Will the 2018 Olympics be cancelled?

4everchan · Sep 14, 2017

Manitou said:
With guaranteed muddy slush and heavy rains. I think Pacific NW eliminated itself from winter Olympics for a long time.

I was there in 2010. No heavy rains at all. It was warmer than usual but there was no rain nor snow. Actually, the lack of precipitations was a bit of an issue which was solved by shipping snow from some mountains to the competition sites. For spectators, it was a two weeks of bliss because it was so sunny and nice that we could walk downtown without umbrellas or heavy clothing and enjoy all the activities. Not sure what you mean by heavy rains. It was not perfect weather but it was great games

Mathman · Sep 14, 2017

Alex D said:
The North Koreans are just humans like we all, they won´t shoot their family members...

Um ... are we speaking of Kim Jong-un's family members?

narcissa · Sep 14, 2017

Kelly Lynn said:
I will not go to Korea and would not send a child there. I think it's more than likely NK will use the games as leverage for their agenda. Lillehammer was the absolute best. An ideal setting for winter games with wonderful, welcoming hosts.

I thought about this but decided that seeing the games will be worth potentially dying. So I'm still going (if only I could find that last ticket!!)

CaroLiza_fan · Sep 15, 2017

I have been thinking about this for a few months now. I hate to be pessimistic but, if I am totally honest, I can't see the PyeongChang Olympics happening as planned.

If there is the potential of some sort of strike or war, I cannot see the IOC or the NOC's taking the risk of putting the athletes and their teams, officials, etc. in harm's way. They may make some pretty strange decisions at times, but this is a matter of safety.

That is not to say that I can't see the Olympics happening at all. If the threat of something happening in the Far East persists, I can see the Olympics being relocated. It's not as if it hasn't happened before.

Here is a table listing all the Olympics that were moved or cancelled, and also shows when those cities did get to hold them:

City	Type	Due To Host	Did Host	Delay
Chicago	Summer	1904	–	–
Rome	Summer	1908	1960	52 years
Berlin	Summer	1916	1936	20 years
Sapporo	Winter	1940	1972	32 years
St. Moritz	Winter	1940	1948	8 years
Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Winter	1940	(1936)	(-4 years)
Tokyo	Summer	1940	1964	24 years
Helsinki	Summer	1940	1952	12 years
Cortina d'Ampezzo	Winter	1944	1956	12 years
London	Summer	1944	1948	4 years
Denver	Winter	1976	–	–
Whistler (offered)	Winter	1976	2010	34 years
Salt Lake City (offered)	Winter	1976	2002	26 years
Lake Placid (offered)	Winter	1976	1980	4 years

The 1908 Summer Olympics were relocated from Rome to London because of a natural disaster. Although, the difference is that there were 2 years between said natural disaster and the Opening Ceremony, as opposed to the current 5 months. And, being a Summer Olympics, there was not the worry about specialist facilities, such as ski jumping hills.

So, let us now look at the Winter Olympics. In practice, only one edition has been relocated, as gravy has already pointed out.

In 1970, Denver was selected to hold the 1976 Olympics. But rising costs meant that the people of Colorado voted to hand the Games back in November 1972. After being offered to other cities in North America and turned down, they eventually ended up in Innsbruck, which had held the Olympics 12 years earlier in 1964. The announcement was made exactly 3 years before the Opening Ceremony.

Again, 3 years is a lot longer than the current 5 months we have to work with. But, there is another Winter Olympics that was relocated in theory within a shorter time frame.

All four Olympics (Summer and Winter) that were due to be held in 1940 and 1944 ended up being cancelled because of the Second World War. However, in 1938, Japan requested that the 2 sets of Olympics that they were due to hold in 1940 be re-allocated, due to Japan already being at war with China.

As gravy explained earlier in this thread, Sapporo handed their 1940 Olympics back 19 months before the Opening Ceremony was due to be held. So, there would have been plenty of time for the replacement host, St. Moritz, to prepare for them. And, having hosted the Olympics in 1928, St. Moritz already had everything in place.

As it happened, controversies led to St. Moritz being stripped of the 1940 Olympics 9 months later. But, despite it being only 10 months until the Opening Ceremony, the IOC still managed to relocate the Games. To Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the host of the previous Olympics. But then war broke out a few months later, and they were finally cancelled.

10 months is not a long time to organise an Olympics, but the IOC believed that it could be done. Admittedly, 5 months is a lot shorter. But, if somewhere that has everything already in place is willing to step in, I do believe that it could be pulled off.

With both the 1940 and 1976 Olympics, the three cities that were selected had all hosted the Games within the previous 12 years. If we apply that theory to the present, that would put Turin, