Should the Olympics be abolished?

[JWilkins]

Everything surrounding the Olympics seems to be about greed. Except the athletes are all amateurs and forbidden to participate. I guess we all like the concept of amateurs competing to see who is the best. It is not really world competition unless all can participate is it?

 

[JWilkins]

The only place a permanent location would make sense is Athens, Greece.

I really like this comment. Is there any way to make it come true?

 

[bit_pattern]

I take it you did not look at the report itself? If you had, you would have noticed the report also clearly states that you should not use the economic impact of one specific Olympic Game to all Olypmic Games. You can find the report here.

I did look at it. But you might note that the article I quoted also cites other examples that I didn't quote here because the moderators are sticklers about reproducing more than a paragraph of copyright work held on other websites, so I tend to assume people here do actually read them.

Also, I do not see anything in the report about infrastructure at all, which is what Travis specifically mentioned.

I would have assumed that benefits from infrastructure would translate into economic benefits. What's the point of investing in infrastructure that doesn't provide economic benefits?

There is a real 'white elephant' effect from Olympics infrastructure, for instance state-of-the-art sports facilities that are very expensive to maintain but lack the demand to justify the expense of their upkeep is a classic example.

I don't doubt that it varies from country to country but I was just pointing out that the promised boon to the economy and infrastructure of the host city isn't always what it is sold as.

 

[JJM 777]

I suspect he was referring to the "swimsuit malfunction" that briefly resulted in a visible bare breast on one of the NBC channels.

It occasionally happens in live tv broadcasts of dive jumping (whatever its official term is), and I guess in these events too where women constantly take physical contact to each other, perhaps synchronized swimming could be risky too.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

Where would you build it?

Space.

 

[Beerina]

I was working in Sydney before and during the 2000 Olympics.

There were some not so pleasant discoveries made in the hosting, that I see recurring for London - in particular the much lower than expected occupancy rates for accommodation. Why? Pricing for one, and corporates intentionally deferring or relocating business meetings and business travel away from the host city due to the hassles.

Hold on, more normal business temporarily fled Sydney than came to visit for the Olympics, leaving the hotels net emptier than normal? I would never have guessed that in a billion years.

 

[wobs]

I have never understood the snobbishnes about professional athletes. Just an excuse to keep the oiks down and let the ruling elite have the fun and glory.

Some sports are still just for the wealthy ruling classes, look at Rowing and Horse riding.

Have you ever been to a rowing club?
I can tell you that much of the Uk's rowers come from a very varied background. While the SE of England boasts many posh rowing clubs, the rest of the country has a more working/ middle class demographic.

The national squad may come from more private educated backgrounds, but that reflects the time/ resources needed to get to such a level. And this is reflected is many other sports.

I can't comment on horse riding.

 

[mikeyx]

Have you ever been to a rowing club?
I can tell you that much of the Uk's rowers come from a very varied background. While the SE of England boasts many posh rowing clubs, the rest of the country has a more working/ middle class demographic.

The national squad may come from more private educated backgrounds, but that reflects the time/ resources needed to get to such a level. And this is reflected is many other sports.

I can't comment on horse riding.

Has anyone else notice the nauseating overabundance of volleyball coverage? It a minimum NBC should lose the coverage rights because they frankly suck at it. Lack of streaming options in general and the overlooking of many events in favor of others (VOLLEYBALL) it's time to give someone else a shot at this.

 

[Almo]

I don't mind the olympics so much as professionals being allowed to compete there. Though I understand that when they weren't some countries effectively sent professionals, so the competition wasn't fair anyway.