Rio Olympics : Did the IOC's gamble pay off
August 24, 2016 6:02 AM Subscribe
BBC: Awarding the Olympic Games to the Brazilian city of Rio in 2009 was viewed as a gamble by some critics.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) saw it as the perfect opportunity to re-emphasise its core message of taking the spirit of sport to as many people as possible.
IOC president Thomas Bach maintains it was a risk worth taking.
"The Brazilians were great hosts and really united behind these Games," he said. "They turned this great competition into a party for everybody."
The Rio Games Were An Unjustifiable Human Disaster, And So Are The Olympics
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:21 AM on August 24, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:21 AM on August 24, 2016 [20 favorites]
The Olympics are the perfect con. The well-connected people get all the money, and everyone else gets bread, circuses and debt.
I understand this, of course, and still really enjoy watching. This is why it's such a great con.
posted by selfnoise at 6:24 AM on August 24, 2016 [11 favorites]
I understand this, of course, and still really enjoy watching. This is why it's such a great con.
posted by selfnoise at 6:24 AM on August 24, 2016 [11 favorites]
As Harry Shearer says:
The OLYMPICS! They're a movement!. And we all need one... everyday!
From my amoral white American gainfully employed bubble of NBC spectatorship, Katie Ledecky's 800m EVISCERATION made it all worth it.
posted by dis_integration at 6:26 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
The OLYMPICS! They're a movement!. And we all need one... everyday!
From my amoral white American gainfully employed bubble of NBC spectatorship, Katie Ledecky's 800m EVISCERATION made it all worth it.
posted by dis_integration at 6:26 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
I mean I realize this wasn't part of what they could take into account at the time, but if you want to frame this as gambling, then gambling includes risking the unknown unknowns, so....
We may not know for at least a couple of years what the legacy of the games is. It's all very good to have some lovely closing ceremonies and declare the games over so now we can reflect on them. But it's not over, the public health crisis starts the day they blow out the flame and everyone goes home. A near-worldwide Zika pandemic would be the joint legacy of the World Cup and the Olympics. That's not the IOC's fault, except insofar as they refused to cancel or move the games, but it will be the legacy nonetheless, and it is the payoff to their gamble.
It's a freak payoff that no one could have predicted years ago and freak stuff could just as easily happened in a rich country, so I'm not saying "they should never have gambled like that" (though maybe there are other reasons they shouldn't have), but if Zika comes to the world as a result of these games, then it would be hard to argue that they won.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:28 AM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
We may not know for at least a couple of years what the legacy of the games is. It's all very good to have some lovely closing ceremonies and declare the games over so now we can reflect on them. But it's not over, the public health crisis starts the day they blow out the flame and everyone goes home. A near-worldwide Zika pandemic would be the joint legacy of the World Cup and the Olympics. That's not the IOC's fault, except insofar as they refused to cancel or move the games, but it will be the legacy nonetheless, and it is the payoff to their gamble.
It's a freak payoff that no one could have predicted years ago and freak stuff could just as easily happened in a rich country, so I'm not saying "they should never have gambled like that" (though maybe there are other reasons they shouldn't have), but if Zika comes to the world as a result of these games, then it would be hard to argue that they won.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:28 AM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
The Olymipics are a quadrennial story machine for the media.
First, there is excitement over the announcement. New city! Or a returning favorite! But, to make this easier and more cost-effective, should we move the games to one permanent location?
It gets quiet for a bit, until the closing ceremonies of the games immediately preceding the venue. Look! Samba dancing! The PM is Mario!
Four years of building. Four years of stories about cost overruns, displaced citizens and other stories. They are behind schedule! The sewer system can't handle it! Zika! Will this darling of the sport show? Will they be ready?!? Should we move the games to one permanent location? This intensifies geometrically every month they get closer to the games.
The games happen! Triumph! Glory! Heartbreak! People competing in sports you didn't watch in the last 47 months! Look at how this person is the first person like that person to represent that country! See, things came together. The fear was overblown! Or comical, in a way.
Oh look. It's the closing ceremonies. There's the presentation of the new host city. But, were these games great? Did we have the challenges we expected? Why was this overblown? Should we move the games to one permanent location?
Then, this city joins the narrative of former host cities. How did they handle the debt? What became of the venues? Should we move the games to one permanent location? Oh look--four years have passed...
posted by MrGuilt at 6:37 AM on August 24, 2016 [40 favorites]
First, there is excitement over the announcement. New city! Or a returning favorite! But, to make this easier and more cost-effective, should we move the games to one permanent location?
It gets quiet for a bit, until the closing ceremonies of the games immediately preceding the venue. Look! Samba dancing! The PM is Mario!
