Why democracies don’t want the Olympics anymore

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Why democracies don’t want the Olympics anymore

PostEverything

Runaway costs could mean more games in authoritarian regimes.

By Victor Matheson July 29 at 6:00 AM 
Victor A. Matheson is a professor in the Department of Economics and Accounting at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

....
All over the world, the public — when given the opportunity to voice an opinion — has become increasingly disenchanted with hosting the Olympics. Earlier this year, five of the seven cities that initially indicated interested in hosting the 2022 winter games dropped out of the running. Not coincidentally, all five of the cities that decided not to bid were in western democracies with a thriving free press and vocal populaces. The IOC is now left with the decision of which autocratic country to collaborate with: Kazakhstan or China. If officials can’t find a way to rein in the sprawling costs, real estate and new construction they demand from their hosts, the Olympics may soon find willing hosts in industrialized democracies in short supply. Over the past several decades, the Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger” has more often than not meant higher and higher bills for host cities.
....

Of course, it is not just non-democratic countries that have had trouble keeping costs under control. London spent roughly $14.4 billion on the 2012 Summer Olympics, triple their original estimates, while laughably claiming that the event came in under budget. Boston 2024 proposed a budget of roughly $10 billion, despite having at least 12 modern sports stadiums and arenas already in place. If rich cities with well-developed infrastructure like London and Boston can’t host the Olympics without breaking the bank, how can any place keep costs down?

The answer, it’s becoming clear, is that they can’t. Which is why the voters in rich, industrialized cities are exercising the right to say no to the Olympics. There is no shortage of autocratic rulers, though, who might be willing to spend the money they have squeezed from their people in order to experience the ego-boost of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event in their own back yard. Pyongyang 2028, anyone?

[jwirr]

1. Maybe it is time to break the Olympics into doable sizes by hosting separate events in venues that

are capable of handling the smaller events.

[AngryAmish]

2. Maybe no host cities, host countries

Fewer opportunities for graft.

[maxsolomon]

3. 1 permanent location for the Summer Games

Greece, where it started.

[DetlefK]

6. Actually, the first modern Olympic Games were at the World Fair in Paris.

[maxsolomon]

7. That works too. Everyone likes Paris.

I meant the old school Olympic Games, however. In Olympus. Naked wrestling, naked marathons.

[DetlefK]

11. Do you REALLY want to know how the ancient Greeks raced naked?

You take a needle and a thread. Then you pinch a hole through your foreskin and pull the thread through the hole. Then you use the thread to tie your penis to your leg so it won't flap around painfully.

And olympic boxing was boring: If the fight took too long, the referees would make the ring smaller and smaller (by holding long branches horizontally) until the fighters couldn't evade anymore and were forced to stand still in front of each other and pound each other.

And there's a fully legal wrestling-throw where you put your finger into somebody's asshole to get a better grip... Muscled, oily men putting fingers in each other's butts... Imagine that live on TV.



And the Greeks had "pankration", which was some sort of mixed martial-arts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pankration
Though I doubt that the IOC would make MMA olympic. (They tried to kick Wrestling from the roster and replace it with Golf!!!)

[maxsolomon]

12. Lets make it happen!

Marathons and wrestling really aren't that interesting on TV in their current state.

[iandhr]

10. The 2004 games in Athens were a big time money loser for Greece.

[maxsolomon]

13. but if it was permanent infrastructure that was re-used every 4 years...

are the Olympics supposed to make money?

[iandhr]

15. For the IOC.

Not the host cities.

Maybe if a few permeant locations were selected.

To keep it fair though you have to move it around.

Olympics rules are that the host nation qualifies automatically in every event. If you always had it in one place one country would have an unfair advantage.

[Blue_Tires]

4. For starters, the IOC needs to stop turning it into a naked cash grab

especially now since the price tag for the graft and backroom deals have the potential to literally bankrupt wealthy cities now...It's also harder and harder to justify rushing to renovate or build all these expensive, state-of-the-art venues to Olympic standard which will get used for maybe 5-6 weeks before the circus leaves town...And I haven't even gotten to the cost/bribes for the bidding process yet...

