# General Olympics/ IOC Thread



## GunnerJacket (Jan 25, 2008)

This thread is to discuss the general architecture, sports, politics, and socio-economic side of the Olympics, winter or summer. Consider this the all-encompassing thread for possible IOC corruption, which events do or don't belong, how the events do or don't lead to white elephants, why the opening or closing ceremonies are awesome/suck, etc. Rate which games are best, which venues the worst, and so on.


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## EightFive (Mar 24, 2020)

Politics?


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## GunnerJacket (Jan 25, 2008)

As long as it's related to the Olympics, sure.


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

How The Olympic Games Displaces The Poor - The Case For Deep Reform Of An Autonomous Movement - Swimming World News

The Olympics as tool of the super-rich to make themselves richer while destroying the lives of the oppressed masses, racism, misery, etc. (Forget for the moment that the "rich" are actually corporations SPENDING billions to FUND the games and have no guarantees of profits, just the right to advertise their services at the various sites).

They ask for reform (an Olympics run by a benevolent centralized government?) but why not just stand up and cancel the Games? The environmental damage, the violence against the poor, etc., makes all the Games disasters, as they and the embedded Boykoff article point out at length.).

Of course another alternative is to privatize them and spend no government money, build no new facilities, evict no people, and roll the profits back into public projects. 

This is surprisingly like the LA Olympics. Except for the “militarization of the police” in LA, whatever that means.


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## californiadreams (Jun 23, 2015)

pesto said:


> Of course another alternative is to privatize them and spend no government money, build no new facilities, evict no people, and roll the profits back into public projects. This is surprisingly like the LA Olympics. Except for the “militarization of the police” in LA, whatever that means.



What's going on with the Olympics and the IOC reminds me of a massive project occurring in Los Angeles, not sports-related but somewhat similar since it relates to culture, and the Olympics have always included a so-called arts component. Not sure if the Olympics originally also tried to get a science-medicine angle tied into their quadrennial sporting event too:

www.hyperallergic.com/540898/save-lacma-ads-new-york-and-los-angeles-times/



> On the other side, critics, including the _Los Angeles Times_’ Christopher Knight, have lambasted the project, attacking everything from the ballooning budget currently at $750 million, to the design (likened to a traffic booth or an oil slick), the lack of transparency, and the inflexible design of the concrete building, which will end up 10% smaller by some estimates.



What's the word that best fits all these various stories and the big-bucks people pulling the strings? Chutzpah?


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## GunnerJacket (Jan 25, 2008)

californiadreams said:


> What's the word that best fits all these various stories and the big-bucks people pulling the strings? Chutzpah?


Kleptocracy? Life? 

If we aim to correct any of this I'd first start by getting the particular sports reduced and nailed down, such that potential host cities can more properly figure out if there's a benefit for being involved. This now seemingly constant fluctuation of registered sports hampers the logistics going into the event, and by having the conversation you can at least force some semblance of refined standard into what constitutes an Olympic sport. 

I wonder if a possible win-win in this scenario is to push for the IOC to break the Summer games into two distinct events - a traditional athletics competition and an adventure sport competition? While the latter might seem like a write off it could also possibly fill a niche and stand on its own, giving the Olympics a 3rd year of hype and a plausible way to bring in more sports. A whole new bidding process but each host is called upon to put forth less than demanded now, so it might make the games more accessible to other cities and nations.

Just a thought.


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

The fight against the horrible LACMA proposal has little to do with anything other than the incredibly inappropriate nature of the proposal. Zumthor can't get it into his head that he is not in the barren Swiss hillsides any more. Govan has to go as well since he has committed himself to the project regardless of the widespread criticism and difficulty getting private donations.


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

Olympic leader tries to head off boycott of 2022 Beijing Games

Bach seems to stand tall and strong in support of Hitler, Mussolini, Idi Amin, etc. Sure they had some political issues but that’s no reason we can’t help them glorify themselves and work closely with them to make money and spread the image of world Socialism/Nazism/Thuggery, etc.