Four years of building. Four years of stories about cost overruns, displaced citizens and other stories. They are behind schedule! The sewer system can't handle it! Zika! Will this darling of the sport show? Will they be ready?!? Should we move the games to one permanent location? This intensifies geometrically every month they get closer to the games.
The games happen! Triumph! Glory! Heartbreak! People competing in sports you didn't watch in the last 47 months! Look at how this person is the first person like that person to represent that country! See, things came together. The fear was overblown! Or comical, in a way.
Oh look. It's the closing ceremonies. There's the presentation of the new host city. But, were these games great? Did we have the challenges we expected? Why was this overblown? Should we move the games to one permanent location?
Then, this city joins the narrative of former host cities. How did they handle the debt? What became of the venues? Should we move the games to one permanent location? Oh look--four years have passed...
posted by MrGuilt at 6:37 AM on August 24, 2016 [40 favorites]
You have sixteen days, what do you get?
Another Games over and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the IOC
posted by quarsan at 6:50 AM on August 24, 2016 [30 favorites]
Another Games over and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the IOC
posted by quarsan at 6:50 AM on August 24, 2016 [30 favorites]
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the IOC
Try the french: Comité international olympique, CIO
posted by TedW at 7:12 AM on August 24, 2016 [22 favorites]
I owe my soul to the IOC
Try the french: Comité international olympique, CIO
posted by TedW at 7:12 AM on August 24, 2016 [22 favorites]
One thing unmentioned is Rio was very likely one of the few places the risk of terrorism was more or less under control. There were stories of ISIS looking for portuguese and spanish translators before the games, but finding lonewolves capable of doing anything was much harder than if the games were on Madrid (who finished second).
so, on to the article claims...
"The IOC has shown that it is possible to organise the Olympic Games in countries which are not at the top of the GDP ranking."
If the IOC is willing to foot part of the bill everytime (like it happened to prevent a colossal fuck-up instead of inconveniences that were easier to hide) and demand some plans for the rehabilitation of the venues as opposed to letting them rot, then no again. Any city running for the Olympics must already have an ongoing plan to have at least the basic venues in place. No more Olympics where everything has to be built, often at the cost of the inhabitants of low-value neighborhoods.
"I think it's been a step back from London," said Ben Rumsby, a correspondent for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. "It was always expected to be, but I think it's been a bigger step back than the organisers expected and they'll be looking forward to Tokyo, which is expected to be a success."
Part of it were the months of negative publicity. If they want to avoid that, do like the NFL - avoid exclusive contracts and give everyone a piece of the pie, so that if someone shits on it, they're also getting - and paying - for poopie pie.
some have suggested there is an ever-growing disconnect between the Games and the public because of issues such as doping and corruption.
Doping has been around on one shape or another since... dunno, Agathon of Miletus decided to drink a mixture of herbs and goat blood to beat Isokrates of Athens in wrestling. Corruption around the same time, too.
If there's any disconnect is because they're making an effort to monetize everything in the Olympic movement and at the same time end up pricing out people from watching the Olympics, be it on the screen or on the venues. I barely watched a thing on the Sochi Olympics because the TV rights were sold to a premium channel as opposed to basic cable Eurosport (who licensed it from EBU-UER), and illegal streaming was less than reliable. This time, I watched a lot on public tv, but some events were still only available on foreign streams.
As for the locals, I watched ticket prices in some venues, and most of them looked way too expensive to me.
At first, organisers blamed long queues for the poor turnouts and then pointed out that the Brazilian people are notoriously slow at getting involved in sport, unless it is football or volleyball.
... and this is why cheaper tickets are important. €20 to watch an hockey game, is expensive unless you really want to watch it or it's a cheap event to get into and get a few photos inside a venue and a ticket stub to frame. You won't have many people thinking "maybe I'll go and watch this one thing today" at these prices.
What will Tokyo 2020 offer?
Mutants going out of control and blowing the olympic stadium up?
(to be honest, the prospect of winning a gold medal in the Nippon Budokan should be one hell of a motivation for a generation of judokas).
posted by lmfsilva at 7:21 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
so, on to the article claims...
"The IOC has shown that it is possible to organise the Olympic Games in countries which are not at the top of the GDP ranking."
If the IOC is willing to foot part of the bill everytime (like it happened to prevent a colossal fuck-up instead of inconveniences that were easier to hide) and demand some plans for the rehabilitation of the venues as opposed to letting them rot, then no again. Any city running for the Olympics must already have an ongoing plan to have at least the basic venues in place. No more Olympics where everything has to be built, often at the cost of the inhabitants of low-value neighborhoods.
"I think it's been a step back from London," said Ben Rumsby, a correspondent for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. "It was always expected to be, but I think it's been a bigger step back than the organisers expected and they'll be looking forward to Tokyo, which is expected to be a success."