It didn't always use to be this bad -- Atlanta and Salt Lake made a small profit or at least broke even, iirc... But the bottom line is you'd think some country would just bite the bullet and be the permanent Olympics host so the facilities can be re-used instead of going to waste...I've never understood why the IOC, World Cup, Formula 1, etc. constantly need brand new bright and shiny venues every few years...

[DetlefK]

9. The IOC exploits the countries' desires to show off.

For example:

Every Formula 1 team has one or two trailer-trucks as mobile car-shops. The best of the best of electronics and mechanics that money can buy and they cost somewhere in the range of 7 figures. (A friend of my brother used to build those.)

You would think that last season's mobile repair-shop would be good enough for this season... WRONG.
It's all about showing off and each team orders a newer, better and fancier trailer each year. (For example, one model has a section that transforms into a closed tent/pavillon with air-conditioning. The pics you find on the internet barely scratch the surface.)



Same with the Olympic Games. The IOC knows that the autocrats want to show off and are willing to spend a lot of money doing so. So why get in the way of them spending money for you?

[DetlefK]

5. Plus, the demands of the IOC-members are ridiculous as shit.

I wish I would remember the details of this story:
The IOC came to a scandinavian country. Among others, they demanded that a full street-lane from the airport to the capital would be reserved for their personal use. And they demanded a meeting with the king.

[iandhr]

14. Oslo, Norway

This was one of the reasons the city dropped their bid for the 2022 winter olympics.


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5c464b7b670c48b59f49930a4373fc7b/oslo-2022-bid-hurt-ioc-demands-arrogance

[dembotoz]

8. FIFA, IOC, countries need to stand up to them

[MattSh]

16. Ukraine - a thriving free press?

On what planet does this guy live?

Ukraine forms 'ministry of truth' to regulate the media | World news | The Guardian

The deputies had cause to be cautious. Under the terms of its creation, Stets’s ministry will receive wide powers to influence the media: officials will formulate and implement a “state information strategy” and take measures to protect citizens from “partial, ill-judged and unreliable information” and from manipulative technology. Its purview extends to registering media outlets and defining professional standards.

We do not know what sort of monster we are creating

But Stets will wield carrots as well as sticks. His department will coordinate “state aid for the media” and attract investment in order to create a “national information product”.

What exactly hides behind this vague formulation is a matter of guesswork but Ukrainian activists are already tipping the ministry for a corrupt future. They are far more worried, however, by the prospect that freedom of speech in Ukraine might be curtailed.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has warned of this threat, as have the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, journalists from Sumy Oblast and their colleagues from Kirovohrad, who organised a demonstration. It is easy to understand their feelings. A similar ministry existed in Ukraine under former president Leonid Kuchma. Its time was marked by the death of the journalist Georgiy Gongadze.

Complete story at - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/19/-sp-ukraine-new-ministry-truth-undermines-battle-for-democracy

And that's just for starters.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. Posted in the wrong thread, perhaps? (nt)

[MattSh]

18. This thread is about the 2022 Olympics. Ukraine was an original bidder. Ukraine withdrew...

Ukraine Lviv, Ukraine - Main article: Lviv bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics

The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine officially submitted a bid for Lviv to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games on 5 November 2013.[20] On 30 June 2014, however, the IOC announced that Lviv would "turn its attention to an Olympic bid for 2026, and not continue with its application for 2022. The decision comes as a result of the 2013–15 Ukrainian crisis" which seriously influences Lviv and the country.[21]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Winter_Olympics

The OP states:

All over the world, the public — when given the opportunity to voice an opinion — has become increasingly disenchanted with hosting the Olympics. Earlier this year, five of the seven cities that initially indicated interested in hosting the 2022 winter games dropped out of the running. Not coincidentally, all five of the cities that decided not to bid were in western democracies with a thriving free press and vocal populaces.

I questioned whether Ukraine, one of those 5 countries that dropped their bid, actually had a free press.

Happy to clarify this.

[raouldukelives]

19. Because it is insanity.

Just like any games that require massive amounts of fossil fuels and waste in order to play them.

Some people are really enamored with figuring out who the best people are at hitting balls with sticks, putting inflatable balls into holes or at tossing a stone the farthest. And that is fine but it shouldn't have such an enormous cost to all of our futures to play them.

Some people know the time for playing games is over.