5 ms·

I don't give a flying fuck about sports so I don't care either way. But did you know the alternative site for the Winter Olympics was Kazakhstan? Yeah they dodg

I don't give a flying fuck about sports so I don't care either way. But did you know the alternative site for the Winter Olympics was Kazakhstan? Yeah they dodged a bullet there- literally. Nobody in "polite countries" wants these events anymore. Norway or Switzerland don't need more tourists and white elephants. Organising the Olympics hasn't been worth it for a long time.

ramesh31 5y ago
>Organising the Olympics hasn't been worth it for a long time. The games are great but the process is not. They need to moved to a fixed site for both winter and summer. Then countries can just take turns each year setting the theme, ceremonies, decorations, etc. and handling the logistics of it.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  Just locate them in Greece permanently. At least the summer ones. It is the birthplace of the very idea and the Greek economy could profit from the visitors. It would be cool to have Mt. Olympus literally on the horizon when competing.
  - chrischen 5y ago
    Why would countries bid to help boost the economy of Greece?
    - snovv_crash 5y ago
      Greece could claim copyright, in the same way that France claims exclusivity on Champagne.
    - inglor_cz 5y ago
      Well, seriously, it is in the interest of the EU at least to provide Greece with some hard cash not in form of further debt. The UK could agree because they have a historically good relationship with Greece. Russia could agree because Greece is Orthodox and culturally important for Russian Orthodoxy. China could agree if they got the job to reconstruct the old Olympic venue. They already own a port in Greece (and an important one, Piraeus). Israel and the oil sheikhdoms could agree because it is in their neighbourhood and a major source of harmless fun. Egypt could agree just to piss Erdogan off.
atlasunshrugged 5y ago
Aren't the olympics going to be in Paris in 2024? I agree in general that olympic events are often colossal boondoggles and pure vanity projects wasting money that could go to citizens but I'm not sure it's fair to characterize the olympics as having no cache anymore (that said, viewership seems like it's abysmal this year and in general in decline over years). Also, never heard the categorization of "polite countries" before... not really sure how to feel about that one; I haven't spent much times in the Stans but have spent a lot of time in former soviet bloc countries and many of the people there are much more "polite" than W. EU/US.
- dylan604 5y ago
  >pure vanity projects wasting money that could go to citizens would it though? seems like a different vanity project would be found instead rather than what you would wish it be used. if the people financially supporting these types of boondoggles wanted to be doing citizens work, they would be doing it already and not be no Olympics to support. also to not be overlooked, some of these might be doing both already. Edit: Whooboy, the grammar in this one ;-)
  - atlasunshrugged 5y ago
    Ha, indeed could vs. would is a great point and you are probably correct that if a country is already willing not to spend the money on citizens directly for non-vanity projects, it's quite possible that even without the olympics they would do the same with something else but also without the olympics they don't get to use that veneer of shiny international credibility and attention to get internal stakeholder buy-in for the project which feels like it probably makes some difference although how much probably depends on the society in question.
ipsum2 5y ago
> Organising the Olympics hasn't been worth it for a long time Isn't that the entire point to show off a country's wealth: look how much money we can afford to waste, because we're so well-off? That would explain why China has hosted Olympics twice in the last few years.
- MomoXenosaga 5y ago
  The question isn't "do I have money to waste on this" (every Western country can find 30-50 billion if the need arises) the question is "is this a wise investment". That's what killed the Olympics for Amsterdam. If you can't prove something is going to make money Dutch people aren't going to do it. Investment implies a return or at least break even.
  - labster 5y ago
    That is a very Dutch point of view, and because of these values I’d guess the Netherlands will never host the Olympics. On the parent’s point, it’s not about a nation showing off wealth, it’s about showing off might. Wealth is one form of might, but so is spreading your culture, showing your ability to build colossal stadiums and public works, and of course the superiority of your disciplined physiques (imagine our athletes as soldiers!). Nation states exist largely in interstate anarchy, and displaying a nation’s might through the Olympics can increase its power and prestige in other international disputes.
favorited 5y ago
> Nobody in "polite countries" wants these events anymore. When the USOC and IOC selected Boston as the host of the 2024 Olympics, enough citizens of Boston opposed the selection that they moved the games to Los Angeles.
- areyousure 5y ago
  In case anyone is curious: The 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris. The 2028 Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. The USOC originally selected Boston for its bid (for the 2028 Olympics) in 2015. The selection was changed half a year later, two years before the IOC selected the host.
  - favorited 5y ago
    Good point, I should have been clearer. By "they moved the games to Los Angeles," I meant the USOC moved the next US Olympics to LA from Boston. This was also around the time that Stan Kroenke was working to move the Rams to LA, and in doing so build an enormous new stadium which was an attractive facet for a host city.
dqpb 5y ago
> I don't give a flying fuck about sports This has nothing to do with sports.
chrismcb 5y ago
Paris 2024 Milan 2026 LA 2028 Vancouver bidding for 2030...

