Sigh Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 Looks like Katsuhiro Akimoto has been reelected. Next question is if he's willing to impose olympic games on a reluctant city (and if the city council will support him). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quaker2001 Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 17 minutes ago, Sigh said: Looks like Katsuhiro Akimoto has been reelected. Next question is if he's willing to impose olympic games on a reluctant city (and if the city council will support him). Definitely says something about the current state of the Olympic movement that an Olympics is something to be "imposed" rather than an opportunity for a city/country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 56% majority election win in Sapporo Pro-Olympics Sapporo Mayor beats his two anti-Olympics rivals in election. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 1 minute ago, AustralianFan said: 56% majority election win in Sapporo Pro-Olympics Sapporo Mayor beats his two anti-Olympics rivals in election. “Katsuhiro Akimoto has been re-elected as Mayor of Sapporo in a much-needed boost for the Japanese city's hopes of staging the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.” “The 67-year-old has been Mayor of the city since 2015 and ran as an independent, although with the backing of main parties including Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.” “He defeated anti-Olympic opponents Kaoru Takano and Hideo Kibata.” “Akimoto received just over 56 per cent of the vote to the 28.7 per cent of Takano and 15.2 per cent for Kibata, from a turnout of around 51 per cent.” “Sapporo had long been viewed as the frontrunner to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, but its bid was "paused" in December following growing public anger at the Tokyo 2020 bribery scandal.” “With Akimoto as Mayor, Sapporo City has refused calls for a public referendum on a bid to stage the Games, although some observers and officials suggested this election effectively served as such given the centrality of the issue to the campaign.” Credit: Pro-Winter Olympics incumbent Akimoto re-elected as Sapporo Mayor in boost for 2030 prospects - Inside The Games - 9 April 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 6 hours ago, Sigh said: Looks like Katsuhiro Akimoto has been reelected. Next question is if he's willing to impose olympic games on a reluctant city (and if the city council will support him). Sorry I missed your post about the Sapporo election result before I posted too. Yes, you’re exactly right. Interesting times ahead for Sapporo 2030 and how will these election results be interpreted by the Mayor himself? Will he or won’t he restart the bid? If he does retart the engine, how will the Future Host Commission interpret the election results? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigh Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 29 minutes ago, AustralianFan said: “Katsuhiro Akimoto has been re-elected as Mayor of Sapporo in a much-needed boost for the Japanese city's hopes of staging the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.” “The 67-year-old has been Mayor of the city since 2015 and ran as an independent, although with the backing of main parties including Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.” “He defeated anti-Olympic opponents Kaoru Takano and Hideo Kibata.” “Akimoto received just over 56 per cent of the vote to the 28.7 per cent of Takano and 15.2 per cent for Kibata, from a turnout of around 51 per cent.” “Sapporo had long been viewed as the frontrunner to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, but its bid was "paused" in December following growing public anger at the Tokyo 2020 bribery scandal.” “With Akimoto as Mayor, Sapporo City has refused calls for a public referendum on a bid to stage the Games, although some observers and officials suggested this election effectively served as such given the centrality of the issue to the campaign.” Credit: Pro-Winter Olympics incumbent Akimoto re-elected as Sapporo Mayor in boost for 2030 prospects - Inside The Games - 9 April 2023 Quite high probability WOG will be pushed through based on 25.% of the total electorate. 56% when supported by the entire establishment is quite an underachievement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigh Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 4 minutes ago, Sigh said: Quite high probability WOG will be pushed through based on 25.% of the total electorate. 56% when supported by the entire establishment is quite an underachievement Should have been 25.5% 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 8 minutes ago, Sigh said: Quite high probability WOG will be pushed through based on 25.% of the total electorate. 56% when supported by the entire establishment is quite an underachievement 7 minutes ago, Sigh said: Should have been 25.5% I must admit, I was expecting to be getting up this morning and be reading about Sapporo Mayor Akimoto having lost the election. Quite a stunning result result for him really with that anti-Olympics campaign run by both his rivals. Yes, those supporting a Sapporo bid for 2030 will be a lot happier today. I agree too, high probability of Sapporo 2030 being re-started very shortly. Today, I wonder if there’ll be a phone call from Sapporo Mayor Akimoto to the IOC Future Host Commission ………. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigh Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 48 minutes ago, AustralianFan said: I must admit, I was expecting to be getting up this morning and be reading about Sapporo Mayor Akimoto having lost the election. Quite a stunning result result for him really with that anti-Olympics campaign run by both his rivals. Yes, those supporting a Sapporo bid for 2030 will be a lot happier today. I agree too, high probability of Sapporo 2030 being re-started very shortly. Today, I wonder if there’ll be a phone call from Sapporo Mayor Akimoto to the IOC Future Host Commission ………. ? Mayoral elections usually are about many, many things. The opposing candidates appears to have been outsiders. From what I read Akimoto was supported by all the main parties and the rest of the establishment. Given that, 56% could be considered a disappointment. In a sad way I find the probable result regarding 2030 a relief. This way SOK will be prevented from making fools of themselves again but at the cost of what the people in Sapporo would prefer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 4 hours ago, Sigh said: Mayoral elections usually are about many, many things. The opposing candidates appears to have been outsiders. From what I read Akimoto was supported by all the main parties and the rest of the establishment. Given that, 56% could be considered a disappointment. In a sad way I find the probable result regarding 2030 a relief. This way SOK will be prevented from making fools of themselves again but at the cost of what the people in Sapporo would prefer. Given this Sapporo election result, would you put Sapporo’s 2030 chances higher than Sweden’s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigh Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 I expect that the 2030 games will be held in