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Is Durban too Ugly to be the 2024 host?


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Durban is simply as beautiful as Cape Town. But come on, Seoul got the Olympic Games because they were competing against a non-iconic city, so better to award it to a Capital City where people can point easily in their maps. I think the magic of the Olympics for people in general is to see the Olympics in a well-known city like Athens, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Mexico City, Moscow, Beijing or Rio de Janeiro.

Its always nice to see the games go to the glamour cities, but it's also good to see the lesser-knowns rise to Olympic occasion as well and use them to glamourise their own profile. Like the examples above from Baron, there's lots of Plain Janes who've managed to shine and make the games shine.

Anyway, we already have debates about the fairness of technically excellent cities having to compete against sentimental favourites. It's probably a bit too much to many people to accept that you have to be a postcard-favourite location to be in consideration.

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Durban is simply as beautiful as Cape Town. But come on, Seoul got the Olympic Games because they were competing against a non-iconic city, so better to award it to a Capital City where people can point easily in their maps. I think the magic of the Olympics for people in general is to see the Olympics in a well-known city like Athens, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Mexico City, Moscow, Beijing or Rio de Janeiro.

Durban wants to be forever remembered as "the First African Olympic City." Cape Town and Johannesburg are the global cites like the ones you just mentioned. Pretoria is the capital.

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Durban wants to be forever remembered as "the First African Olympic City." Cape Town and Johannesburg are the global cites like the ones you just mentioned. Pretoria is the capital.

Well, Durban is RSA's, southern Africa's and that part of the Indian Ocean's busiest port. So in their long-range plans to prepare for an Olympic Games, not only are they fully upgrading their port facilities for the long-term future, and as I understand it, that includes being able to berth at least half a dozen mega-cruise liners easily for the all important dates in July-August 2024.

P.S. Pretoria is the administrative and legislative capital but Bloemfontein is the judicial capital--where their SUpreme Court sits.

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I'm sure not that many people knew where to point to on a map where Seoul was before they were awarded the Games. And I'd dare to say that many today would still have a tough time finding it on an atlas. Part of Nagoya's loss was most likely due as well that Japan had already hosted the Games not that long before.

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P.S. Pretoria is the administrative and legislative capital but Bloemfontein is the judicial capital--where their SUpreme Court sits.

Yeah, but if Durban hosts, there'll always be those who start thinking that IT'S the capital.

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Durban is simply as beautiful as Cape Town. But come on, Seoul got the Olympic Games because they were competing against a non-iconic city, so better to award it to a Capital City where people can point easily in their maps. I think the magic of the Olympics for people in general is to see the Olympics in a well-known city like Athens, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Mexico City, Moscow, Beijing or Rio de Janeiro.

Like I said in the other post, actually Durban is the perfect city for a South African Olympic city, especially in the ideological symbolism:

-Ubicated in the heart of the Zulu community (African roots).

-The urban development of the city started at the last years of the Apartheid (A new dawn of South Africa)

-Also, even when most part of the population is Zulu, Durban is ethnically diverse (The rainbow nation) with a new generation of whites, Xhosas -The other relevant group by the African roots- and the biggest overseas Indian community in one city around the World (Close ties with the Indian subcontinent)

And with the economical power by the region remarked by baron, it would mean a growing development and an international name. Take the examples of Seoul and Barcelona. Those cities weren't exactly A-List cities before the Olympic Games, but they became relevant and famous after the Games -Especially in the case of Barcelona-.

This would be the emblem: "The Rainbow City, in the middle of the African heart of the new Republic of South Africa"

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I'm sure not that many people knew where to point to on a map where Seoul was before they were awarded the Games. And I'd dare to say that many today would still have a tough time finding it on an atlas. Part of Nagoya's loss was most likely due as well that Japan had already hosted the Games not that long before.

Well most Americans today can't locate the US on a map so I highly doubt that they can locate Seoul.

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  • 3 months later...

As we start the next round of hypothesizing and some people wet dreaming on results...

Just a little update on Durbs. It was announced yesterday that the casino complex that falls next to the sports precinct has submitted plans for a $160m expansion that will include alot of extra slots and tables, loads more retail, rooftop Vegas style pools and most relevent for this forum... a 2000 seat multipurpose events venue.

Now it needs to still go through the proper approval channels etc... but the city made an interesting comment, stating they had to fully evaluate it to ensure it aligns to their development plans for this sports precinct.

Interesting years ahead folks

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And now the official voices start making some noise...

Durban up for Olympics NIVASHNI NAIR | 11 September, 2013 01:22 South Africa, through Durban, is ready to bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Sport and Recreation Ministry said yesterday the city's infrastructure, humility and humanity were "fantastic and world class". "The sport economy is one of the major fundamentals for the country. We continue to attract major events . and are attractive to the world after hosting world events like the Fifa [soccer] World Cup," said Department of Sport and Recreation spokesman Paena Galane. "Now, we believe we are ready, through Durban, to host the Olympics."

He added: "Interestingly, Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula is in Argentina attending the World Anti-Doping Agency executive meeting on the sidelines of the International Olympic Committee, where delegates, after the announcement of Tokyo [as 2020 Olympics city], spoke of Durban as the preferred destination."

