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Do you think that India would be a good host for Summer Olympics


  

35 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you think that India would be a good host for Summer Olympics

    • Yes
      4
    • No
      20
    • Its too early to say - lets wait for the sport events
      6
    • There is a lot to do but India has the potential
      5
    • India could host "tomorrow"
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Every country that hosts the Olympics will always have more pressing issues on the national agenda. Including the proud hosts of the Games of the XXX Olympiad.

The difference between China and India, though, is that China made massive investments in the Beijing Olympic Games long before the Bird's Nest opened - including an investment in athletics and sport. India's investment in the Delhi Commonwealth Games seemed to be a frantic last minute rush mostly pushed through over just the past year.

And even with China's push for Olympic glory and the backing of one Juan Antonio Samaranch at the height of his reign, let us never forget that Beijing failed to grasp the five golden rings on its first attempt. Oi Oi Oi! But they learned their lessons for the next round.

To compete at the Olympic level, India will need to change the way they do things, set out a long term plan, and build serious inroads with the IOC. That includes trust. After going through this experience, do you think the trust is there? Especially when the field of competition is quite rich and deep?

It might happen. But it won't happen soon.

Edited by Kendegra
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We cannot say with certainty what is going to happen.

For the older generation, could you imagine in 1989 during the Tiananmen Crisis that two years later Beijing would start a bid for the games that would be the favourite after support for Berlin collapsed or that China would host the games within 20 years?

India today is where China was 20 years ago, growth and development are soaring but the issues of education, poverty and government competence are still in question. Singh is doing a number of things to change the government in India and make the country run more smoothly. But in the end India is not China. Chinese people have a tendency to support the greater good or the common cause; Indians are definitely more Western in their desire for status and individual glory/achievement. India will develop and go through the same transitions China went through in the 90’s and the IOC deemed China ready in 1993.

In the end India hosting the Olympics comes down to one thing. Would there be a collective desire to go to India like there was to go to China, Russia and Brazil? My personal belief is that there will be. A new IOC president will take office in 2013. If they as concerned about legacy as Rogge and Samaranch are/were than going to Africa and India would be high on his or her agenda.

I, for one, would not be surprised to see India host in 2028. My personal belief is that 2020 to 2032 will be split between the Americans, Europeans, Indians and South Africans. But we shall see. It is a long ways off until these shows get on the road.

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All this talk about how the Indians are developing in terms of economy and infrastructure then contrasting it with the Chinese experience misses out on the elephant in the room so to speak when it comes to any future Indian attempts to mount a credible SOG bid. India and it's NOC have no influence at the IOC...none, bupkiss, nada, f'all. There is no one on the IOC's executive committee now or in the immediate future who can give them leverage. The whole Delhi shatfight has undoubtedly given every NOC and every IOC member cause to look again at even wanting to mire themselves in such a morass of incompetency and delusional hyperbole, and who is going to counter this? Kalmadi? Dikshit? Gill?

And what of Indian sporting achievement at the SOGs? 1 single solitary solo individual gold and their last field hockey gold was in Moscow 1980 (and even then it was thanks to a boycott that saw most of the world's best teams not attend). Aside from shooting the premier sport in which India does well at the CGs is weightlifting and not only are they not in the class of the Russians, Turks, Armenians, Kazakhs, Iranians etc etc they have also been caught out in doping scandals that have culled numerous lifters.

We're not talking China which had He on the exec committee and dozens of medals in their trunk prior to the first bid back in 1993 (and don't tell me the IOC cut China some serious brownie points when they turned up in LA in 84, giving the games a more global reach for an impaired SOGs), or South Korea and Mickey Kim. India has nowhere near the Olympic heritage, history, involvement or power to justify the awarding of a YOGs in 20 years let alone a full blown SOGs.

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OK, look at some other numbers...

The Olympic Games are every four years.

On recent average 4 or 5 cities have finalized bids that go before the IOC.

On recent average 8-12 cities submit bids.