Sapporo. Before doing some reading around the election I believed Sapporo was out but with the determined political obsession I now find it likely they will get the games. Of course, my understanding of Japanese politics and in particular the local politics is limited so I may very well be wrong. However, it looks like popular opposition not only will be disregarded but also can be disregarded. I've always felt that IOC insistance on popular support has been at a"distance". That weak popular support means weak political and financial support which is what matters for IOC. Also, "weak popular support" has been a convenient excuse to eliminate less preferred cites (from IOC point of view, rather than from sports point of view). Given the present situation IOC most likely will jump at the first possible chance they have to lock in the games. SOK will not be that party. Even in the very unlikely case they'd get the necessary guarantess the political processes wouldn't be completed until well into next year. In the short run Sapporo would be a win for IOC but I fear that such a decision would harm the Olympic movement in the long run. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 Japan Olympic Committee want to possibly shift Sapporo 2030 to 2034. It’s been a big weekend on the Sapporo bid front with yesterday’s majority re-election win by the pro-Olympics Sapporo Mayor Akimoto. Hot on the heels of that is this news just in tonight ……….. s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 More reports starting to emerge of Sapporo 2034 postponement discussions … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 JOC, Sapporo to discuss possible postponement of Winter Olympics bid TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese Olympic Committee's president said Monday he will hold talks with Sapporo on the city's bid to host the Winter Olympics, including the option of pushing back the target year from 2030 to 2034. Yasuhiro Yamashita revealed the plan a day after Katsuhiro Akimoto, who is pushing Sapporo's bid to host the games in 2030, won re-election as the city's mayor after strong competition from two rivals opposing the idea. The widespread bribery and bid-rigging scandals related to the Tokyo Summer Olympics have seriously damaged the image of the Olympics as a whole. The Sapporo mayoral election "made it clear that many local residents are concerned and anxious," Yamashita said. "It's hard to go ahead with the original bid plan without gaining people's understanding." The men's open-weight judo champion at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics added that it is important to come up with transparent plans for the Winter Olympics and carefully explain to local residents before considering the resumption of aggressive promotional efforts. "We have to do things carefully. Otherwise, we can't move forward," Yamashita said. During a virtual news conference in late March, International Olympic Committee executive director Christophe Dubi declined to say how many places are now in confidential talks with the IOC about hosting a Winter Games, but said the number has increased from the six previously confirmed. Credit: Mainichi.jp - 10 April 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 11 Report Share Posted April 11 2030 or 2034 ? From Nippon.com News, 11 April 2023: Sapporo Mayor Akimoto: "Whether we'll aim for the 2030 Games or change our target to later Games will be discussed with the Japanese Olympic Committee and sports associations," Akimoto told Jiji Press on Monday.” “Sapporo will make a decision by taking into consideration moves by other cities aiming to host Winter Games and an extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen bullet train line to Sapporo slated for fiscal 2030, he also said.” “Akimoto was re-elected in Sunday's mayoral election, defeating two rival candidates opposing the plan to bid for the 2030 Games. But the two rivals earned over 40 pct of the votes cast in the election.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman530 Posted April 11 Author Report Share Posted April 11 train is scheduled to be done by then. Not sure if that's being used as a crutch or what. Again, something Id love to ride on to a Sapporo games. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 While we wait for an outome of discussions that the Japan Olympic Committee are having re Sapporo 2030 possibly diverting it’s focus to a 2034 bid, here’s a look back at the last Opening Ceremony of an Olympic Winter Games in Japan, Nagano 1998: >>> Opening Ceremony of Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games <<< 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Australian Kiwi Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 What about Tokyo-Nagano? A similar model to Milano-Cortina? Its clear Sapporo isn't a goer . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quaker2001 Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 6 minutes ago, Australian Kiwi said: What about Tokyo-Nagano? A similar model to Milano-Cortina? Its clear Sapporo isn't a goer . Someone would need to come up with that plan and propose that plan. Too late for that at this point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorchbearerSydney Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 What about Tokyo-Nagano? Thats what I thought too- they could use some of the venues for Tokyo 2020....win:win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigh Posted April 15 Report Share Posted April 15 The problem in Sapporo is not venues etc but the backlash from corruption revelations from the Tokyo games. Note that Sappora city management is still is gung-ho and the brake is applied by JOC. There is nothing to indicate that opinion in Nagano would be different from Sapporo and every reason to believe that people in Tokyo are even less keen to take on another olympics so soon after the not very popular 2021 games. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman530 Posted June 13 Author Report Share Posted June 13 and officially RIP to the Sapporo 2030 bid. Theyre dropping back and punting for 2034 or later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 Wow! The Fat Lady has not sung yet for Sapporo 2030 This level of public supoort is very unexpected. 22 June 2023 60% Public Support Across Japan for Sapporo 2030 50% Public Support in Hokkaido for Sapporo 2030 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 7 minutes ago, AustralianFan said: Wow! The Fat Lady has not sung yet for Sapporo 2030 This level of public supoort is very unexpected. 22 June 2023 60% Public Support Across Japan for Sapporo 2030 50% Public Support in Hokkaido for Sapporo 2030 @iceman530 @Sigh @TorchbearerSydney @Quaker2001 @Guilga @aayansh5as @sbotsford @yoshi @StefanMUC @fusilli @Scotguy II @cfm Jeremie @Chris_Mex @Sir Rols @stryker @Palette86 @Nacre @SportLightning@Karenina @jameswise @baron-pierreIV @Brekkie Boy @munichfan @phandrosis @FYI @ulu @Olympics2028 @AliciasBlade @Victorian @Bear @Faster @BigVic @Hightowerio86 @HenryOaks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustralianFan Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 @Ikarus360 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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