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## californiadreams (Jun 23, 2015)

pesto said:


> that's no reason we can’t help them glorify themselves and work closely with them to make money and spread the image of world Socialism/Nazism/Thuggery, etc.


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

The IOC and Procter & Gamble announce an extension to their Worldwide Olympic Partnership through to 2028 - Olympic News


- In a first-of-its-kind, citizenship-driven partnership, P&G and the IOC pledge to take action to make progress in key areas: equality and inclusion, environmental sustainability and community impact - Athletes for Good Fund established to grant support for athlete causes that are advancing...




www.olympic.org





P&G signs up through 2028 to pay big money to push their products to viewers of Olympic events. Overall the hope is to develop a coherent multi-event strategy.building and responding to the effectiveness of prior programs.

From reading the b/s, you would think their program is focused on social equality, human rights, conservation, etc. But in fact the point is to use these buzz words to help sell products of dubious usefulness to the easily duped. Which is to say pretty much the goal of any ad campaign.


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## TEBC (Dec 26, 2004)

Tel Aviv Considers 2048 Summer Games Bid - GamesBids.com


It’s called planning ahead. According to a popular Israeli website the city of Tel Aviv is considering joining forces with its neighbouring town Ramat Hasharon to start preparing for a bid for the 2048 Summer Olympic Games in celebration of Israel’s 100th anniversary. Former city chief engineer...




gamesbids.com





personaly I would love the games in Tel Aviv. It is one of the cities that have an Summer Olympic venue vibe just like:

San Francisco
Miami
Istanbul
Buenos Aires
Cape Town 

I hope I have the opportunity to see some of them hosting it.


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

TEBC said:


> Tel Aviv Considers 2048 Summer Games Bid - GamesBids.com
> 
> 
> It’s called planning ahead. According to a popular Israeli website the city of Tel Aviv is considering joining forces with its neighbouring town Ramat Hasharon to start preparing for a bid for the 2048 Summer Olympic Games in celebration of Israel’s 100th anniversary. Former city chief engineer...
> ...


It is good to start early. SF has tried to bid but realized that they didn't begin to have the facilities needed and had to ask Oakland, San Jose, Palo Alto and many surrounding cities to provide arenas, stadiums, gyms, etc. Those cities refused since SF wanted to take the main sports and send minor sports to the other cities.

As an example of the requirements, LA is using about 15 facilities with over 10k seating for the 2028 Games and 4 facilities over 50k (plus 5 or so large stadiums in SJ, SD, etc.. And the IOC expects to see that there is a proven economic use for each of them.


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## TEBC (Dec 26, 2004)

pesto said:


> It is good to start early. SF has tried to bid but realized that they didn't begin to have the facilities needed and had to ask Oakland, San Jose, Palo Alto and many surrounding cities to provide arenas, stadiums, gyms, etc. Those cities refused since SF wanted to take the main sports and send minor sports to the other cities.
> 
> As an example of the requirements, LA is using about 15 facilities with over 10k seating for the 2028 Games and 4 facilities over 50k (plus 5 or so large stadiums in SJ, SD, etc.. And the IOC expects to see that there is a proven economic use for each of them.


that's a shame! those cities should recognize that SF is what would attract the games and deserve the main sports. It happens in any host city (Tokyo - Yokohama), Barcelona-Hospitalet, Badalona, Castelldefells, Paris-St Denis, LA...


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

TEBC said:


> that's a shame! those cities should recognize that SF is what would attract the games and deserve the main sports. It happens in any host city (Tokyo - Yokohama), Barcelona-Hospitalet, Badalona, Castelldefells, Paris-St Denis, LA...


Popular opposition from SF, East Bay and Silicon Valley was very strong due to the waste of money, needless buiidings, ecological issues, etc. Same as Hamburg, Rome, Boston, etc.


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