DavidJamesTO
Active Member
I would rather see Toronto bid for 2024--give the planners enough time to learn from running the Pan-Am Games.
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Toronto 2020 Olympic Bid
- Thread starter FutureMayor
- Start date
Filip
Senior Member
I think 2020 might be one of the best years Toronto could bid for the Olympic Games.
Keep in mind the USA is not in the running, and the summer games have not been in the most valuable sports market (North America) since 1996 in Atlanta.
Keep in mind the USA is not in the running, and the summer games have not been in the most valuable sports market (North America) since 1996 in Atlanta.
toforumer
Active Member
South Africa just bowed out of a 2020 Olympic Bid. This makes the competition much weaker. That leaves Rome as the only strong contender. I think Toronto may want to seize this opportunity because 2020 seems like the right time to bid when taking into account the depth of the competition.
I highly doubt Toronto wins 2024 or 2028. I see Paris being awarded 2024 (They last hosted in 1924..100 year anniversary) and 2028 in Cape Town, South Africa (First African Games)
2032 would be the earliest and then I see the games going back to Asia (Japan)
I highly doubt Toronto wins 2024 or 2028. I see Paris being awarded 2024 (They last hosted in 1924..100 year anniversary) and 2028 in Cape Town, South Africa (First African Games)
2032 would be the earliest and then I see the games going back to Asia (Japan)
Filip
Senior Member
Exactly, and given Ford's fanaticism for sports, this should be a non brainer.
Last I heard the COC was working on a 2020/2024 bid
toforumer
Active Member
The news out of South Africa definitely changes the dynamics of this race.
Tokyo says they'll bid but with Pyeongchang,South Korea as the likely winner of the 2018 Winter Olympics, Tokyo will have slim chances at winning 2020. Add to the fact they're recovering from the recent Earthquakes and Tsunamis.
This is a no-brainer. Someone needs to call up the COC, well I'm sure they have something already in place. Never mind that Vancouver 2010 just passed. With the US, South Africa, Berlin, Paris, Russia, China and the entire southern hemisphere out of the picture, you might as well buy a ticket and hope for the best.
Tokyo says they'll bid but with Pyeongchang,South Korea as the likely winner of the 2018 Winter Olympics, Tokyo will have slim chances at winning 2020. Add to the fact they're recovering from the recent Earthquakes and Tsunamis.
This is a no-brainer. Someone needs to call up the COC, well I'm sure they have something already in place. Never mind that Vancouver 2010 just passed. With the US, South Africa, Berlin, Paris, Russia, China and the entire southern hemisphere out of the picture, you might as well buy a ticket and hope for the best.
Towered
Senior Member
It does seem that 2020 will be Toronto's last strong chance to win the games for a long time, for the following reasons:
- We no longer have a federal government that is hostile to Toronto, and vice versa.
- North America will not have hosted the games for 24 years by that point, their biggest tv and sponsorship market, and the US is not bidding, so for once, political reasons (continental rotation) would actually favour us.
- South America is hosting in 2016 (Rio), so the games won't go there in 2020.
- South Africa has pulled out of the race, which eliminates the crucial "first African Olympics" factor since no other country on that continent is capable of hosting.
- With London hosting in 2012, it will simply be too early to return to Europe.
- An Asian bid might give us competition, but it would be weak. After Beijing in 2008, Asia will have hosted much more recently than a North American city, and though there are rumblings that Tokyo will bid, I don't think there will be much support or desire for it after all the disasters they just went through. And although it's debatable how much influence winter games have on the summer games selection process, an Asian bid would likely be hurt further by Pyeongchang hosting the winter games in 2018, which is all but certain to happen. As for other Asian countries, I don't think any of them are ready to host such an extravagant event.
- An Australian bid could be a potential threat, but even they will have hosted more recently than North America, and the time zone they're in is very unappealing to the important global tv markets.
When you look at all those points, Toronto almost seems like a shoo-in. The only things that could hurt us would be perhaps the Vancouver winter games being held last year, Torontonians own apathy, and well, Rob Ford, whose support would probably be lukewarm in a best case scenario. I really can't picture him enthusiastically going to bat for us on this, no matter how good our chances might seem.
I honestly think if we wait until 2024, the golden opportunity will be gone. Asia and Europe will be back in play much more strongly, a first African games will be ever more overdue, and if Toronto doesn't bid for 2020, then no North American city will host that year, making our continent virtually guaranteed a victory in 2024, at which point the US will likely seek to host again, and if they win it, you can kiss a Toronto bid goodbye for at least another 16 years after that.
When you look at all that evidence and the way things are shaping up this year, it seems like the stars are aligning for us. I think it's 2020 or nothing. We won't get another strong shot within a time frame that is relevant to any of us.
