Do you think the Olympic Games will be a success?

ofcourse it will be a 'great' success for the winners and 'success' from Media point of view will depend on each country's history/relations with host country.

The Olympics will not succeed.

China should have asked the US to take over the running of the games. The athletes visitors and media would all feel fre and relaxed. Without freedom the games cannot be considereda success.

All future games should be held in the US, noone else has our ability to provide facilities and high standards.

I think it will be a success. China has worked extremely hard to present it's first ever Olympic Games. Mountains and rivers have been moved because of the games. The only possible obstruction is nature.

It's not like we will know anyway. If you are just able to watch the coverage supplied by NHK, we will be lucky if we get to see any other countries athletes. Watching the Olympics here in Japan has to be one of the worst things about living here. And heaven forbid somebody wins a gold medal, because that will be played over and over at nausea.

NO! They're already a failure, and I can't really place the blame solely on China. The IOC--and all the businesses that stand to profit in the short term and, more so, in the long term (hey! 1.2 billion potential new customers!)--have turned a laughably blind eye to China's government policies and prevailing mentality viz. freedom of expression, the environment, etcetera. They've pissed on the so-called "Olympic spirit" and ideals, and payback's a bitch. If China can get the Olympics, then I suggest North Korea, Iran, and Sudan get the next three. I love how we take China's promises at face value. Sure, they'll clean up the environment in the runup to the Games. LOL And freedom of the press? Sure, we'll give the press what WE deem "sufficient"... BWAHAHAHAHAHA. I've never prayed for or looked forward to an Olympic failure, but this year looks to break the trend. Hope a few lessons get learned...

No, China is a failure. 'Games' is supposed to be fun, this is too policed. Brutal treatment of people. Hate.

Things will be fine as long as the athletes don't actually have to breath.

i have a real bad feeling about these games, there are similar to bushes Iraq war all based on lies, lies & more damned lies.

China is going to reap an awful lot of really bad publicity, not that many of their citizens will ever catch word, but none the less China has set itself up for major embarassment, I hope the semi rabid nationalism whipped up during the torch relay etc doesnt turn the games ugly.

I hope I am dead wrong but thats not what my gut is telling me

I think that the Chinese should be able to keep the terrorists away from the athletes, so at the end of the day we will seem some sport and in that sense it will suceed as a televised spectator event.

As a sports tourism event that should bring in lots of foriegn tourists and showcase the facilities, culture, safety of China then the outlook does not look good.

Fairandbalanced is funny.

I think they are control freak freedom haters. Who want to control every aspect of the games.

US should hold all future games, for freedom, security and world class facilities.

Well, on the bright side, at least the Chinese food will be awesome there.

no success as long as nobody will watch in europe/USA due to time difference and really do you think you should watch this show off..we all depends on Chinese but they do polute a lot for this..we suck the tities of mother China in everything we consume but the other way we are responsible for what China is today so do not blame them please. We buyer of Chinese goods are responsible of this upcoming failure. enjoy the games/show on TV . My advice : do not go this coming month to Beijing..let the hotel empty and make chinese people realize they are not like others world poluters..They still have a soul

More like the surgeon declaring, "the operation is a success, but the patient died". For China and the officials at the International Olympic Committee, a success in terms of the amount of money they could make out of the game but at what cost? If money alone is the measure of success then you could call it as one but in life it's not money alone that counts. How about asking this question to those who lost their homes, their livelihood and the rest which we take as human dignity, so as to make Beijing a place that the Chinese Communist authorities want people from outside to see, I don't think you will like the answer you would like. Hitler called his Olympics a success too and wasn't it then the tourch relay began?

a total flop even before the games begin for all the reasons above and then some.

US should hold all future games, for freedom, security and world class facilities.

Huge roll-eyes

Restrictive and censored success for all! We are in it together! China is hosting the games, AND YOU'LL LIKE IT!!! Now get back to work operation sparkling olympic China manual labor team, and stay on sina.com.cn, no chatty cathy's! >_< lol.

If no one gets arrested for using the Internet/speaking their mind/complaining about the food or air quality

If no one comes down with food poisoning/respiratory failure

If there are no terrorist/nutter attacks

If there are at least a few upsets in the predicted medal tables

If the locals are allowed into the events for free ('cos not many foreigners are likely to turn up)

If no one gets nasty when their side wins/loses

...Yeah why not call that a success.

I doubt it will be a success either. I think the nationalism that is really going to be on show here, not the athletics.

"Do you think the Olympic Games will be a success?"

Depends on how you identify "success" ? From a financial point that will be tough to do. Very few Olympic games result in profit... most lose money. I think only the Americans are able to actually make money off these events consistently.

As for athletic success... I have my concerns. I think there will be a lot of doping issues involving the host nation... they have already expressed their concerns about this by attributing possible positive tests to "chinese medicinal medicines" ! yeh right !!!

To date... a lot of negative press. Japan has been particularly aggressive. i watched some coverage from Fuji TV the other day... the announcer planted herself right in the middle of a crowd and blabbed on and on about how disorganized things appeared. Her opinion ? Hard to say as she didn't offer up any detailed analysis... just complaining !

