2022 Winter Olympics

[siamcat]

A good editorial. It surprised me that only two cities are in the running because every other place pulled out or didn't even throw their hats in the ring, after reading several articles it didn't surprise me any more.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-no-one-wants-to-host-the-2022-olympics-225450509.html

"There's Beijing, China, which doesn't actually sit within 120 miles of a usable ski mountain, and there's Almaty, Kazakhstan, which in its bid touted itself as "the world's largest landlocked nation."
It's down to these two cities not because the IOC narrowed the field, but because every other city in the entire world said no."

[LauraA]

Apparently the price tag for the Russian winter olympics scared Norway into dropping out. China could afford it, but can Kazakhstan? I would like to see it go to a smaller, unknown country if only to expose Americans to some geography.

[CenTexDave]

2022? Beijing or Kazakhstan?
Thank God I probably won't be around to watch that farce. :))

[gnatsum]

Maybe it's time for the IOC to have a permanent site for both/either Olympics. Costs a lot of money to build new sporting facilities, rehab new ones, and construct the Villages for the teams and athletes.
Years ago, the city of Dallas, Texas was mulling over the "opportunity" to enter a bid for the Summer Olmpics. The folks did some due diligence, and cherry-picked sites around Dallas/Fort Worth to hold various events/competitions--they were looking at doing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Cotton Bowl (until they saw what it was going to cost to upgrade the broadcast facilities there, plus the fact that most of the Olympic upgrades would negate the CB's historic building aspects--and oh, this was before Jerry Jones relocated his 'Boys to Arlington), the bicycle events at the EDS velodrome in Plano, and they were going to use every college sports facility (SMU, UT-Dallas, UT Arlington, the junior colleges) in the metroplex to do the others. The Olympic Village was going to be built south of downtown Dallas towards I-20/I-35, with the facility becoming a college campus once the Olympics were over.

[siamcat]

I never understood why they never consider a location twice. I mean Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics and has all the facilities that just need some upgrading/renovating maybe. They would give it to another city in the same country, but not the same city.

Unless they want to have future Olympics in Timbaktu they might want to reconsider their process.

Somewhere I also saw a list of demands for IOC officicials and some spoiled star would be right on par with that.

[CenTexDave]

Brazil about went broke just doing the World Cup, and the Olympics are a much larger venue.
But once the Olympics are over, all those special facilities and buildings are turned into something else.

[Night Owl]

Yes, they are called slums and homeless shelters.

[LauraA]

2022? Beijing or Kazakhstan?
Thank God I probably won't be around to watch that farce. :))
I will pray for your good health Dave just so you can :)

[CenTexDave]

Been to China before. Hong Kong is neat, but you can have Beijing. But thanks LauraA. :)

[corgifan]

I read an article that the artificial resort town created for the Sochi winter games is now a ghost town. No surprise.

[fchafey]

I read an article that the artificial resort town created for the Sochi winter games is now a ghost town. No surprise.

It is Putin's Eagles Nest.....

[LauraA]

I never understood a country that has a ton on snow (think Siberia) deciding to have the Olympics in the warmest part of the country. It cost them $52 billion and it was their own fault. They should have just built everything in Siberia and had them there.

[Ludwig]

Are there mountains in Siberia? Would the spectators be willing to go to Siberia? It takes more than snow and ice to succeed with Winter Olympic Games.

[LauraA]

Good question. I don't know about the mountains, but I do know if I am going to the winter olympics, I expect to be cold. The fact that most of Russia is a cold, depressing landscape, there were way better places than Sochi. Moscow held the summer games in the 1980's. They could have reused some of those facilities.

[mac]

Are there mountains in Siberia? Would the spectators be willing to go to Siberia? It takes more than snow and ice to succeed with Winter Olympic Games.

there are some great mountains in Siberia....far better than the Alps or Urals....BUT there just ain't no way in hell i'd ever go there to watch people have fun.....just ain't gonna happen. that area's all wilderness today also.....no facilities amenities or anything......hardly anything 'tween the Urals and the Bering sea that's conducive to having a good time or vacationing or anything like that.....there's actually still some unexplored area in Siberia that civilized man has never seen to include flora and fauna......mac