Part of it were the months of negative publicity. If they want to avoid that, do like the NFL - avoid exclusive contracts and give everyone a piece of the pie, so that if someone shits on it, they're also getting - and paying - for poopie pie.
some have suggested there is an ever-growing disconnect between the Games and the public because of issues such as doping and corruption.
Doping has been around on one shape or another since... dunno, Agathon of Miletus decided to drink a mixture of herbs and goat blood to beat Isokrates of Athens in wrestling. Corruption around the same time, too.
If there's any disconnect is because they're making an effort to monetize everything in the Olympic movement and at the same time end up pricing out people from watching the Olympics, be it on the screen or on the venues. I barely watched a thing on the Sochi Olympics because the TV rights were sold to a premium channel as opposed to basic cable Eurosport (who licensed it from EBU-UER), and illegal streaming was less than reliable. This time, I watched a lot on public tv, but some events were still only available on foreign streams.
As for the locals, I watched ticket prices in some venues, and most of them looked way too expensive to me.
At first, organisers blamed long queues for the poor turnouts and then pointed out that the Brazilian people are notoriously slow at getting involved in sport, unless it is football or volleyball.
... and this is why cheaper tickets are important. €20 to watch an hockey game, is expensive unless you really want to watch it or it's a cheap event to get into and get a few photos inside a venue and a ticket stub to frame. You won't have many people thinking "maybe I'll go and watch this one thing today" at these prices.
What will Tokyo 2020 offer?
Mutants going out of control and blowing the olympic stadium up?
(to be honest, the prospect of winning a gold medal in the Nippon Budokan should be one hell of a motivation for a generation of judokas).
posted by lmfsilva at 7:21 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think NBC's inept coverage has pretty much wrecked any interest I might have in watching the Olympics. I tried, I really did. But, it seemed whenever I tuned into any of the NBC channels, there was some interminable human interest feature playing, or the talking head was talking. And talking.
My wife tried to watch the closing ceremonies but gave up when she couldn't hear the singer because the commentators wouldn't shut. the. fuck. up.
I think the idea of establishing a single permanent location for the games is a great idea. And, strip the whole thing of the pomp and pretension.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:32 AM on August 24, 2016 [7 favorites]
My wife tried to watch the closing ceremonies but gave up when she couldn't hear the singer because the commentators wouldn't shut. the. fuck. up.
I think the idea of establishing a single permanent location for the games is a great idea. And, strip the whole thing of the pomp and pretension.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:32 AM on August 24, 2016 [7 favorites]
Stories of ISIS looking for portuguese and spanish translators before the games
Cue Brazilians grinding their teeth to nubs with wroth.
posted by winna at 7:36 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
Cue Brazilians grinding their teeth to nubs with wroth.
posted by winna at 7:36 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
You do realize Brazil is surrounded by countries that speak Spanish, right?
posted by lmfsilva at 7:40 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by lmfsilva at 7:40 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yes, of course, but I also know Brazilian people who get touchy about the idea that they speak Spanish.
posted by winna at 7:41 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by winna at 7:41 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Heh, in this case, I don't think the implication is that they speak spanish, only that ISIS wasn't fussy on the nation of someone willing to stirr shit up.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:44 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by lmfsilva at 7:44 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
The whole thing is a total scam. And yet... there are thousands of "lucky" suckers willing to volunteer for menial crap jobs like shuttling the "heroic" idiots (or should I say athletes) back and forth.
They are though one of the most successful human/social enginneering projects launched in the 19th C. (By baron de Coubertin) inspired by August Comte's attempts to develop a religion of humanity, with rituals based on the Catholic Church traditions.
posted by mary8nne at 7:58 AM on August 24, 2016
They are though one of the most successful human/social enginneering projects launched in the 19th C. (By baron de Coubertin) inspired by August Comte's attempts to develop a religion of humanity, with rituals based on the Catholic Church traditions.
posted by mary8nne at 7:58 AM on August 24, 2016
"The IOC has shown that it is possible to organise the Olympic Games in countries which are not at the top of the GDP ranking."
Brazil has the ninth highest GDP in the world, above more than half a dozen countries that have hosted Olympics in the last 30 years.
posted by Etrigan at 8:04 AM on August 24, 2016 [12 favorites]
Brazil has the ninth highest GDP in the world, above more than half a dozen countries that have hosted Olympics in the last 30 years.
posted by Etrigan at 8:04 AM on August 24, 2016 [12 favorites]
Heh, in this case, I don't think the implication is that they speak spanish, only that ISIS wasn't fussy on the nation of someone willing to stirr shit up.
