ISU has cancelled 2021 Europeans, ISU Grand Prix Final, World Junior Synchro; Stockholm Worlds still on for now

Lemonade20

If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
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I’m kind of torn as I can understand both sides. On one side it’ll be nice to have a consistent place where you know what to expect and it’s familiar to you. On the other hand, the Olympics is also about sharing your country with the world through hosting, food, and so much more. I do like the idea of rotating between three or four cities as it’s become crazy expensive to put in all that infrastructure
 

Turbo-Mom

Active Member
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139
Its so expensive to host anymore. Probably more sensible to build or upgrade the best facilities for the athletes to compete in within close proximity to lodging and transportation for guests.
Athens, Greece for Summer (site of original Olympics)
Chamonix, France for Winter (Site of First Winter Olympics) and close to Geneva

What's the latest rumor on World's
 

MsZem

I see the sea
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Its so expensive to host anymore. Probably more sensible to build or upgrade the best facilities for the athletes to compete in within close proximity to lodging and transportation for guests.
Athens, Greece for Summer (site of original Olympics)
Chamonix, France for Winter (Site of First Winter Olympics) and close to Geneva
Many of the facilities from Athens 2004 are no longer in use and some have fallen into disrepair. The financial toll of hosting those games was considerable, and I can't imagine Greece wanting to go through it again any time soon.

(they did get some very nice metro stations out of it, though)
 

Carolla5501

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7,132
And people go back year after year to Disneyland. There's no reason why a dedicated space couldn't have attractions, great restaurants, fireworks, etc. People love manufactured and controlled experiences.

Some of the best Moroccan food I've ever had was at Epcot, the only thing worth it for me in the entire trip.

ETA: Not that I think this would happen. It's simply been posited as one of two options to make the cost (and security) palatable. The other was to only have three or four cities rotate the games.
Don’t go back to Epcot. Disney took over the restaurant, it’s now horrid

I do think having a permanent Olympic site is feasible, because I don’t think people go to those places to see the sites. If you’re going to the Olympics you don’t have time usually to go see the other sites thar might be in the city you’re going to at least based on my one trip to the summer Olympics. All we did was go to Olympic events.

That said financing would be a problem because it will be empty so much of the time and you would need a lot of hotels and infrastructure that just sat unused for years in a row. That doesn’t seem feasible which is why I don’t think it will happen
 

Turbo-Mom

Active Member
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I think having the Summer Games in Greece permanently would perhaps make it financially feasible with some long range planning. I doubt any of the facilities from the first modern Olympics in 1896 are around. Those used in 2004 may be a wreak but you could say that about many other Olympic Locations. I know the cost to attend FS in Sochi was about $25K for a couple, so most people that can come up with $25K can probably travel anywhere, anytime. I'm actually more interested in building permanent facilities that would provide athletes with the best venues to compete in. I also do not think other countries were feel slighted if the Olympics were staged where it all started, and I'm sure that the infusion of travelers would be a boost to the Greek Economy.
 

Colonel Green

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If they do end up settling on a “permanent” Olympic venue, it will be in a large city that will be able to make use of key facilities in between events.

Los Anglers’ bid for the upcoming Summer Olympics heavily relied on them already having state of the art athletics facilities.
 

kwanfan1818

RIP D-10
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That said financing would be a problem because it will be empty so much of the time and you would need a lot of hotels and infrastructure that just sat unused for years in a row. That doesn’t seem feasible which is why I don’t think it will happen
There are Olympic and World Cup venues that have never been used again, left rotting, after all of that investment and lies told to the public about reuse.

Calgary is one of the top speed skating training centers because of the facilities built for the Olympics. People go to small, out-of-town places to go to various Hall of Fame museums, and an oversized Olympic museum could attract visitors on its own, as would a Disney-like An Olympic Experience. Various World Cups and World Championships could be held in the off years. It could be a cruise ship destination, like towns and cities in Alaska.
 

Colonel Green

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I think having the Summer Games in Greece permanently would perhaps make it financially feasible with some long range planning.
Freestanding facilities that are only used at full capacity once every four years would be very difficult to make financially viable under any circumstances.
 

MsZem

I see the sea
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Freestanding facilities that are only used at full capacity once every four years would be very difficult to make financially viable under any circumstances.
Yes, and while the extent to which 2004 contributed to Greece's financial difficulties may have been overstated, it's clear that hosting the Games, and even preparing a bid, is cost-prohibitive for many locations. If the ISU wants a permanent venue, they'd have to find a way to fund it.
 

PRlady

Cowardly admin
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It’s not feasible to put the Olympics permanently into two European venues. The trend is for new countries elsewhere to host and some have done a very good job. The Koreans, Chinese and Aussies would have something to say about Eurocentric Olys.
 

Colonel Green

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It’s not feasible to put the Olympics permanently into two European venues. The trend is for new countries elsewhere to host and some have done a very good job. The Koreans, Chinese and Aussies would have something to say about Eurocentric Olys.
I mean, if they want to volunteer as permanent host, they’re welcome to do so.
 