Yes, the games will be a sucess, there is only one mainland china mandarin nation.

Why should not the biggest populated nation in world, achieve sucess in olympics hosting.

In 2004 games they had 2nd biggest win in medals and are great sporting nation.

Sucess knows no barriers, invented by anyone/any nation.

Heck!! These games are a failure already guys!!!

We are not talking about the US where we are all free, this is China who spies on Jounalists, and folks online in hotels.

Bush should tell them to cut it out now and order the Chinese to behave.

No, and I have a bad feeling that China will wind up causing a national incident by imprisoning foreign tourists. Although all the nations will turn their cheeks - including the US, the general populace will speak up as they did for Tibet.

MPNiea

If China behave like that, you can be sure the US will put an immediate stop to it. China knows the US is the only superpower, they are afraid of and also in awe of us.

If we give them an order, they will obey, believe it!!!

I am afraid that this totalitarian control over the operation of the event as well as the public dismay over the traffic and safety control would raise tension among the general public and cause a massive chaos in that city. US journalists have been really aware of this in the past few weeks and they are really taking this Olympics as cautious as possible. And it's understandable because people have a tendency to express their anger when they're so pressed with eye-gazing tensions from the local authorities. I'm just hoping that the athletes will compete at their best at their competition site with no hassles and no stress.

For China it is already a success, they got the olympics. What happens from this point on means nothing, they conned the world & got the games, now they can con their own people & say " look how wonderful we are, we got the games".

I could say more but I'm getting tired of being deleted by the censor.

FairandBalanced at 12:14 PM JST - 1st August

"US should hold all future games, for freedom, security and world class facilities."

Very funny.

The notorious Chinese fans are going to be almost unbearable vicariously supporting the Chinese athletes exclusively- more so than other places. I read recently that the authorities were trying to instill good sportsmanship behaviour into the fans, spending millions on lessons about sportsmanship, queuing and cheering! its true, was yesterdays paper.

Crowd behaviour is going to a real issue. Chairman Mao has lot to answer for. I hope the Chinese don't top the medal charts. I will be cheering for all the other countries. Hot favourites like Xiang Liu in the hurdles will not deliver (the Cuban guy will).

Westurn:

I think only the Americans are able to actually make money off these events consistently.

As predictable as ever. Bringing in the U.S. when this question isn't even about the U.S. And as usual, expressing a slanted opinion towards the U.S.'s way. And although you may have a point that the U.S. would make money, so would other nations. And let's not forget what happened the last time the Summer games were held in the U.S.:

"The Centennial Olympic Park bombing of July 27, 1996, killed spectator Alice Hawthorne and wounded 111 others, and elicited the death of Melih Uzunyol by heart attack."

"Although the Games made a financial profit, they were not without problems. Allegations were levelled that Atlanta organizers bribed members of the IOC to obtain the Olympic Games. However, ACOG documents were destroyed before a formal inquiry could be conducted, and the allegations remain unproven. In his defense, ACOG Chairman Billy Payne said, "Atlanta's bidding effort included excessive actions, even thought processes, that today seem inappropriate but, at the time, reflected the prevailing practices in the selection process and an extremely competitive environment.""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Summer_Olympics

Hmmm ... documents conveniently destroyed .... Well, Mr. Payne, if those "excessive actions" were "prevailing practices" of that era, then why did it continue when bidding for the Salt Lake City games?:

"Prior to these Olympic Winter Games, a number of IOC members were forced to resign after it was uncovered that they had accepted bribes in return for voting for Salt Lake City to hold the Games. IOC President Dr. Jacques Rogge and new CEO of the Salt Lake Games Mitt Romney then staged the Games and contended with the public opinion backlash due to the scandal. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Winter_Olympics

Now, one could contend that controversy happens in all Olympics, but when I tried to look on Wikipedia at the section describing the Nagano Winter Olympics, I saw no such descriptions of foul play or controversies.

these Olympic games will be a success based on the participants (this includes the fans). With a population of over a billion I see no reason for fan failure and China has invested heavily into the event. National American Tv also is heavily promoting the event almost 24 hrs a day now.

From the American view I can only see success and interest.

-these Olympic events are really for the athletes that have worked hard for 4+ years to showcase their talents on a World stage for you to enjoy.

Badsey- These gamesll be a success globally, and obviously the Chinese know whatb theyb are doing and have planned well.

They problem is, that many people thought China might be a bit more pen and free ith the worlds eyes focused on it. Shame this doesn`t seem to be happening.

even though Germany won the 1936 Berlin games (they even promised they would, and won by a large margin) -We all know who really was #1. -that is the Olympics and the Olympic spirit. No amount of media rubbish or political spin can tarnish it.

Badsy- Great post. Let the athletes do the talking, and provide us with greta entertainment from the worlds most talented athletes.

Who is Bush to tell anyone to behave. Geez. Do I agree with China policies? Hell no! But I damn wll do not think that Bush has any right to tell any other country anything. Hes a joke. And yes, i am an American.