True, I'm just picturing the looks on the faces of the cariocas if someone came up and started trying to get them to do Bad Things using Spanish. It would be hilarious.
posted by winna at 8:18 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
True, I'm just picturing the looks on the faces of the cariocas if someone came up and started trying to get them to do Bad Things using Spanish. It would be hilarious.
posted by winna at 8:18 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
I wondered, after noticing nearly-empty venues for sports such as Equestrian Dressage, if it might be better to hold major events in different places every four years, for the two Olympic games, respectively. Then you could hold the minor sports, and the less-watched variations of swimming and track and such, at permanent locations. This could be akin to holding a Grammy Awards telecast for the big awards, but then having smaller awards off-site for the awards only industry people would care about (say, Special Citation for Technical Achievement in Sound Engineering on a Blues Recording).
posted by raysmj at 8:26 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by raysmj at 8:26 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
> I think the idea of establishing a single permanent location for the games is a great idea.
That proposal has its own issues.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:26 AM on August 24, 2016
That proposal has its own issues.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:26 AM on August 24, 2016
No, because it wasn't a gamble. It was a way to funnel millions to the right people. It paid off because it was, and has been for many years now, a money-making venture that is obscene in scale and immoral in intent. Never watch the hand the magician is waving which, in this case, is a number of sporting events.
posted by nfalkner at 8:28 AM on August 24, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by nfalkner at 8:28 AM on August 24, 2016 [6 favorites]
Then you could hold the minor sports, and the less-watched variations of swimming and track and such, at permanent locations.
How will we cross-breed swimming fencers and hammer-throwing bicyclists and tennis-playing pole valuters?
posted by Etrigan at 8:34 AM on August 24, 2016
How will we cross-breed swimming fencers and hammer-throwing bicyclists and tennis-playing pole valuters?
posted by Etrigan at 8:34 AM on August 24, 2016
"The IOC has shown that it is possible to organise the Olympic Games in countries which are not at the top of the GDP ranking."
Maybe they meant GDP per capita ranking? Poor countries can waste money on boondoggles, too!
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:38 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
Maybe they meant GDP per capita ranking? Poor countries can waste money on boondoggles, too!
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:38 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
I think NBC's inept coverage has pretty much wrecked any interest I might have in watching the Olympics. I tried, I really did. But, it seemed whenever I tuned into any of the NBC channels,
I could have been happy if in addition to the dedicated channels for basketball and soccer they'd set up one of the various NBC networks as "Olympic Weird Stuff" where they showed a non-stop stream of greco-roman wrestling and kayak and archery and whatnot.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:41 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
I could have been happy if in addition to the dedicated channels for basketball and soccer they'd set up one of the various NBC networks as "Olympic Weird Stuff" where they showed a non-stop stream of greco-roman wrestling and kayak and archery and whatnot.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:41 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
They did. All of those things were available with online streaming. (With commentary, yay!)
posted by Melismata at 8:53 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 8:53 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
NBC did have apps and a Roku channel and such set up for the Rio Olympics, which played mostly international feeds. I used the latter to watch swimming events. The feeds did not include any up-close-and-personal segments.
posted by raysmj at 8:54 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by raysmj at 8:54 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
> I think the idea of establishing a single permanent location for the games is a great idea.
That proposal has its own issues.
I disagree with that linked article, a lot. For one thing, it's written as if Olympic sport venues would go totally unused in between, which is obviously not true. Just because most of the world only watches bobsled and luge every four years doesn't mean people don't train and compete in them every year. The Whistler Sliding Centre from the Vancouver Olympics is still there and still operating, for example. Seems to me any permanent set of Olympic facilities (though my preference would be more like one per continent) could easily become a continuing center for training and non-Olympic competitions.
posted by dnash at 8:58 AM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
That proposal has its own issues.
I disagree with that linked article, a lot. For one thing, it's written as if Olympic sport venues would go totally unused in between, which is obviously not true. Just because most of the world only watches bobsled and luge every four years doesn't mean people don't train and compete in them every year. The Whistler Sliding Centre from the Vancouver Olympics is still there and still operating, for example. Seems to me any permanent set of Olympic facilities (though my preference would be more like one per continent) could easily become a continuing center for training and non-Olympic competitions.
posted by dnash at 8:58 AM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
NBC did have apps and a Roku channel and such set up for the Rio Olympics, which played mostly international feeds.
