IOC long-shot Watanabe hopes 'crazy' Olympic idea sparks debate

I know it will never catch on, but it is not a bad idea! Costs would be far less, and as he said, you wouldn't have the time differences when the games are on the other side of the world. Great to see Japanese thinking outside the box!

So basically the same cities will hold the same events every four years. Athletics in the southern hemisphere as the olympics are always held in the northern hemisphere Summer. I think this would be the end of the Olympics if this happens as it doesn’t allow people to enjoy seeing different sports live in their own country or watch on tv either.

I've heard worse suggestions and I reckon that's worth further consideration.

The main issue is sorting out the bribes for the five cities. Used to be simple: biggest bribe hosts next games. If multiple cities are going to get involved, things could get tricky.

Unlike Bach or Coe, for example, Watanabe was never an Olympian.

I don't think that should be an obstacle. Bach was an arrogant POS who thought he could order countries around.

The Olympic Games already do take place in several different cities.

In the most recent Tokyo Olympics, Cycling was in Shizuoka/Yamanashi, Surfing was in Chiba, and several other events were held in Hokkaido.

The 65-year-old International Gymnastics Federation chief is one of seven candidates vying to succeed Thomas Bach as head of the IOC, with members set to decide in March.

Good. I'm glad Bach will be gone soon. The people didn't want the last Tokyo Olympics to happen. Yet, Bach bullied his way to make it happen.

This is actually a pretty good idea. Both because more cities means that more people can enjoy the games live, and because with more cities there will be less competition between the cities, and thus less need for bribes and dishonest dealings.

It is highly unlikely there would be 5 concurrent nations/cities willing to host the Games and wear the costs. Brisbane 2032 won virtually by default - I think there was only one other rival that put their hand up - possibly Istanbul (from memory.)

I think Watanabe should run on a ticket of greatly downsizing the Olympics. It is now far too bloated and insanely expensive. (of course, it is in the crooked IOCs interests to grow it as massive as possible... $$$).

I’m sure Watanabe will do his very best to contain costs and ensure no IOC official profits from the games. It’s the Japanese way

Agree, this isn’t a bad idea. Share the burden