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Who should host 2016?

by Richard Irvine-Brown - BBC Sport (U7774651) 04 June 2008

The IOC is set to announce the final list of potential host cities for the 2016 Olympic Games.

All we know is that at least three from Prague, Baku, Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Madrid, and Chicago will make that list.

And it’s a tough list.

As magnanimous as Patrick Ryan, Chicago’s bid leader, is – with all his ‘happy just to be here’ chat – he must know, for surely that’s his job, that his home team are favourites.

Chicago has the most developed infrastructure (if not the fastest metro system, the most castles, or the biggest carnival) for hosting a colossal sporting occasion of all the bids and, as the US Olympic Committee selects one city every four years to bid, it has the cash, the muscle and the machinery behind it.

It has also already beaten Los Angeles.

Maybe it’s for all those reasons that Ryan is coy. America triumphs in many international arenas on a calculable basis, but Ryan understands that they must do so on perceivable merit. Even if they do expect to bring the Games to America for (what will be) the first time in 20 years, don’t let anybody know it.

Whenever champions elect conquer underdogs of varying ability, their captain isn’t always saying the opposition “gave them a good game” for the sake of it.

Personally, I would love to see a Prague Olympics. Realistically, they need at least two new stadia and one revamped old one. The alleyways of the Stare Mesto and trams of Hradcany are fine for tourists who wander in couples but a logistical slow-death for millions of visitors in a fortnight.

For the same reason, Rio - the favelas, the steep hills, the gritted teeth approach to crowd control – is an unlikely contender. But wouldn’t it have been fun?

Doha has certainly put the dope cheat among the stool pigeons. The nation of Qatar should be considered tiny (pop. one million) by Olympic standards but incredibly wealthy (pop. one million rich property investors, oil magnates, playboys...).

Remember that it is cities, not nations, which host the Games, and the size of Doha is comparable to that of Prague, Salt Lake City, or Barcelona.

The population is not the issue, the less-crowded a city, all the better for getting buses of athletes and riot cops back and forth through the gleaming concrete of centrepiece international sport.

What may scupper Doha, irrespective of the 2006 Asian Games, is the wariness of the IOC who, like Patrick Ryan with his bid, must justify suitability in their choice beyond the might of cash.

Should the Gulf-state capital make it to the final shortlist then, by all means, a non-regular bid for 2016 should be welcomed, especially if it can afford it, but the choice, it appears, is between three cities of G8 nations: Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo. (Baku? Sorry.)

Amazingly, the Spanish capital looks certain to make the final handful on what appears to be a sympathy vote - “sorry, Senor, you looked a lock for 2012, I’ll speak to the management” – more amazingly, the Spanish Olympic machine, and a public that made so much of Barcelona ’92 are happy to go through the rigmarole once more.

Tokyo is the interesting choice – cultured, modern, and efficient but crowded, overcast, and with an alphabet in conflict with the main advertisers’ desires.

If the 2002 World Cup confirmed the stereotype of Japan as organised and smiling, that’s no bad thing (beyond stereotypes being clumsy tools). For a major sporting tournament in a world of 24-hour television, sponsorship, and security, organised and smiling is just what’s needed.

Plus, two years after Tokyo last hosted the Games, England got the World Cup.

Just sayin’.

Is the right to host 2016 a ‘straight race’ between Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo? What can non-G8 nations learn from the bids of Prague and Baku? If any city in the world should host the Olympics, who would that be and are they on this shortlist?

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comment by zinkrm (U10166617)

posted Jun 4, 2008

Lengthcroft - Judging by how many Americans and Chicago have already joined in to this discussion with full support for Chicago, I think you may be incorrect. Like I said before, there is a buzz around this city right now, which we will hopefully have reason to continue to 2016!

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comment by FulhamYank (U6238248)

posted Jun 4, 2008

Fair enough Lenghtcroft. Worked on me.

The thing about the United States is that each region is like its own country. When Atlanta won the Olympics for 1996, the southeast part of the country got insane about it and the rest sort of just thought it was nice.

