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How successful will Rio 2016 be?


  

65 members have voted

  1. 1. How will Rio 2016 go off?

    • Best Games Ever
      5
    • Good Games No Problems
      12
    • A few Glitches
      32
    • Many Problems / which seriously damager the games
      16
    • Disaster requiring many plan B changes
      0
  2. 2. Do you want Rio 2016 to be a success?

    • Yes
      56
    • Undecided
      6
    • No
      3
  3. 3. What will be the biggest success in Rio?

    • Sport
      22
    • Legacy
      5
    • Venues
      0
    • Atmosphere / Human
      23
    • Location / Nature / City
      10
    • Cerimonies
      2
    • Design / logo, look etc.
      3


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Disappointing seeing the stadium almost empty. If you look at videos Seoul also had an almost empty stadium on the first day of the athletics competitions but it got more full later. In advance the programme wasn't the most interesting one on the opening day despite of what happened in the 10 km race. Hopefully the following days spark more interest but it will look really bad if the situation doesn't improve a lot. It's obvious that Brazil and World Cup was a much better combination than this one because the Olympic Games aren't just that big in South America, although until this I thought the atmosphere seemed ok, with some exceptions. Ironically the emptiest venues have probably been in football.

Makes me wonder does this make the decision not to go to Rio more regrettable or a good one. On the one hand it seems tickets would have been easy to get, as a total opposite to London, but with the lack of atmosphere is attending the events really worth it?

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I've gotta be honest, every day there seems to be a problem that I've dismissed as unfortunate but not the end of the world, that it shouldn't affect our enjoyment. The green pool, the bullet in the equestrian media centre, the village not being ready, buses being attacked, empty seats, 'Look' elements missing all over the place, shoot outs near stadiums, virtually no spectators roadside for cycling etc

But they are now - cumulatively - starting to grate and affect how I'm seeing these Games. :(

Thankfully nothing BIG has happened. Enjoying RIo, these are a good Games mostly, but I think seeing the pitiful attendance for athletics last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. These things are starting to get a me a little annoyed now.

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2 hours ago, Rob. said:

I've gotta be honest, every day there seems to be a problem that I've dismissed as unfortunate but not the end of the world, that it shouldn't affect our enjoyment. The green pool, the bullet in the equestrian media centre, the village not being ready, buses being attacked, empty seats, 'Look' elements missing all over the place, shoot outs near stadiums, virtually no spectators roadside for cycling etc

But they are now - cumulatively - starting to grate and affect how I'm seeing these Games. :(

Thankfully nothing BIG has happened. Enjoying RIo, these are a good Games mostly, but I think seeing the pitiful attendance for athletics last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. These things are starting to get a me a little annoyed now.

I don't know if we all do the same, but I guess mentally I've been working through how I'd review and rate these games as they go along. And, almost exactly as you say, I've been suspending criticism of the niggling elements, the rough edges, along the way, making that leap of faith that it's all inconsequential and cosmetic and really not affecting whether the games can be called a success or not. I guess I've taken the view that such rough edges were to be expected, and indeed are part of the "charm" of bringing them to Rio. And that ultimately they're preferable to a slick, but morally suspect games like Beijing or Sochi.

But, yeah, like you, the woefully empty seats have been a bit of an epiphany for me as well. I've been prepared to forgive a lot on the assumption that the spirit of the Brazilian people embracing the games and enjoying their big moment - as I know we Aussies and you Brits have done - would shine through. But that just doesn't seem to be, or at least seen to be, happening. The Greeks in Athens also had a slow start, but by the end I did get a sense that they were embracing their games with a sense of pride and ownership of them. I'm not feeling that passion from the Brazilians. And that indifference is proving the letdown for me.

As I say, how I'm responding to the games is a work in progress. But show us some joy and embrace of them Brazil. I want to think positively about them, I wouldn't  say I find them grating or annoying yet, but I'm not sure if you even care. In Sydney and London I got the vibe that we were giving a party and having the time of our lives. Rio seems to me to feel like Brazilians are just hosting a horde of gringos and are indifferent.

Edited by Sir Rols
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Like you I'm ready to forgive many issues if the atmosphere is good but the worst thing is indifference. The World Cup was a success not because of organizational smoothness but because of the passion of the public, although it was also in big part thanks to traveling South American fans from Argentina, Colombia, Chile etc.

The Olympic stadium looks a LOT better today though, I would say at least at 80 percent capacity which is good for a morning session in almost any city. I wasn't expecting a full house for morning events anyway, London was almost like an anomaly. I guess the warmer weather has attracted more people today. Honestly I wouldn't pick the first day myself either if I could choose which one to attend in person.