According to the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism master plan, the province hopes to bid for the rights to host several major world sporting events in the next 17 years.

The head of its department of economic development and tourism, Desmond Golding, said yesterday the province had not taken an official decision on bidding for the Olympics. But it was encouraged by the recent recognition of Durban as South Africa's friendliest city and among the world's top 10 cities of the future.

Besides an ambition to become known as Africa's top beach destination, KwaZulu-Natal has identified sports tourism as a niche that will attract thousands of visitors to the province. Over the next two years, the province will develop a sports and events strategy.

Golding said the province would bid for sporting events that were not necessarily mainstream. "We have become a big hit in the golfing fraternity since we hosted the Women's World Cup of Golf. In fact, KwaZulu-Natal has hosted more world golf championships in relation to the European circuit than even the UK.

"Durban has all the ingredients to host the Olympics and other major sporting events," he said.

In 2011, the cabinet threw out Mbalula's bid - with Durban as the frontrunning city - for the 2020 Olympic Games, saying South Africa wanted to focus on priorities such as alleviating poverty. At the time the president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, Gideon Sam, said Durban would need at least R31-billion to build new venues for the Olympics.

Durban had already planned where it would build an aquatic and equestrian centres, and an indoor sports area, as well as the Olympic village.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/09/11/durban-up-for-olympics

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That article is just further evidence that Durban is the most practical & sensible choice for South Africa, no matter how much some just "drool" over a Cape Town prosect . And after Bach's words today, after being president for just a day, that he "wants change" in the bidding process, & that he wants cities to evaluate first how an Olympics would make sense for their city, then these steps don't bode well for a city like Cape Town, which isn't as far ahead & "visioned" like Durban already is. And like I've always said, the IOC is going to look at viability first, rather than merely the "glamor" aspect when it comes to the very first African Olympics. And besides, Durban also wants to become a "top 'BEACH' destination"! That should win many brownie point with paul. :lol:

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Durban South Africa if you want to host the Summer Olympics Games 1st bid and host the 2022 or 2026 Commonwealth Games then after you hosted it then go for the 2036 or 2040 Summer Games you are not ready yet for the Olympics Games yet and you need to host an event like the Commonwealth Games to prove that you can host big events Istanbul Turkey never hosted a big multi sporting event and they are still failing to get the Olympics Games.

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Durban South Africa if you want to host the Summer Olympics Games 1st bid and host the 2022 or 2026 Commonwealth Games then after you hosted it then go for the 2036 or 2040 Summer Games you are not ready yet for the Olympics Games yet and you need to host an event like the Commonwealth Games to prove that you can host big events Istanbul Turkey never hosted a big multi sporting event and they are still failing to get the Olympics Games.

Yes and no. But if they don't bid right away, Abuja or Mogadishu might steal a march on them!! :lol: I was thinking they could actually start with perhaps a World Games (that sounds more global and under direct IOC patronage).

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Well the Drakensburg mountains are high enough, but I don't know where in SA they are. Logically, they'd be a fair way from the coast, but Sochi is coastal. The main problem would be the same as for NZ & Chile - the winter is at the "wrong" time, June/July. But if the IOC want to try a southern WOG, SA could challenge Chile, NZ, Argentina etc.

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Durban South Africa if you want to host the Summer Olympics Games 1st bid and host the 2022 or 2026 Commonwealth Games then after you hosted it then go for the 2036 or 2040 Summer Games you are not ready yet for the Olympics Games yet and you need to host an event like the Commonwealth Games to prove that you can host big events Istanbul Turkey never hosted a big multi sporting event and they are still failing to get the Olympics Games.

I do not agree. I see no correlation between hosting a Commonwealth games and an Olympic Games. Hosting some other big events, yes. Hence why the city and province have developed an events strategy that aims to target relevent international sporting events to further build their standing but to also prepare more.

Also to compare one cities bidding circumstances and anothers also makes no sense to me. Frankly i am no Olympics orgasm guy like most of the people on here, i think it is an event which needs to really try hard to stay relevent as time marches on. That said, I know it is not so much about whats on paper but about politics. The best candidate is not also going to win, people are going to be surprised and not everything follows some formula.

Would a commonwealth games help durban... maybe some might think so... i personally think it would harm an olympic bid because why would the IOC want to take their prize event to Africa for the first time to a city that the Commonwealth Games beat them to? hmmm? It loses them alot of showmanship and lets all be frank here, this is about showmanship and puffery and political egos. nothing more.

Oh, please use some punctuation next time.

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The value in hosting lesser international multi-sport events is that it enables the host to develop infrastructure, venues and organizational know-how that are essential for staging the Olympics. Particularly for less developed cities with less of a track record, this experience is invaluable preparation and also reassures the IOC of the host's capabilities.

I think it is very fair to say that Rio would not have won 2016 if they hadn't hosted the Pan Am Games.

Also, the Olympics are peerless. They have nothing to fear from lesser events and would not disregard a locale simply because it had hosted Commonwealth Games.

I believe Durban can win an Olympic bid without hosting Commonwealth Games first simply because the IOC is so desperate to go to Africa. I also believe Durban would be much better prepared if they hosted Commonwealth Games first and I hope they recognize this.

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