Yeah, I used the app and website a lot. They had issues. At least with me, the app (on my iPhone) often had difficulty getting and staying connected to my Chromecast so I could watch on my actual TV. I think the culprit was the inserted advertisements. Also it wasn't as full featured as the website in some ways. Like, when I watched diving on the website on Saturday, for at least three of the rounds the website stream had bookmarks for each diver, so if you wanted to skip ahead or back you could find them. The phone app didn't have anything like that, and was hard to scroll forward or back if you wanted to.
posted by dnash at 9:04 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I used the app and website a lot. They had issues. At least with me, the app (on my iPhone) often had difficulty getting and staying connected to my Chromecast so I could watch on my actual TV. I think the culprit was the inserted advertisements. Also it wasn't as full featured as the website in some ways. Like, when I watched diving on the website on Saturday, for at least three of the rounds the website stream had bookmarks for each diver, so if you wanted to skip ahead or back you could find them. The phone app didn't have anything like that, and was hard to scroll forward or back if you wanted to.
posted by dnash at 9:04 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Didn't watch any of it this year -- when I had the desire, every time I tuned in they weren't showing the action, they were talking about it while showing me some bozo who clearly just liked hearing him/her self talk. It's like the annoying trend in nature shows where the narrator just won't stop talking about themselves -- that's not why I (and I would hope most people) watch nature shows. Similarly, if the opening ceremonies are going on, stop talking and show me the spectacle. I know which country is which, and even if I didn't, I could figure it out myself if I cared. If I tune in on some event, show me the event -- even if there isn't an American in competition -- and don't talk over it unless there is something truly unusual or odd going on, and then keep it short, simple, and then shut up. If there is truly nothing going on for the scheduled event, it's the freaking Olympics, show something else, don't just blather on and on. It just wasn't worth the effort to watch, and hasn't been for several Games.
posted by Blackanvil at 9:29 AM on August 24, 2016
posted by Blackanvil at 9:29 AM on August 24, 2016
What will Tokyo 2020 offer?
posted by Herodios at 9:31 AM on August 24, 2016 [9 favorites]
Mutants going out of control and blowing the olympic stadium up?the prospect of winning a gold medal [Live at the] Budokan[!] should be one hell of a motivation . . .
Cheap Trick --
|----
Bob Dylan -- |
|----
Ozzy Osbourne -- | |
|---- |
Frank Sinatra -- |
|----
Doobie Brothers -- | |
|---- | |
Quincy Jones -- | | |
|---- |
The Carpenters -- | |
|---- |
Yngwie Malmsteen -- |
|-----
Chic -- |
|---- |
Mr. Big -- | |
|---- |
Dream Theater -- | | |
|---- | |
Blur -- | |
|----
Bay City Rollers -- |
|---- |
Asia -- | |
|----
Bryan Adams -- |
|----
Avril Lavigne --posted by Herodios at 9:31 AM on August 24, 2016 [9 favorites]
"The IOC has shown that it is possible to organise the Olympic Games in countries which are not at the top of the GDP ranking."
Maybe they meant GDP per capita ranking?
Brazil is still higher than China on that scale, and the highest country on it is Norway at 10.
posted by Etrigan at 9:32 AM on August 24, 2016 [4 favorites]
Maybe they meant GDP per capita ranking?
Brazil is still higher than China on that scale, and the highest country on it is Norway at 10.
posted by Etrigan at 9:32 AM on August 24, 2016 [4 favorites]
Re NBC, the apps and website were definitely the way to watch. No talking heads or fluff stories, just the sports and athletes. They had every sport and event, had DVR functionality, and you could replay events at will.
posted by aerotive at 9:38 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by aerotive at 9:38 AM on August 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
How will we cross-breed swimming fencers and hammer-throwing bicyclists and tennis-playing pole valuters?
Modern Hexathlon?
posted by The Tensor at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2016
Modern Hexathlon?
posted by The Tensor at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2016
I like that the Olympics move around. It is a nice chance to see a bit about another part of the world every couple years. I think the IOC needs to tone down its demands, put up some of the cash, and be more willing to let host countries re-use older facilities. I don't think LA should get the Olympics now, the U.S. and LA in particular have had it too many times, but I appreciate a a bid that shows existing infrastructure can be used.
posted by Alluring Mouthbreather at 10:18 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Alluring Mouthbreather at 10:18 AM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Olymipics are a quadrennial story machine for the media.
They absolutely are, but they are also absolutely more than that. The events and the carnival atmosphere were tremendous fun.
I spent two weeks working the 2010 Vancouver games. The city was was fundamentally changed by the games. It was a great excuse to put a huge push on for better public transit infrastructure. The road to Whistler and the alpine events was vastly improved. Vancouver, and the southern coast, went from being one of the worst areas in Canada to get around to being, well, middle of the pack. The benefits of the venues are kinda meh in the long term (great for certain folks, relatively meaningless for most), but the public amenities changes are huge.
The Olympics gives political will to finally get all of those projects everyone knows are necessary done, and done to a deadline. Both the licence and the deadline are hugely important.
posted by bonehead at 10:24 AM on August 24, 2016
They absolutely are, but they are also absolutely more than that. The events and the carnival atmosphere were tremendous fun.