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I wouldn't yet put so much faith back into the crowds since it's the weekend. Not only that, but tonight is the M Quarterfinal with Brazil/Colombia. If the public only really cares about that match, we'll see <50% athletics crowds again tonight. And then of course we'll have to see/judge what those weekday sessions do with people at work.

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I think that one of the main issues that Rio is having is that they have had 2 major events.  The World Cup and Carnival.  Carnival is their real celebration that brings everyone out with a lot of enthusiasm.  With the political / economic situation in Brazil the great expenditure of funds on the Olympics really grates on people. Also, the price of the typical ticket (especially the A and B tickets) were out of reach of most people in Brazil.  Then there was the lack of planning on the distribution of tickets.  The first couple of CoSport releases only had, for the most part, secondary type events.  It was only later that more tickets were released.  Add to that the Zika fear and terrorist fears people not traveling to Brazil and you have empty seats.

Another way to judge the worldwide enthusiasm for the games is to look at what various souvenirs are going for.  For example, if you look at the Opening Pin, which is numbered and limited to 2016 copies, is barely selling on Ebay.  In past Olympics, the pins were going for in excess of $100.

Bottom line is that you have a worldwide lack of interest in the games.
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4 hours ago, lovecruisingtoo said:

I think that one of the main issues that Rio is having is that they have had 2 major events.  The World Cup and Carnival.  Carnival is their real celebration that brings everyone out with a lot of enthusiasm.  With the political / economic situation in Brazil the great expenditure of funds on the Olympics really grates on people. Also, the price of the typical ticket (especially the A and B tickets) were out of reach of most people in Brazil.  Then there was the lack of planning on the distribution of tickets.  The first couple of CoSport releases only had, for the most part, secondary type events.  It was only later that more tickets were released.  Add to that the Zika fear and terrorist fears people not traveling to Brazil and you have empty seats.

Another way to judge the worldwide enthusiasm for the games is to look at what various souvenirs are going for.  For example, if you look at the Opening Pin, which is numbered and limited to 2016 copies, is barely selling on Ebay.  In past Olympics, the pins were going for in excess of $100.

 

 

Bottom line is that you have a worldwide lack of interest in the games.

One wonders how much distance, the zika hysteria, political instability and fears of violence factored into this.

On the positive side of the balance sheet, the supposed whole focus of the carnival - the sport - has been IMO a great success. The feel good stories - first gold medals for Fiji and Singapore, the success of Ruby 7s, gold medals falling seemingly every final in the pool, records on the track in cycling, Phelps. It's been a vintage edition at the half any mark for the action.

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The games are reasonable.

The positives for me are:

The atmosphere of the Brazilian public is contagious, Brazilians have a fanatical passion for 'Team Brazil'.

And even though criticized by foreigners is really amazing (even if the athletes do not correspond with medals in most cases).

The arenas are beautiful in general, the one that I think is horrible Arena Gymnastics and the Maria Lenk.

Negative points:

The OC was only reasonable, it was worth watching but it is something q does not excite much. In addition, the cauldron lighting was truly turn-off.

The ridiculous mistakes of the organization as a green pool.

Brazil Team performance is weak.

The Olympic Stadium is horrible! I saw on TV today the first evidence and looked horrible, the lawn is bad and missing a lot of decoration. -

Overall the Rio 2016 Olympics will be a just 'Okay', far from what was thought in 2009. -

My biggest fear is that the loss of interest and global audience at the Olympic Games be repeated in 2020.

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6 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

One wonders how much distance, the zika hysteria, political instability and fears of violence factored into this.

On the positive side of the balance sheet, the supposed whole focus of the carnival - the sport - has been IMO a great success. The feel good stories - first gold medals for Fiji and Singapore, the success of Ruby 7s, gold medals falling seemingly every final in the pool, records on the track in cycling, Phelps. It's been a vintage edition at the half any mark for the action.

There's no concrete way to measure this, but I wonder how damaging Sochi and Rio will be to the Olympics in the long-term.  The Olympics gained a lot of momentum from the hugely successful Games in Beijing, Vancouver, and London, but the stories surrounding Sochi and Rio have been so negative that the momentum has been lost.  It's a shame, because the athletic competitions in Rio so far have been superb, with virtually all of the pre-Games stars delivering and many records falling.  I have no doubt that the next three Games in Asia will be successful, but I'm not sure whether they'll generate a lot of new interest in the Olympics.

Provided there are no major problems in week 2, I think these Games will go down very similar to Atlanta, with the outstanding athletic competition outshining the organizational problems in the end.

