Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

[Automation Gallery]

No, Rio just held the games -- on the table are Lima and Bogota. The fact that the Pan Am Games are a huge Latin American event does not, in my opinion, lead to the conclusion that the voters will want to see it given to another Latin American city. I would think they'd want to see this big event (in their views: clearly not in the view of UT posters) go to somewhere that will continue to help grow the event. I would think the Golden Horseshoe bid (or whatever it is) would succeed or failure based partly on this promise of picking up that pan-Americas ball and running with it. Which is exactly as it should be.

Rio de Janeiro.... just might win the 2016 Olympics.

Chicago loses 2016 Olympic bid
Eliminated in first round of voting in Copenhagen, with Rio and Madrid only remaining candidates

Copenhagen — Associated Press
Last updated on Friday, Oct. 02, 2009 11:46AM EDT

Chicago has been eliminated in the first round of voting for the 2016 Olympics.

Tokyo was eliminated in the second round, leaving Rio and Madrid as the final two candidates.

 

[TOareaFan]

Rio de Janeiro.... just might win the 2016 Olympics.

Chicago loses 2016 Olympic bid
Eliminated in first round of voting in Copenhagen, with Rio and Madrid only remaining candidates

Copenhagen — Associated Press
Last updated on Friday, Oct. 02, 2009 11:46AM EDT

Chicago has been eliminated in the first round of voting for the 2016 Olympics.

Tokyo was eliminated in the second round, leaving Rio and Madrid as the final two candidates.

That is, in one way, a shock. Has an American city that wanted the games ever been dismissed so early? Considering that a) Chicago is a great city with excllent in place venues and b) the backing it had from politicians and popular celebs and c) it is in America.....I don't think anyone foresaw them being the first "out".

I had thought the popular wisdom was that Madrid would be first out (considering that 2012 is in Europe....London....and it is not that long ago that Spain (Barcelona) hosted the event...and that London is only 12 years after the last European games.....) and that Madrid was only bidding to make sure that people were aware of its Olympic aspirations for the next time Europe was the desired location!

Looks good for Rio at this time and lends a lot of weight to the "host a Pan Am games first as a base for a future Olympic bid later" strategy.....of course they hosted the Pan Ams in Olympic quality facilities....not sure that is what we are proposing and I don't think we have the political will to "overbuild" for the Pan Ams as part of a future Olympic strategy.

 

[Archivist]

Rio got it. I'm sort of happy for them, since it's never been held in S. America. They are going to have to do something about their transportation system, though.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Rio got it. I'm sort of happy for them, since it's never been held in S. America. They are going to have to do something about their transportation system, though.

I assume they'll be dancing in the streets so continuously during the games that people will just take the Conga Line to events.

 

[jn_12]

How long before we hear "Toronto 2020"?
Think of the possibilities - T-O in 2-0, 20ron20, TO2020

Honestly folks, in all seriousness, things are kinda lining up here. It'll have been 24 years since a North American Summer games, and unless Chicago or NYC goes for 2020, Toronto would have no competition.

 

[Automation Gallery]

How long before we hear "Toronto 2020"?
Think of the possibilities - T-O in 2-0, 20ron20, TO2020

Honestly folks, in all seriousness, things are kinda lining up here. It'll have been 24 years since a North American Summer games, and unless Chicago or NYC goes for 2020, Toronto would have no competition.

Toronto Pan Am games in 2015 should help us in 2020.

 

[TonyV]

This is such a good day!

I am very glad that Rio got the 2016 Olympics. Frankly I was very unenthused at the prospect of Chicago getting the games, it would have been a tad boring, from the observers' perspective. Most importantly it was time to take the games to South America, and really, Chicago just can't match Rio on any day in any way.

It is rather breathtaking that Chicago was eliminated in the first round, after all the buzz they were trying to generate.

I agree that Toronto's chances just got a big boost for 2020 but I don't know if there's anyone around here with the stones to re-ignite that effort.

In the meantime I can savor Rio. Brazil has a fascinating culture, I love it, just love it!

 

[Jayomatic]

It does set it up nicely for us. It would be our 3 try would it not and history has favoured cities on their 3rd tries. The only thing that might be against us is that they would have 2 Olympics back to back in the western hemisphere.