I spent two weeks working the 2010 Vancouver games. The city was was fundamentally changed by the games. It was a great excuse to put a huge push on for better public transit infrastructure. The road to Whistler and the alpine events was vastly improved. Vancouver, and the southern coast, went from being one of the worst areas in Canada to get around to being, well, middle of the pack. The benefits of the venues are kinda meh in the long term (great for certain folks, relatively meaningless for most), but the public amenities changes are huge.
The Olympics gives political will to finally get all of those projects everyone knows are necessary done, and done to a deadline. Both the licence and the deadline are hugely important.
posted by bonehead at 10:24 AM on August 24, 2016
Cheap Trick
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
| |----- RED NIGHT & BLACK NIGHT APOCALYPSE |posted by effbot at 10:26 AM on August 24, 2016
The IOC could also relax a bit about regional bids, where some of the venues are a couple hours away. One of the early iterations of the Chicago bid used venues in nearby college towns -- Chambana, South Bend, Madison -- to use more existing infrastructure and spread the venue joy. Like, South Bend actually has quite an excellent kayaking run and Olympians already train there, so they wanted to expand that, and house the athletes in the college dorms while they were on site, then have everyone in Chicago for the Opening and Closing ceremonies and the marquee events in Chicago. Some smaller venues also would have been shared out with the surrounding suburbs and train infrastructure improved. The IOC put the kibosh on that real quick because they are very anti-regional bids.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:27 AM on August 24, 2016
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:27 AM on August 24, 2016
Not a single mention of the massive cuts to the Paralympics in that article. If you award the Olympics and Paralympics as a single unit, then you damn well analyse the success and failure together.
posted by Vortisaur at 10:32 AM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Vortisaur at 10:32 AM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
The IOC put the kibosh on that real quick because they are very anti-regional bids.
One of my favorite stories of the Olympics is the time the equestrian events were held across the world and five months early, because Australia said "Well, you can break that 'Only one city' rule or you can have no equestrian events, because we quarantine horses for six months and fuck you."
posted by Etrigan at 10:41 AM on August 24, 2016 [9 favorites]
One of my favorite stories of the Olympics is the time the equestrian events were held across the world and five months early, because Australia said "Well, you can break that 'Only one city' rule or you can have no equestrian events, because we quarantine horses for six months and fuck you."
posted by Etrigan at 10:41 AM on August 24, 2016 [9 favorites]
shuttling the "heroic" idiots (or should I say athletes)
Yes, you should say athletes. Of all the people to shit on, they're near the bottom of the list.
posted by disconnect at 1:31 PM on August 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yes, you should say athletes. Of all the people to shit on, they're near the bottom of the list.
posted by disconnect at 1:31 PM on August 24, 2016 [3 favorites]
Didn't watch the Olympics this time for the first time in a while because there was no easy way to do so. As a non-TV subscriber, NBC didn't give me a way to watch (lots of online stuff.... if you logged in with a Comcast/whatever account). Oh well. By next Olympics I hope I'm either in another country where its easier or there is some way to watch that doesn't require cable (can't get NBC via antenna at my place due to interference).
The LA bid does seem nice in that it doesn't require building giant new stadiums, from what I've seen. I'd be OK with us winning it, but suspect they won't give it to the US.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:26 PM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
The LA bid does seem nice in that it doesn't require building giant new stadiums, from what I've seen. I'd be OK with us winning it, but suspect they won't give it to the US.
posted by thefoxgod at 3:26 PM on August 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
"they won't give it to the US."
I mean basically the IOC looked at Chicago and said, "Nope, you're not nearly corrupt enough, Chicago" so I don't know how any other US city thinks it has a chance given Chicago's vast expertise in corruption!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:44 PM on August 24, 2016 [6 favorites]
I mean basically the IOC looked at Chicago and said, "Nope, you're not nearly corrupt enough, Chicago" so I don't know how any other US city thinks it has a chance given Chicago's vast expertise in corruption!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:44 PM on August 24, 2016 [6 favorites]
I mean basically the IOC looked at Chicago and said, "Nope, you're not nearly corrupt enough, Chicago" so I don't know how any other US city thinks it has a chance given Chicago's vast expertise in corruption!
It's Providence's time to shine!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 3:57 PM on August 24, 2016 [8 favorites]
It's Providence's time to shine!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 3:57 PM on August 24, 2016 [8 favorites]
Hosting the Olympics in Rio was the latest effort – an extreme, titanic one – to impose the ideal version of Rio over the complexities and contradictions of real Rio. In real Rio, the state government does not have enough money to keep police vehicles on the roads. Police stations are running out of paper. Hospitals are in a precarious situation. State universities are on strike: so far they have not received a penny towards the costs of the current academic year. The state’s 500,000 public servants have received their salaries late. Building work has been interrupted. Unemployment is increasing. Social and economic inequalities have become more pronounced. Just before the Olympics, Rio state declared a state of emergency, shifting all these problems on to the shoulders of the federal government – which handed it almost a billion dollars to prevent chaos during the Olympics. But Rio’s anxious population is already wondering not so much how the Games have gone as what will happen afterwards?