Similarly if Chicago wins in, the entire center of the country will just explode with excitement. Who knows what the feelings will be on the coasts. But really Chicago will carry along the likes of Denver and Detroit and St. Louis and Cleveland and a lot of the smaller cities in "flyover country" in terms of excitement. As XFyrChief points out, we're like the forgotten major U.S. city when the Boston/New York City/Philadelphia/Baltimore/Washington D.C. corridor and Los Angeles get all the glory.

And if I remember correctly, when London got the bid, there was actually some antipathy from other parts of the country about that fact.

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comment by XFyrChief (U12201557)

posted Jun 4, 2008

Lengthcroft -

As with you my comments are partly in jest ... And I do agree that the entire US would not get as worked up over the Olympics. But, one must put it into perspective, given the size and population of the US, even the area and population of just the Midwest exceeds all of Great Britain.

We have had many friends from Europe who, after seeing New York, then coming here said they would not go back to NY, but would gladly come back to Chicago. We just get tired of visiting overseas and having people bring up Al Capone when we mention Chicago.

Remember too, that Chicago supports two professional baseball teams, two professional ice hockey teams, an American football team, and just last year opened a state of the art soccer stadium. Plus, you really can find major league hurling and rugby here (cricket is a bit harder!)

That said, I hope the people in every city that is in contention are as excited and as proud just to be considered.

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comment by douglasmcdouglas (U2150146)

posted Jun 4, 2008

If Chicago wins then we could it could present President Obama with a celebration in his home state of the final year of his two term presidency. If he wins the election then expect the US to pull out all the stops.

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comment by Richard Irvine-Brown - BBC Sport (U7774651)

posted Jun 5, 2008

Lots of pro-Chicago noise here, then.

Now that the short-list is here: no Doha, Prague, or Baku, does that make a difference?

We are in the happy circumstance of four different continents vying for the Olympics, as opposed to the 2012 bidding that saw London v Paris v Madrid and murky backrooms of executives humming about traded votes.

Although it is a valid point that Madrid 2016 would be two consecutive European Olympics, and that should be avoided, central Spain and South-East England are two separate beasts in attitude, climate, transport, and waterways.

Also, if Madrid, having lost out on 2012 loses again in 2016 then what message are we sending the plucky delegates of Prague and Baku now flying home with personal messagees for their local governors encouraging them to try again in 2020?

I still can't see past a Chicago v Tokyo race, though. And, based on nothing but gut feeling, that will be decided by how Rio and Madrid's eliminations are dealt with and how their delegates will be left to feel toward the remaining bids.

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comment by AmericanSportFan (U7338204)

posted Jun 7, 2008

comment by douglasmcdouglas (U2150146)
posted 3 Days Ago

If Chicago wins then we could it could present President Obama with a celebration in his home state of the final year of his two term presidency. If he wins the election then expect the US to pull out all the stops.
------------------------------------------------
1. Chicargo is way too hot in the Summer.
2. ARe you sure that Obama will win the Election.
3. Wouldn't Chicago and its neighboring suburbs be more suited for the winter Olympics? It get really cold in chicargo during the months of January and Febuary.

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comment by douglasmcdouglas (U2150146)

posted Jun 8, 2008

ASF
in reply to your comment:
1/ Chicago's average peak summer temperature is 22oC, Beijing's is 26oC.
2/ My post said "If he wins"
3/ it's many years since I was in Chicago, but I cannot recall there being mountains in the close vicinity with the necessary vertical drop for alpine events.

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comment by WhiteCamry (U2321601)

posted Jun 11, 2008

Rio. The Olympics haven't been held in Latin America since '68.

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comment by Kop that (U10443403)

posted Jun 12, 2008

I'd like to see the olympics in Baku because it'll be funny.

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comment by hard_to_beat (U2401994)

posted Jun 18, 2008

Chicago should get it because, aside from the obvious reason that Chicago has the best infrastructure and is 'ready', the US hasn't hosted it since 1996 and as NBC basically bankroll alot of it, it's only fair.

2020 will be the interesting one, because with Europe (London) and probably USA (Chicago) having held the previous two, one would think that Asia, Africa or South America would be in line.

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