4rkidz

plotting, planning and travelling
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Speaking of Worlds, Alberta here in Canada has been hosting world junior hockey. Only main issue was players arriving with covid but upon arrival they have done the bubble thing like Las Vegas. But this is Alberta they are like our annoying cousin Province, lol, they walk to their own beat.
 

cholla

Grand Duchess of Savoie - Marquessa of Chartreuse
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Chamonix, France for Winter (Site of First Winter Olympics) and close to Geneva
Chamonix may be 1 hour drive from Geneva but there is absolutely nothing there now suitable to host winter O.G. Only one alpine ski slope in les Houches is homologated for the World Cup, it has been recently remodeled for several millions of €. (It will host Kandahar on Jan 30 and 31 without audience, meaning it will cost an arm and a leg and bring back no money at all). Chamonix has only 1 tiny ice rink, the stands can barely accommodate 1.700 people, and the capacity can't be increased as it is. Nor can another one of Olympic size be built. The price of land and accommodations have sky-rocketed these past 10 years and there isn't much land left to built anything in the safe zones anyway (i.e. those that aren't threatened by avalanches, and landslides/rocks falls caused by global warming). There is no other resort with the necessary space for O.G. in a 150/200 km radius. The first winter O.G. were 96 years ago, there is nothing left of them besides old pictures. Right now all over ski resorts in France, ski lifts are closed (as are bars and restaurants) by governmental decree and nobody knows when they'll open again. If they stay closed all winter, 75% of their hotels and restaurants will go bankrupt. So will some ski resort themselves :( Chamonix is a posh place with lots of money everywhere but it is not going to last long.
 

Lemonade20

If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
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I would love to see Canada and China be two host countries. Canada can definitely split their venues across BC & Alberta for skating, skiing, hockey and more. China has already proven they are capable of hosting a successful Olympics as well. Europe is a tough one, where would be the best place?
 

AxelAnnie

Like a small boat on the ocean...
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I would love to see Canada and China be two host countries. Canada can definitely split their venues across BC & Alberta for skating, skiing, hockey and more. China has already proven they are capable of hosting a successful Olympics as well. Europe is a tough one, where would be the best place?
Um....China? Not so much. (Covid)
 

starrynight

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As the Olympics become more expensive and bloated, it's becoming harder for host countries (outside of those sports mad or autocratic) to justify the extreme expense.

Poor Japan will likely suffer a great deal after spending so much money to either have the Olympics cancelled or for it to be held on a very restricted basis, with minimal attendance and no tourism boost. It's a massive cautionary tale of the risk versus the expense.

I think the issue is that the Olympics has become more and more expensive to host every cycle, with high standards of facilities required. I'm not sure what the solution will be. Lowering expectations as to the amount of $$ required would be a start. Perhaps spreading out events across a whole nation or group of nations would work to reduce the requirement for new facilities. However, some solution needs to be considered, because one can see the Olympic movement (and a lot of sports that rely on it) running out of steam if it continues to lose viability.
 

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love! Not LatinX!
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I don’t see Tokyo 2021 or Beijing 2022 happening in the old way (live, everyone in one location). There may be a virtual technological solution for a few of the old classic sports. Go back to the basics such as Athletics, Swimming-Diving, classic Gymnastics (not rhythmic, tumbling, trampoline); figure skating and alpine skiing in winter. No big opening and closing ceremonies with athletes walking around the track en masse. No made-for-TV gimmicks, like the skating Team Event in the winter games...surfing & skateboarding in summer??!! Good grief. Return to simplicity, without greedy commercialism.
 

miffy

Bad Brit
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Why should one sport be more valid than another?! :confused: Why shouldn’t skateboarding be in there? Personally I would have preferred roller skating, but it wasn’t selected, but I don’t see why it should be left out when it has been chosen?
I agree about the ceremonies, having all the audience and the athletes clustered together like that is a risk not worth taking.
 

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love! Not LatinX!
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22,098
Why should one sport be more valid than another?! :confused: Why shouldn’t skateboarding be in there? Personally I would have preferred roller skating, but it wasn’t selected, but I don’t see why it should be left out when it has been chosen?
I agree about the ceremonies, having all the audience and the athletes clustered together like that is a risk not worth taking.

If one removes commercialism, then only the classic sports should be contested....the original seven or eight sports. If the winter Games were to remain, then just the five or six contested in the 1920s. It should not be tied to commercialism or ratings.
 

Foolhardy Ham Lint

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If one removes commercialism, then only the classic sports should be contested....the original seven or eight sports. If the winter Games were to remain, then just the five or six contested in the 1920s. It should not be tied to commercialism or ratings.
I vote to bring back fancy figures, and full-length skating dresses for the ladies that dare to reveal a shapely ankle.
 

allezfred

In A Fake Snowball Fight
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If one removes commercialism, then only the classic sports should be contested....the original seven or eight sports. If the winter Games were to remain, then just the five or six contested in the 1920s. It should not be tied to commercialism or ratings.
If you are going to go classical, then it can only be men competing and they have to do so naked.
 

kwanfan1818

RIP D-10
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I remember reading an article back in the '80's about male circumcision -- maybe in the Village Voice? -- in which the author wrote that originally, circumcision for Jewish males was the equivalent of a small nick in the foreskin, but that due to the increased secularity of Jews in Greece, who were trying to "pass", the rabbis ruled for full circumcision, which couldn't be hidden. Apparently Jewish men, who were doing all things naked that Greek men did, were using thread to tie up the nick, so that when they were naked, circumcision wasn't obvious.

#BlameTheOlympics (although I have no idea if the actual periods of time overlapped or if any of this is true).
 

Vagabond

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I remember reading an article back in the '80's about male circumcision -- maybe in the Village Voice? -- in which the author wrote that originally, circumcision for Jewish males was the equivalent of a small nick in the foreskin, but that due to the increased secularity of Jews in Greece, who were trying to "pass", the rabbis ruled for full circumcision, which couldn't be hidden. Apparently Jewish men, who were doing all things naked that Greek men did, were using thread to tie up the nick, so that when they were naked, circumcision wasn't obvious.

#BlameTheOlympics (although I have no idea if the actual periods of time overlapped or if any of this is true).
🤔 Do you have a list of Jewish athletes at the ancient Olympics?
 

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