What happened was someone came along and said "The landlord has said we can have a party in your front garden. We didn´t like your vegetable patch so we dug it up and put in some flowers, they might die but you can always plant more. You can come to the party but you have to buy a ticket like everyone else and don´t go thinking you can use your front door, that´s for important people not the likes of you.
The parasite Thomas Bach has a salary of Euro 225,000. The cleaners were paid £1.40 an hour whilest the Olympic executives were on a US$700 per diem and free flights. So much for the Olympics being a great levellor.
Whilest everyone ooohing and aahing at physical brilliance 34 people were killed and 58 wounded. 98% of tourists thought security was excellent.
Christopher Gaffney sums it up wellbest: “This has been the selfie Olympics.”
posted by adamvasco at 4:09 PM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
What happened was someone came along and said "The landlord has said we can have a party in your front garden. We didn´t like your vegetable patch so we dug it up and put in some flowers, they might die but you can always plant more. You can come to the party but you have to buy a ticket like everyone else and don´t go thinking you can use your front door, that´s for important people not the likes of you.
The parasite Thomas Bach has a salary of Euro 225,000. The cleaners were paid £1.40 an hour whilest the Olympic executives were on a US$700 per diem and free flights. So much for the Olympics being a great levellor.
Whilest everyone ooohing and aahing at physical brilliance 34 people were killed and 58 wounded. 98% of tourists thought security was excellent.
Christopher Gaffney sums it up wellbest: “This has been the selfie Olympics.”
posted by adamvasco at 4:09 PM on August 24, 2016 [5 favorites]
The Olympics gives political will to finally get all of those projects everyone knows are necessary done, and done to a deadline. Both the licence and the deadline are hugely important.
I really feel like this is not a universal truism, especially if what's best for the city and what's best for the Olympics conflict. The Vice Sports article linked above is a good collection of how often that happened in Rio.
posted by chrominance at 4:22 PM on August 24, 2016
I really feel like this is not a universal truism, especially if what's best for the city and what's best for the Olympics conflict. The Vice Sports article linked above is a good collection of how often that happened in Rio.
posted by chrominance at 4:22 PM on August 24, 2016
Long but good read with the the last paragraph finishing : -
But there is a simmering sentiment that the Olympic Games in their current form are no longer compatible, or acceptable, in modern societies with different needs. That may well be the true legacy of Rio 2016.
posted by adamvasco at 6:30 PM on August 24, 2016
But there is a simmering sentiment that the Olympic Games in their current form are no longer compatible, or acceptable, in modern societies with different needs. That may well be the true legacy of Rio 2016.
posted by adamvasco at 6:30 PM on August 24, 2016
Not a single mention of the massive cuts to the Paralympics in that article.
fwiw, how lack of travel grants are impacting athletes touched on here at 20m mark, also mentioned HBO real sports on IOC corruption: The Lords of the Rings [promo: 1,2,3,4]
posted by kliuless at 11:56 PM on August 24, 2016
fwiw, how lack of travel grants are impacting athletes touched on here at 20m mark, also mentioned HBO real sports on IOC corruption: The Lords of the Rings [promo: 1,2,3,4]
posted by kliuless at 11:56 PM on August 24, 2016
I could have been happy if in addition to the dedicated channels for basketball and soccer they'd set up one of the various NBC networks as "Olympic Weird Stuff" where they showed a non-stop stream of greco-roman wrestling and kayak and archery and whatnot.
They did actually. I watched plenty of archery and table tennis and wrestling and various track and field, water polo, rugby, etc. on the various other NBC networks. I think mostly it was either CNBC or NBC sports network. I hate Comcast but they did a have a useful search option that showed which channels were showing which sports.
Re: the Paralympics:
I really don't like the framing that the Olympics are over. No they aren't. There's still the Paralympics. It's really annoying that they are treated as a separate Olympics. Maybe they wouldn't have the current funding and attendance problems if they were held at the same time as the main Olympics. Make it like 2 more weeks but treat the Paralympics with the same respect and admiration that the Olympics does. Include the paralympic athletes in the opening and closing ceremonies. Include them in the medal counts. We could actually act like they are worth something and not this other thing that happens after the Olympics.
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:39 AM on August 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
They did actually. I watched plenty of archery and table tennis and wrestling and various track and field, water polo, rugby, etc. on the various other NBC networks. I think mostly it was either CNBC or NBC sports network. I hate Comcast but they did a have a useful search option that showed which channels were showing which sports.
