nagano are not on top of that list either.
NYCD 2012 Posted October 16, 2009 Report Posted October 16, 2009 I think they'll definately bank in how they host the 2011 Winter Asian Games which takes place a mere six months before the vote in Durban. Still, I think Almaty is a boit too close to Sochi.
Sir Rols Posted October 16, 2009 Report Posted October 16, 2009 Well, academic now, anyway. They missed out. Pity.
thatsnotmypuppy Posted October 16, 2009 Author Report Posted October 16, 2009 I am surprised - I had from multiple sources the Kazakh's had sent a letter of intention. I'll follow this one up...
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