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Global shift as Olympics set up shop in Asia

10 Comments
By Peter STEBBINGS

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When will Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur or Bangok or Manila put their hands up???

Well to be fair both Bangkok and KL did try to host the 2008 Olympics, they just didn't win.

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As others have said, the idea of 'hosting' the Olympics no longer has a luster for most Western countries either because A) been there, done that, got the t-shirt, or B) they see that for all the hoopla, it doesn't really do that much.

Seriously, what are the long term benefits for, say, Sarajevo? Calgary? Turin? Lillehammer? Those aren't the only Winter Olympic cities, of course, but I've been to Nagano. I've skated in M-wave, I've been to Hakuba to see the remaining sites there.

Do you know what I saw in M-wave? A thousand dollar weightlifting bar, most likely bought with Olympic money for speed skaters, sitting in a dusty corner of the arena slowly rusting. Downstairs under the arena is another weight training area where there was dust on the mirrors from lack of use. Is there a knock-on effect? Doubtful, as most of the Olympic stuff has fallen into disuse or is now so decrepit it can't be used.

The summer Olympics are probably the same. Millions and millions (if not billions) of dollars spent... for an imaginary feather in the cap of some politician and an honor that gets forgotten within a few years. Do you think the people of Rio are happy about the money their country spent for the 'honor' of the Olympics?

Some will say that such honors inspire or raise the prestige of the host city/country. Maybe it used to, I doubt it though. You want to know what really raises the prestige? Having good housing, thriving economies, safe streets, good transportation, etc, etc. Compared to those, hosting the Olympics is small potatoes.

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As Matt  Hart said - only 3 Asian countries capable of holding such events - hardly representative of Asia as a whole. When will Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur or Bangok or Manila put their hands up???

And these 3 countries, while economic powerhouses (money abounds esp China), are still trying to cement their "we have arrived" place on the Universal Stage of Acceptance.

Pride is Big here.

Bigger and Better is Big here.

Many other advanced nations have moved on from that and their citizenry don't feel the need to play such expensive "image games" wrapped in politico-speak.

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They are the only countries willing to bend over to the IOC's ridiculous demands. 2022 will be in Beijing after they won against Almaty, Kazakhstan - no other cities contended that vote, they all withdrew their applications after the IOC's ridiculous demands..

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The IOC has little choice due to the fact that they have made the games so expensive to hold that few can or are willing to sqander that much money. There are many African countries who would love to hold it, possibly spread accross several countries (like Japan & Korea did for the world cup), but the IOC won't contemplate it because they can't afford the gold plated resources the IOC require of hosts (not to mention the corrupt kick backs).

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I don't really buy this argument that only Asian countries can afford it. Plenty of Western countries can afford it, but it comes back to the fact that these events often lose money and since these countries are democracies its seen as a political risk to support an event that incurs debts rather than profits. Its dumb economics. Although I hear that Sydney and London did ok in the end. In terms of re-invigorating cities, well that was certainly the idea behind the Olympics in London.

Certainly prestige is another factor. The Chinese might see it as prestigious, but the West has been there and done that and no longer see's the Olympics as particularly special. The Olympics is a tradition dating back ages in the West. Its nothing new or particularly exciting. The World Cup is more exciting for many.

And lets be honest, how many countries in Asia could actually pull off either even at this point? There are only 3. China, Japan & South Korea. Not exactly representative of the entire region is it.

Really gross overstatements in this article.

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Same for the soccer World Cup, that is also very corrupted. When I was younger, I was so naive, and I thought these events were really about sport...I was so wrong.

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of money*

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Honestly, I don't want the Olympics in my Country, they are such a waste if money. I let these events to other Countries gladly.

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