ramesh31 5y ago

>Organising the Olympics hasn't been worth it for a long time. The games are great but the process is not. They need to moved to a fixed site for both winter and summer. Then countries can just take turns each year setting the theme, ceremonies, decorations, etc. and handling the logistics of it.

inglor_cz 5y ago
Just locate them in Greece permanently. At least the summer ones. It is the birthplace of the very idea and the Greek economy could profit from the visitors. It would be cool to have Mt. Olympus literally on the horizon when competing.
- chrischen 5y ago
  Why would countries bid to help boost the economy of Greece?
  - snovv_crash 5y ago
    Greece could claim copyright, in the same way that France claims exclusivity on Champagne.
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    Well, seriously, it is in the interest of the EU at least to provide Greece with some hard cash not in form of further debt. The UK could agree because they have a historically good relationship with Greece. Russia could agree because Greece is Orthodox and culturally important for Russian Orthodoxy. China could agree if they got the job to reconstruct the old Olympic venue. They already own a port in Greece (and an important one, Piraeus). Israel and the oil sheikhdoms could agree because it is in their neighbourhood and a major source of harmless fun. Egypt could agree just to piss Erdogan off.

atlasunshrugged 5y ago

Aren't the olympics going to be in Paris in 2024? I agree in general that olympic events are often colossal boondoggles and pure vanity projects wasting money that could go to citizens but I'm not sure it's fair to characterize the olympics as having no cache anymore (that said, viewership seems like it's abysmal this year and in general in decline over years). Also, never heard the categorization of "polite countries" before... not really sure how to feel about that one; I haven't spent much times in the Stans but have spent a lot of time in former soviet bloc countries and many of the people there are much more "polite" than W. EU/US.

dylan604 5y ago
>pure vanity projects wasting money that could go to citizens would it though? seems like a different vanity project would be found instead rather than what you would wish it be used. if the people financially supporting these types of boondoggles wanted to be doing citizens work, they would be doing it already and not be no Olympics to support. also to not be overlooked, some of these might be doing both already. Edit: Whooboy, the grammar in this one ;-)
- atlasunshrugged 5y ago
  Ha, indeed could vs. would is a great point and you are probably correct that if a country is already willing not to spend the money on citizens directly for non-vanity projects, it's quite possible that even without the olympics they would do the same with something else but also without the olympics they don't get to use that veneer of shiny international credibility and attention to get internal stakeholder buy-in for the project which feels like it probably makes some difference although how much probably depends on the society in question.

ipsum2 5y ago

> Organising the Olympics hasn't been worth it for a long time Isn't that the entire point to show off a country's wealth: look how much money we can afford to waste, because we're so well-off? That would explain why China has hosted Olympics twice in the last few years.

MomoXenosaga 5y ago
The question isn't "do I have money to waste on this" (every Western country can find 30-50 billion if the need arises) the question is "is this a wise investment". That's what killed the Olympics for Amsterdam. If you can't prove something is going to make money Dutch people aren't going to do it. Investment implies a return or at least break even.
- labster 5y ago
  That is a very Dutch point of view, and because of these values I’d guess the Netherlands will never host the Olympics. On the parent’s point, it’s not about a nation showing off wealth, it’s about showing off might. Wealth is one form of might, but so is spreading your culture, showing your ability to build colossal stadiums and public works, and of course the superiority of your disciplined physiques (imagine our athletes as soldiers!). Nation states exist largely in interstate anarchy, and displaying a nation’s might through the Olympics can increase its power and prestige in other international disputes.

favorited 5y ago

> Nobody in "polite countries" wants these events anymore. When the USOC and IOC selected Boston as the host of the 2024 Olympics, enough citizens of Boston opposed the selection that they moved the games to Los Angeles.

areyousure 5y ago
In case anyone is curious: The 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris. The 2028 Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. The USOC originally selected Boston for its bid (for the 2028 Olympics) in 2015. The selection was changed half a year later, two years before the IOC selected the host.
- favorited 5y ago
  Good point, I should have been clearer. By "they moved the games to Los Angeles," I meant the USOC moved the next US Olympics to LA from Boston. This was also around the time that Stan Kroenke was working to move the Rams to LA, and in doing so build an enormous new stadium which was an attractive facet for a host city.

dqpb 5y ago

> I don't give a flying fuck about sports This has nothing to do with sports.

chrismcb 5y ago

Paris 2024 Milan 2026 LA 2028 Vancouver bidding for 2030...