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IOC vice president John Coates told the BBC: "This has been the most difficult games we have ever encountered."

Olympic historian David Wallechinsky told the AP. "The negative part is they are simply not prepared. They had seven years. They should have been able to get it together. They just didn't."

"There were two or three other candidates in that (2016) race that would have done a much better job," Pound said. "There is a reason the games haven't been held here before. Every day is a challenge."

Wallechinsky, who is attending his 17th Olympics, added: "The negative part combines the last-minute preparedness of Athens 2004 with the incompetence of the organizers of Atlanta 1996 — the worst of the two."

Sergio Praca, a Brazilian political scientist, said his friends tell him: "'We've always known it was going to be a disaster in organization, but now that the games are started, let's just make the best of it.' I think we as Brazilians never overestimated our capacity or organize anything.'"

Edited by paul
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Frankly, I'm stunned and baffled by there reports of negativity. Perhaps it's being cut off from non-Brazilian press. Transportation has been near perfect, line 4 did open, the BRTs worked. No screw ups at the events.

Are these the perfect games? No, but I can't see how they are damaging the Olympic Brand

 

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4 hours ago, paul said:

IOC vice president John Coates told the BBC: "This has been the most difficult games we have ever encountered."

Olympic historian David Wallechinsky told the AP. "The negative part is they are simply not prepared. They had seven years. They should have been able to get it together. They just didn't."

"There were two or three other candidates in that (2016) race that would have done a much better job," Pound said. "There is a reason the games haven't been held here before. Every day is a challenge."

Wallechinsky, who is attending his 17th Olympics, added: "The negative part combines the last-minute preparedness of Athens 2004 with the incompetence of the organizers of Atlanta 1996 — the worst of the two."

Sergio Praca, a Brazilian political scientist, said his friends tell him: "'We've always known it was going to be a disaster in organization, but now that the games are started, let's just make the best of it.' I think we as Brazilians never overestimated our capacity or organize anything.'"

It's pretty clear Who voted no here for "do you want Rio games to be a success?"... In another thread he wrote he hates Brazil. 

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2 hours ago, Bezzi said:

I'm only watching on TV but it is clear that stadiums haven't been filled. I personally would blame the organisers having made tickets far more accessible for the poorest. 

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2 hours ago, Bezzi said:

All those empty seats were during the competition when Michelle Carter won gold....you can see all the totaly empty seats behind her below.

Everyone has seem many many empty seats in most sport, I cvan go through and do a sport by sport photo montage of empty seats if you like?

I hate Rio.

ap_16226090631754_custom-40a61c15881ce64

1471076243786.jpg

372F64EC00000578-0-image-a-83_1471137167

372F662000000578-0-image-a-82_1471137165

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5 hours ago, clembo83 said:

I'm only watching on TV but it is clear that stadiums haven't been filled. I personally would blame the organisers having made tickets far more accessible for the poorest. 

Rio does have more empty seats than London or Beijing. But you can't necessarily go by what you see on TV. The cameras are often pointed at the VIP/Olympic family sections that are almost always empty. It's a problem at every Olympics... Go back and do a search and you'll see.

Sonething the IOC seriously needs to fix!

As for the lower attendance, I see three issues

1) Tickets are overpriced vs wealth of the country.

2) The media did a horrible no good job hyping the problems of Rio and scaring tourist away. The Zika reporting in particular was horrific.

3) Locals don't feel the need to go to an event just to say they saw the Olympics. There were a ton of fans like that in London, not so much here.

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I had to laugh when I read this on The Guardian's live rolling coverage:

Quote

 

There are huge queues outside the Olympic Stadium in Rio ahead of Bolt night, with fans snaking round the corner all the way from one gate to the next. This is of course good news for the assembled media, who can now complain instead about the terrible crush, too many people coming in, not enough empty seats etc.

Guardian Olympics Live

 

 

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Pokémon Go rivals Rio Olympic Games in popularity

Forget beach volleyball, soccer or tennis, not to mention the steeplechase or discus. Pokémon Go is challenging the Olympics for most popular game among some young Brazilians.

“There is no interest in the Olympics here, just how to get to the next stop where there are the most Pokemon,” said sociologist Joao Carlos Barssani, 31, himself joining the hunt.

“It’s good to have lots of people around you, so your phone doesn’t get robbed,” said student Leonardo Perreira.

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Can't complain about a capacity crowd. That's great news for any athletics fan and for longstanding pictures of the events tonight! Consistency, though, is still an issue. And Bezzi, athletes will have fun when a gun isn't to their head. (Like Lochte)

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