Re: the Paralympics:
I really don't like the framing that the Olympics are over. No they aren't. There's still the Paralympics. It's really annoying that they are treated as a separate Olympics. Maybe they wouldn't have the current funding and attendance problems if they were held at the same time as the main Olympics. Make it like 2 more weeks but treat the Paralympics with the same respect and admiration that the Olympics does. Include the paralympic athletes in the opening and closing ceremonies. Include them in the medal counts. We could actually act like they are worth something and not this other thing that happens after the Olympics.
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:39 AM on August 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is the first year I haven't watched the Olympics, because this is the first Olympics after I quit cable.
I bought an antenna, but apparently it wasn't good enough, or something, to get the local NBC affiliate, so that was that.
I could have tried streaming via a VPN, but honestly at this point it just didn't seem worth the trouble. Especially not for NBC's apparently super shitty coverage. Mostly what I remember from the last Olympics was more ads than anyone should ever put up with and by all reports NBC managed to put in more ads than they had last time.
Do better next time NBC.
posted by sotonohito at 1:26 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I bought an antenna, but apparently it wasn't good enough, or something, to get the local NBC affiliate, so that was that.
I could have tried streaming via a VPN, but honestly at this point it just didn't seem worth the trouble. Especially not for NBC's apparently super shitty coverage. Mostly what I remember from the last Olympics was more ads than anyone should ever put up with and by all reports NBC managed to put in more ads than they had last time.
Do better next time NBC.
posted by sotonohito at 1:26 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'd have shelled out a few bucks for Olympics streaming privileges too. If NBC had offered a $5 or $10 package that let me watch the Olympics, streaming events of my choice live, I'd have jumped at it.
Instead they declared that if I didn't have cable I should fuck off and die.
posted by sotonohito at 1:28 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Instead they declared that if I didn't have cable I should fuck off and die.
posted by sotonohito at 1:28 PM on August 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Not All International Media Were Swept Away by Post-Olympics Euphoria
Guardian sports correspondent Owen Gibson questioned the IOC president Thomas Bach’s rosy interpretation of events, likening some of his claims to George Orwell’s concept of “blackwhite,” the “ability to believe that black is white.
posted by adamvasco at 8:59 AM on August 27, 2016
Guardian sports correspondent Owen Gibson questioned the IOC president Thomas Bach’s rosy interpretation of events, likening some of his claims to George Orwell’s concept of “blackwhite,” the “ability to believe that black is white.
posted by adamvasco at 8:59 AM on August 27, 2016
After the Olympics - LRB
According to one estimate, each medal won in Rio cost an average of £5.5 million
posted by adamvasco at 11:00 AM on September 6, 2016
According to one estimate, each medal won in Rio cost an average of £5.5 million
posted by adamvasco at 11:00 AM on September 6, 2016
The Role of the Press atthe Olympics - A first Hand Account
posted by adamvasco at 4:50 PM on September 6, 2016
posted by adamvasco at 4:50 PM on September 6, 2016
The 2016 Rio Olympics are over but the effects of seven years of rapid urban transformations remain. The Games leave behind questionable legacies from projects like the BRT lines to the Port revitalization project, inspired by Barcelona's redevelopment ahead of 1992. Economist Andrew Zimbalist argues the Olympics are unlikely to bring about the economic benefits touted by organizers and the elite members of the IOC. As CatComm's Theresa Williamson argued in openDemocracy, the real positive legacies of the Games were not the expected ones
And so much more from a monthly digest accumulated by RioOnWatch, of which I am a complete and utter fanboy.
posted by adamvasco at 10:16 AM on September 7, 2016
And so much more from a monthly digest accumulated by RioOnWatch, of which I am a complete and utter fanboy.
posted by adamvasco at 10:16 AM on September 7, 2016
What we are witnessing in Rio de Janeiro is the unfolding of a monopolistic, rent-seeking business model that plays on human emotions of desire, belonging, and consumerist distinction as never before. The tightly braided relationships between mega-events rights holders (IOC and FIFA), the “primary stakeholders” of the event (Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Dow Chemical, Samsung, Hyundai, etc.), the civil construction and real estate sectors and the executive branches of government have been exposed. The general revolt of the Brazilian middle class in June of 2013 was an expression of the frustration with the propagation of this model in a country that has not met the basic needs of its citizens.
posted by adamvasco at 5:50 AM on September 16, 2016
posted by adamvasco at 5:50 AM on September 16, 2016
« Older “It’s time to rethink this system.” | Bandcamp Daily Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Yes for the IOC and grafting Brazilians at the top. No for literally everyone else.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 6:18 AM on August 24, 2016 [32 favorites]