the Winter Olympics should always be held in some idyllic alpine village...

[stevenpensacola]

not in a major city.

When I think of the Winter Olympics, I always envision them being held in an Alpine "wonderland"...Lake Placid...Norway...surrounded by majestic mountains, with a charming village to stroll through. The WO's should not be set in a major city full of skyscrapers.

but that's just me....

 

[drag n' fly]

There are no skyscrapers in Whistler where some of the events are being held It would be a logistical nightmare to try and house and transport all the athletes and spectators in a idyllic village. They also do not have the tax base to support such projects. Our city has benefitted from hosting a winter olympics. Twenty two years later we still very much use the facilities built for the olympics back in 1988. If it was in an idyllic village think of all the people who would miss out on using those facilities after the games are over and the cost to maintain them is in the millions of dollars. I personally do not want to see an idyllic village exploited like some of the ski resorts you see nowadays eg: you will not see any celebrities living in Banff (60 miles from my house) why? because their is a law that states you have to work there to live there. So not even the big shot oil execs from Calgary or Kennedy and his water cronies can get around that one lol. That is why idyllic villages are just that....idyllic because we need to work to keep them that way not fill them up with infrastructure.

It definitely would be prettier though as i get what your saying
Off my soapbox now

 

[bicker]

Yes, good points d'n'f. Another consideration how badly hosting the Olympic Games adversely impacts the local residents. Big cities are well-equipped to host so many visitors, and the staff necessary to bring the games to the world (because just hosting the games, without everyone all over being able to watch them, wouldn't be nice).

 

[Ohiodislover]

I just think the Winter Olympics should be held somewhere that the average Feb temp is not 50 degrees

 

[bicker]

The average temperature in Vancouver in February is 41 degrees.

 

[wdwfan16]

I just think the Winter Olympics should be held somewhere that the average Feb temp is not 50 degrees

The average temperature in Vancouver in February is 41 degrees.

Still too warm.

Winter Olympics should be held were the average temp is well below freezing. It is suppose to be winter sports not thawing sports. When you have to truck in snow there is a problem.

 

[bicker]

I think the Winter Olympics should be held wherever people love winter sports and suitable facilities, such as those in Vancouver, can be provided.

 

[wdwfan16]

I think the Winter Olympics should be held wherever people love winter sports and suitable facilities, such as those in Vancouver, can be provided.

But they are not providing suitable facilities. They are postponing many of the sports because of lack of snow, fog and poor conditions.

 

[bicker]

That's happened before, even at Lake Placid, perhaps for other reasons. No place is perfect. The imperfections of the current games always is magnified by the sensationalistic reporting it receives, but it's just an illusion.

 

[puffkin]

But they are not providing suitable facilities. They are postponing many of the sports because of lack of snow, fog and poor conditions.

If you can figure out how to control mother nature...hats off to you!

And I agree...it would be next to impossible to host an Olympics in a small village. They just don't have the infrastructure or facilities to accomodate that many spectators, press, and athletes. Vancouver is a nice setup with Whistler being 30 miles away. Best of both worlds...its just too bad Mother Nature is being funky this year!

 

[crashbb]

I just think the Winter Olympics should be held somewhere that the average Feb temp is not 50 degrees

The average temperature in Whistler (where most of the outdoor events are being held) is 20F-30F.

 

[PeterPan09]

If you can figure out how to control mother nature...hats off to you!

And I agree...it would be next to impossible to host an Olympics in a small village. They just don't have the infrastructure or facilities to accomodate that many spectators, press, and athletes. Vancouver is a nice setup with Whistler being 30 miles away. Best of both worlds...its just too bad Mother Nature is being funky this year!

So far, I think the games have been a great commercial for Vancouver! The images that I'm seeing really make me want to take a trip out there!

And honestly, who would have thought that there would have been more snow in Washington DC this year than Canada???

 

[Jennasis]

Still too warm.

Winter Olympics should be held were the average temp is well below freezing. It is suppose to be winter sports not thawing sports. When you have to truck in snow there is a problem.

I spent a week in Lake Placid in 1995. It was January...temps spiked to the 50's (60 one day!) and all the snow melted off the mountain. Our big ski trip was a huge bust.

Stuff happens.

 

[*~PrincessBelle~*]

not in a major city.

When I think of the Winter Olympics, I always envision them being held in an Alpine "wonderland"...Lake Placid...Norway...surrounded by majestic mountains, with a charming village to stroll through. The WO's should not be set in a major city full of skyscrapers.

but that's just me....

Have you ever even been to Vancouver/Whistler? Beautiful. Perfect for the winter olympics. So i'm guessing you never have been. Winter this year VERY uncommon for BC.

 

[declansdad]

Still too warm.

Winter Olympics should be held were the average temp is well below freezing. It is suppose to be winter sports not thawing sports. When you have to truck in snow there is a problem.

This is not a new problem.

There has not been one Winter Games that has not faced problems with the weather. It's been too warm, too cold, too snowy, and not snowy enough. Events have been delayed and even cancelled.

http://www.thespec.com/wire/Sports_Wire/article/709329

 

[disykat]

I think you've missed that not everything is being held right IN Vancouver. (This is common with the Olympics.) The ski events are up the mountain - actually two different mountains - from the city. Those venues are ski resorts and it is a fluke that they are having snow issues.

The West Coast is having a very mild winter, contrary to other parts of the country.

 

[puffkin]

I think you've missed that not everything is being held right IN Vancouver. (This is common with the Olympics.) The ski events are up the mountain - actually two different mountains - from the city. Those venues are ski resorts and it is a fluke that they are having snow issues.

The West Coast is having a very mild winter, contrary to other parts of the country.

This happens with the summer olympics too. Usually they have the rowing and kayaking type events at locations distant from the the host city.

 

[englishteacha]

I totally understand the need/desire to have the Olympics all over the world, but it must be so expensive to build stadiums and such for each Olympics. Have any cities hosted twice and been able to use what they built for the first Olympics on the second time around?

 

[bicker]

The best example of that was Innsbruck, Austria (1964, 1976).

 

[bavaria]

I totally understand the need/desire to have the Olympics all over the world, but it must be so expensive to build stadiums and such for each Olympics. Have any cities hosted twice and been able to use what they built for the first Olympics on the second time around?

Innsbruck in '64 and '76.

I am heartily thankful that Salzburg and the surrounding small towns lost the bid for exactly the reasons listed here. It would ruin the nature of the area as the current infrastructure cannot handle the loads.

And if Munich wins, there won't be any skiing in the city either; it will be quite some distance away in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. But they won't reuse most of the facilities instead use what is there and which was well expanded over the original Winter games in GAP.

I am often walking around the Riessersee which was the site of many of the events and it is quite amazing to see how far those have come in the last century.