 

[Ansem]

Congratulations to Brazil and Rio De Janeiro. Rio held successful Pan Am game and used their success to show the IOC that they could have successful olympics dismissing critics about security issues. There were no incident during the Pan Am Games.

With the Summer game Rotation going like this:

2000-Sydney, Australia

2004-Athens, Greece (Europe)

2008-Beijing, China (Asia)

2012-London, England (Europe)

2016-Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (South America)

2020-2024... (Africa or North America)
-With Chicago's quick elimination
-Successful Pan Am if we get them
-Successful Vacouver games
-Last summer will be over 40 years at the time they will decide for 2020 or 2024

Toronto will make it here

 

[MetroMan]

Well, if Toronto is planning to bid for 2020, they better start thinking about it the second Toronto is announced the winner of the PanAm games -- assuming that happens.

We would have to treat our PanAm games as a rehearsal for the Olympics in 2020 and build our facilities to Olympic standards so that when the IOC visits Toronto in 2012, we'll be well under way to already building for a potential 2020 games.

 

[jn_12]

The COC is supposedly already working on a Toronto 2020 bid. I don't know how far along it is, but they announced it back in 2007. I think people in this city really want to put Toronto on the map, and other than the bread not circuses folk, I can see a games being really embraced.

Another bonus of getting a 2020 Olympics is that by then Transit City will be done as well, so we'll be ready for a new wave of transit investment.

 

[MetroMan]

^ The last I read on GamesBids.com, the COC sounds like they're going to put all their focus on a bid for Winter games in Quebec 2022, which, if they're serious about it means they wouldn't bid for a Summer 2020 games in Toronto.

 

[jn_12]

It seems unlikely to me that they would focus entirely on another winter games only 12 years after hosting. Off the top of my head I can't think of any modern bids (1988 to present) that have been made by a country to host an event 12 years after hosting.

The only reason people are talking about Quebec in 2022 is because Marcel Aubut is becoming the president of the COC next spring. I think also, a lot of people thought Chicago would get this one, taking Toronto way off the radar, but I have to believe today's decision has changed things.

 

[MetroMan]

^I hope so. It's really Toronto VS Cape Town VS (US city). Toronto will be fresh off hosting the PanAm games and we've had the best technical bids both times we tried. I think the 3rd time will be a charm. I just hope Harper isn't in power when the decision to support us comes up.

 

[TOareaFan]

Toronto Pan Am games in 2015 should help us in 2020.

I think four things are different about the Rio situation than the timeline you present:

1) Rio built their facilities (or most of them) to Olympic standards and had a stated goal that this would be a precurser to an Olympic hosting. We are building much smaller venues (the track and field stadium is only, what, 15k capacity and in a city not called Toronto) and have not clearly stated we want these venues in place for a future Olympics like Rio did ( we have said we want to get on the map and get experience hosting things but not a clear statement of future Olympic intents);

2) The facilities built were all within a 25km radius of Rio....so it was clearly Pan Am Rio....a future Olympic city. Our facilities are all over the Golden Horshoe in a much more spread out fashion than I think the Olympics have ever accepted.

3) Unlike Rio, we are (neither) a country nor a continent that has not hosted Olympics....so we don't have the "fresh factor";

3) By the time the decision came (today) the Rio Pan Am games had already been and gone. So their success/failure/whatever was already a matter of record and their hosting abilities could be judged. If I have the timeline right, the decision on 2020 will be made in +/-2103....2 years before any Pan Am games will be held in Toronto/Horseshoe so our ability to host will still be theoretical. Our ability to build and deliver might be more clear but our ability to host will still be a question.

As a side note, that ability to deliver will (IMO) be a real issue to the IOC. These are people with long memories. I have discussed this matter in the transportation forums of this site but the fact that we made a big deal of some infrastructure projects the last time that we promised would be funded and built prior to the 2008 Olympics irrespective of if we won the bid and then did not deliver on that (the Front Street extension was outright cancelled and the Union Station second platform is just now being planned) will impact on their view of our ability and integrity when we make future promises/representations.