I say we should resurrect all the aspects of John Bitove's excellent bid for 2008 that got Toronto such glowing reviews. Remember, we were widely considered to have the best technical bid by far, and only lost those Olympics due to political reasons.
I honestly feel like forwarding all my points to the Canadian Olympic Committee, but I'm sure they're well aware of all these things. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some serious discussions going on behind closed doors right now.
- We no longer have a federal government that is hostile to Toronto, and vice versa.
- North America will not have hosted the games for 24 years by that point, their biggest tv and sponsorship market, and the US is not bidding, so for once, political reasons (continental rotation) would actually favour us.
- South America is hosting in 2016 (Rio), so the games won't go there in 2020.
- South Africa has pulled out of the race, which eliminates the crucial "first African Olympics" factor since no other country on that continent is capable of hosting.
- With London hosting in 2012, it will simply be too early to return to Europe.
- An Asian bid might give us competition, but it would be weak. After Beijing in 2008, Asia will have hosted much more recently than a North American city, and though there are rumblings that Tokyo will bid, I don't think there will be much support or desire for it after all the disasters they just went through. And although it's debatable how much influence winter games have on the summer games selection process, an Asian bid would likely be hurt further by Pyeongchang hosting the winter games in 2018, which is all but certain to happen. As for other Asian countries, I don't think any of them are ready to host such an extravagant event.
- An Australian bid could be a potential threat, but even they will have hosted more recently than North America, and the time zone they're in is very unappealing to the important global tv markets.
When you look at all those points, Toronto almost seems like a shoo-in. The only things that could hurt us would be perhaps the Vancouver winter games being held last year, Torontonians own apathy, and well, Rob Ford, whose support would probably be lukewarm in a best case scenario. I really can't picture him enthusiastically going to bat for us on this, no matter how good our chances might seem.
I honestly think if we wait until 2024, the golden opportunity will be gone. Asia and Europe will be back in play much more strongly, a first African games will be ever more overdue, and if Toronto doesn't bid for 2020, then no North American city will host that year, making our continent virtually guaranteed a victory in 2024, at which point the US will likely seek to host again, and if they win it, you can kiss a Toronto bid goodbye for at least another 16 years after that.
When you look at all that evidence and the way things are shaping up this year, it seems like the stars are aligning for us. I think it's 2020 or nothing. We won't get another strong shot within a time frame that is relevant to any of us.
I say we should resurrect all the aspects of John Bitove's excellent bid for 2008 that got Toronto such glowing reviews. Remember, we were widely considered to have the best technical bid by far, and only lost those Olympics due to political reasons.
I honestly feel like forwarding all my points to the Canadian Olympic Committee, but I'm sure they're well aware of all these things. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some serious discussions going on behind closed doors right now.
Filip
Senior Member
I will probably scream in happiness if the COC announces a bid for Toronto 2020.
If we win, I'm pretty sure I would cry. I never understood people crying for winning Olympic bids, but given the chance we have, and how the stars are aligning, this would be the culmination of city pride we all have. I'd definitely tear up.
If we win, I'm pretty sure I would cry. I never understood people crying for winning Olympic bids, but given the chance we have, and how the stars are aligning, this would be the culmination of city pride we all have. I'd definitely tear up.
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pman
Senior Member
Given our experience with the construction of the St. Clair streetcar, the rebuild of a few blocks of Bloor, and the ongoing mess on Roncesvalles, I wonder if the Olympics would be too much of a stretch for Toronto. We're world leaders in planning and community consultation - actually building stuff not so much.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
So will I. Finally by 2025 Toronto's obsession with this big ticket event will be over. Of course we'll need until 2050 to pay for the overruns.
Tewder
Senior Member
The jaded side of me sort of agrees with you here.
Filip
Senior Member
Actually that's the beauty of the games. The strict deadlines mean that every ball from financing to construction is rolling smoothly in anticipation of the host year. That's what we've been missing in Toronto, a deadline to get things done. Had it been for winning the 2008 games, we'd have a complete waterfront 3 years ago.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Tell that to Athens. Just a few weeks before the Olympics their stadiums, housing and infrastructure was a mess, and they had to incur massive cost overruns to get it all done more or less on time. It will be decades before Athens has their games paid off, that's if the country doesn't default. Even worse, almost all of the Olympic venues in Athens have now fallen into varying states of disrepair: according to wikipedia, 21 of the 22 facilities built for the games have either been left abandoned or are in a state of dereliction.
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Automation Gallery
Superstar
I say 20ron20 should go for it.
Filip
Senior Member
Not to sound insensitive, but the Greeks aren't quite known for their financial prowess and adherence to deadlines.
adeel
Active Member
i hope TO bids and wins! Would be awesome! I think it would jump progress in city infrastructure forward like what, 20 years?
I think we could do it and do it well....
I think we could do it and do it well....