In the next 25 years, we'll see this process run six more times to determine the host cities for Games of the XXXII-XXXVII Olympiads (2020-2040)

And if we look back over the past 25 years, we've seen seven cities awarded the Olympic Games (Barcelona - Atlanta - Sydney - Athens - Beijing - London - Rio de Janeiro).

And we know a long list of cities that are keenly interested in hosting future Olympics (Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Chicago, Doha, Durban, Dubai, Istanbul, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, and so on)

So what are the compelling reasons to put a city from India on that list of six host cities?

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So what are the compelling reasons to put a city from India on that list of six host cities?

At this point there aren't any. Yes, it's the world's second most populous country, yes it poses a marvelous cultural contrast to previous hosts, yes it's growing economically, BUT....

there's very little sporting tradition.

the infrastructure is inadequate.

poverty is widespread.

corruption is widespread.

India's record is questionable at best when it comes to organizing major international events.

I would love to see a successful Olympic Games in India, but I don't see it happening in the next 20 years -- particularly considering the problems leading up to the Commonwealth Games.

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Must admit when you have a sports minister like this you wonder about a government's credibility when it comes to major sports policy:

India should aim for Olympics: Oz Sports Minister

India has surpassed hopes and expectations with the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and should aim for hosting the Olympics, Australian Sports Minister Mark Arbib said on Tuesday.

"I like Indian culture so I had high hopes. But, they surpassed my hopes and expectations. It was riveting. So congratulations," Arbib said in an interview.

The young sports minister said the opening ceremony was beautiful, colourful and creative.

"At the same time, it was a wonderful display of Indian culture. For Australians, every Australian I spoke to, it was wonderful. So people responsible for organising should be congratulated," he said.

Asked if he thought India was capable of hosting Olympics, Arbib said, "I am not an expert in terms of whether a country is up to it or not. But there were comments by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, I think he said India should bid. That is a positive sign for India. And there is no reason why the Games should not come to India in future."

What a dullard. No reason? Perhaps he could get some ministerial advice on things like missing crowds, dengue fever outbreaks, poorly designed and mainatined venues, a minimum of 42 deaths in the construction of the games, a multi-billion dollar blowout in the games budget, political interference and corruption etc etc.

Bring back Kate Lumby...this creature of the NSW ALP Right is a buffoon.

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^

There are multiple things wrong with the minister's comments.

First off, staging a good (and they were good, not exceptional) opening ceremony does not mean you are a good host.

Second, exactly which Australians was he talking to? Clearly not the ones that were drenched in sweat begging to be released from the tunnel with no air flow.

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^

There are multiple things wrong with the minister's comments.

First off, staging a good (and they were good, not exceptional) opening ceremony does not mean you are a good host.

Second, exactly which Australians was he talking to? Clearly not the ones that were drenched in sweat begging to be released from the tunnel with no air flow.

Arbib is a right wing party hack with no credentials whatsoever when it comes to sport and the Olympic movement. His task at these games was no doubt to flatter the Indians and ensure that no matter what was appropriate in terms of criticism (helpful or protecting Australian athlete's interests) was going to be sidelined for the greater good of keeping the Indian government happy. It may be diplomatic and it does reflect where Australia's real interest in India is (i.e. tapping the growing wealth of the Indian economy) but it's uninformed and it's reinforcing the hyperbolic claims of Kalmadi and his corrupt gang of buffoons.

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Yeah, interesting ceremonies. That's his reason? Forget about the corruption, the chaos, the construction delays, the collapsed structures, the poorly prepared village, and the empty seats...the ceremony was pretty and lots of cool lights. Gimme a break!

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I don't see any situation in the next 100 years where any location in India could successfully host a SOG.

Don't be silly.

You can happily rule out Delhi from the next couple of cycles, and I'll take seriously people who think 2040 might be their earliest opportunity, but 100 years is ridiculous.