Yes, I think the Chinese Olympics will be a success. Why shouldn't they be? Runners will run. Jumpers will jump. Records will be broken. Flags will be flown. There may be the odd hiccup, which no doubt the foreign media will blow-up out of all proportion. Let the games begin!

it would be if all flags were banned and they all did solos without reference to their countries, otherwise it's just peacetime warfare...

Do you think the Olympic Games will be a success?

No, I do not.

And I think it will be a particularly disappointing Olympic Games for Japan.

Of course the Olympics will be a great success! And the Japanese women's volleyball team will beat Brazil in the final to get their first gold medal since 1976.

Unchinanchu - "I damn well do not think Bush has any right to tell any country anything."

Bush, unlike some other world leaders, is attending the opening ceremony.

"He's a joke."

He is not.

yes, games will be successful for China and Russia and maybe USA in terms of medals. But I think Japan won't be able to win many medals, maybe in swimming and marathon and judo.

Princess - Who cares about swimming, marathon or judo - volleyball is by far the most exciting Olympic sport ha ha ha!

What a rough question?

It depends on whom u ask this question! you ask atheletes? or fans? or businessmen? or the host city/country? the country got good/bad ranking? or u even want to ask "do this world should cease this activity forever to save energy and save the earth...." there can be 1 million answers!

Sarge, yes, I like men's volleyball. I have even a favourite, he is from team Brasil!!! and can you believe there are interesting men in team USA!!! volleyball players from USA are very handsome, love them all.

only if it suits china

Princess - What about the Japanese men's volleyball team? They did remarkably well in the World Grand Prix and they'll be in the Olympics as well...

They did remarkably well in the World Grand Prix

Sarge, are you joking?

BTW I support only Kitajima (swimming) and Murofushi (hammer) and the men judoists.

they'll be in the Olympics as well...

Not for long because they are in one group with one very important team!

Sarge, you cannot convince me that Japanese men's volleyball team has any considerable success. There are many teams better than it: USA, Brasil, Italy, Bulgaria, Russia, France, Finland, Argentina, Spain etc and etc. If Japan beats any them, ok, I can recognize a little partial success. Sorry, for the volleball team to the mods.

PR wise for the Chinese government, it's already a failure. The only remaining issue is that the athletes actually get something out of it.

The IOC, the Chinese goverment and the sponsors come out looking like idiots.

**How can sports events be a success? If they make it to the finish I guess you could say they were a success.

If some contestants choke to death on Beijing smog maybe it will be a failure.

As for Bush, he's a poor harbinger of democracy.

I guess the answer won't be known one way or the other until the results of the athletes' urine tests are announced. I just read that they're still disqualifying gold medal winners from the games in 2000!

GW,

Actually, I've felt the same way. I don't really have any concrete reason for believing so, but I have a bad feeling about these games in my gut.

Taka

I hope they will be a success. Unfortunately, I long for the days when they only allowed amateur athletes to compete. It was so much more inspiring to see someone young and raw trying to compete and achieve. These days, it's all business. It's such a shame.

"It's not like we will know anyway. If you are just able to watch the coverage supplied by NHK, we will be lucky if we get to see any other countries athletes. Watching the Olympics here in Japan has to be one of the worst things about living here. And heaven forbid somebody wins a gold medal, because that will be played over and over at nausea."

Here in the U.S. I have the choice of watching NBC or nothing at all if I want to see the Olympics. And I'm not going to get to see any other countries athletes unless they are competing with us. And I'm going to get to know every detail of every athletes childhood and their pets, while I'm getting pounded by the cororate sponsers. And heaven forbid someone wins a gold medal (and we will), because that will be played over and over ad nauseum.

Depends entirely on how one defines "success". If it means that the games will start, there will be competition, it will end, yes it will be a success. If it means that China will have been able to put her best face forward to the world, no, it's already a failure. If it means did the IOC make a good choice in choosing Beijing, no they ought to be fired. If it means will lots and lots of foreign visitors come to Beijing, then no it's a failure.

Taka

I agree, I don't have any real reason for expecting something, other than the Chinese being the Chinese, but I am half waiting for something to go seriously wrong.

These are the people that supply the 100 yen shops, the todo cien shops, the world's provider of cheap crxp & that alone should be a worry.

Mid-August headline;

"Birds nest disaster"

It's a possible.

well I guess my opinion has already been stated very nice by people like OssanUltra and others: Just a few comments to two of you anyway:

FairandBalanced at 08:34 AM JST - 1st August

The Olympics will not succeed.

China should have asked the US to take over the running of the games. The athletes visitors and media would all feel fre and relaxed. Without freedom the games cannot be considereda success.

All future games should be held in the US, noone else has our ability to provide facilities and high standards.

well.. was that seriously meant???

and also to

ChimpsAhead at 03:26 AM JST - 2nd August

MPNiea

If China behave like that, you can be sure the US will put an immediate stop to it. China knows the US is the only superpower, they are afraid of and also in awe of us.

If we give them an order, they will obey, believe it!!!

I seriously doubt that: Have you checked resently who the US owes money to?

If I remember correctly, Chine has paid for about 20 % of all the foreign loans the US has made; Japan 25% (btw)...