I suspect your nationality explains your point of view in this case. Yes, Delhi has fallen well short of Beijing despite its boasts, but go back 30 years and who would have predicted a Chinese Olympics? I wouldn't be at all surprised to see an Indian Olympics in the 2030s, even 2028 wouldn't surprise me that much.

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Rob, how can India prove it is capable to host 2028. I think it would be foolish to bid for 2020, so that would just give them 2024 to throw out a "dry run" bid. What other major competitions can they hold to erase these bad memories?

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Don't be silly.

You can happily rule out Delhi from the next couple of cycles, and I'll take seriously people who think 2040 might be their earliest opportunity, but 100 years is ridiculous.

I suspect your nationality explains your point of view in this case. Yes, Delhi has fallen well short of Beijing despite its boasts, but go back 30 years and who would have predicted a Chinese Olympics? I wouldn't be at all surprised to see an Indian Olympics in the 2030s, even 2028 wouldn't surprise me that much.

Finally someone talking sense. If the IOC and the IOC Sponsors want India they will get India. India is 1.2 million rapidly growing people with millions of people a year joining the middle class.

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Finally someone talking sense. If the IOC and the IOC Sponsors want India they will get India. India is 1.2 million rapidly growing people with millions of people a year joining the middle class.

Thing is the IOC has no membership that is willing or interested in securing a games for India now nor will they have for quite some time, as indicative by the absolute nadir that the Indian NOC and its patrons have brought the current CGs to. There is no one...no one in the upper levels of the IOC who have put themselves forward as patrons of India's Olympic aspirations aside from your general motherhood statements from JR himself (the same man who has been talking up for example a Chilean or Argentine bid for the OWGs), whilst almost all the boosting of an Indian bid has come from the same buffoons who can't even keep monkeys and dogs out of athlete villages. As for sponsors the CGs have seen less than 30% of the targeted revenue streams come from sponsors (see here for reference) and considering that the majority of sponsors would have been domestic Indian companies able to promote their involvement with actual signage at the CGs (unlike the Olympics where sponsorship is generally more subtle or at least off venue) it would be highly unlikely that the likes of P&G, McDonalds etc would be willing to expose their brands to a potential games with potential shambolic organisational issues that would in turn reflect badly on their branding.

India has no hope of hosting a games until they meet at least these 6 criteria:

1. Reform their bureaucracies and political corruption so that the miasma of organising high profile public events on the scale of an Olympics doesn't get bogged down in bribes, red tape and nepotism

2. Cultivate an Olympic sports heritage and improve performance across a broader range of sports beyond it's very poor standards of the last 114 years

3. Provide a safe and secure games environment without either crippling financial pressures (as experienced in Athens) and/or curtailing the actual participation in the games for athletes and both domestic and international tourists (how can the IOC or the sponsors want to support an Indian bid when Delhi belly and travel advisory concerns are issued in day to day activities on the subcontinent let alone for an SOGs).

4. Convince domestic and international sponsors that their brands won't be tainted by associated legal or organisational problems as prevalent as experienced in the lead into and running of these CGs

5. Provide a sports going public that is willing and able to expand their interests from non-Olympic sports (such as cricket) and that can afford and will therefore attend games events

6. Most importantly establish a cadre of professional, independent and ambitious sports administrators including at least one IOC member who is potentially part of the IOC executive committee whilst cultivating the support of more than just their own internal cronies.

Brazil and Rio have ticked off these criteria, as has China and Beijing. Considering the farce that has been Delhi 2010 India has no capability to achieve more than 1 or 2 of these standards and so far has demonstrated no ability or desire to move forward to secure these standards.

Edited by eusebius65
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Rob, uhmmmm...jiejie is a western (American, I believe?) woman.

The Baron is correct. I'm not even ethnically Chinese. And goodness' knows, I'm no cheerleader for the Beijing regime and never have been--didn't even think Beijing should have been awarded the Olympics, but then the IOC didn't ask for my opinion. ;)

I think Eusebius above is right as to the checklist of what's needed for India to put a serious bid together. But I stand by my previous comments--ain't gonna happen in the next 100 years. The crux of the issue, especially if you want to compare Developing China with Developing India, comes down to fundamental cultural differences and has nothing to do with how many people are joining the middle class.

It is simply this: when the chips are down and the will to accomplish something big is there, the Chinese have a culture of moving heaven and earth to make it happen, whatever it takes and that includes rolling over and squashing obstacles (sometimes literally). Situation with Indians is completely different. Anyone who's tried to herd cats will get the idea.

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Rob, how can India prove it is capable to host 2028. I think it would be foolish to bid for 2020, so that would just give them 2024 to throw out a "dry run" bid. What other major competitions can they hold to erase these bad memories?

That's a 64 billion Crore question; before heading into an Olympic bid can India and its relevant NOC, governmnet etc dispel Delhi's farcical reputation and if so would another major sporting event run the potential of repeated the same mistakes and stuff ups.

On the immediate horizon is of course the ICC One Day World Cup and I'd be hard put to believe that even a smoothly run tournament will help an Indian bid for 2020 on two grounds. First we are talking about cricket which has about as much relevance to the current IOC membership as does the last Olympic champion team in the sport. Secondly a cricket tournament held across 3 nations in a madly passionate cricket loving part of the world, where the game has a complex (and arguably deleterious) relationship with Indians and the local BCCI means that the IOC could not draw valid lessons from it to ensure the smooth running fo a future SOGs.

As for the next best opportunity perhaps an Asiad games (2019 or 2023) would be appropriate but then you start pushing out a bid drawing on the success of such an event to 2021 or 2025 (for the 2028 or 2032 SOGs). So we are talking at least 11 years for Delhi's schemozzle to be forgotten...that's a very vague hope considering that to be even in the ball park an Indian bid for say 2019 must first beat off rival bids from (hypothetically) Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpar, Hanoi, Manama, Kuwait City etc etc.

The CGs will arguably never come back to India and FIFA will also steer well clear of the subcontinent for a WC. World championships like those for the IAAF, FINA, FIBA, FIG, ICU etc etc won't be looking to ship their sports over to Madras, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai etc etc so bang goes the chance for say a World Track Cycling Championship to help a potential 2020 or beyond bid.

So to put it none too delicately, any future Indian SOG bid is up the river Ganges in a barbed wire canoe with no paddles.

Edited by eusebius65
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Actually can scrub the 2019 and most likely 2023 Asiads as having researched a little more it would seem that the Indian Olympic Association screwed the pooch back in August in withdrawing a Delhi bid before the deadline. Throw in the circumstances of that cancelled bid (furore and scandal over the 2010 CGs and the related delays and corruption) and the 2023 games will be selected with 2019 tied in then we will be talking about 2027 Asiads at the earliest.

An Indian SOGs before the 2050s? No way...

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You could have easily made the prediction that the Olympic Games would be in China on July 28, 1984...the day the PRC Olympic team marched into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and made their arrival known.

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When it comes time for the IOC to award the Olympic Games, they go looking for a partner to deliver an exceptional Games experience for the athletes, the spectators, the sponsors, the media, and the world at large. The biggest risk they have taken in recent years were the 2004 Athens Olympics - the smallest country to host the Olympics since Finland hosted the 1952 Helsinki Games. Yes, China has issues, but as an Olympic partner, they were NEVER going to be a risk. Just look at the result!

As an Olympic partner, what does India offer the IOC? At the moment, empty seats and empty promises, delayed preparation and a highly undeveloped market. It would take more than just a few Olympic cycles to get to that level and there are many other potential Olympic partners that offer everything that the IOC is looking for. Delhi 2010 has tarnished the Commonwealth Games brand. The IOC would never allow their sacred and holy brand to enter into that kind of risk - it is just too valuable. India has a long, long, long way to go before they host an Olympic Games.

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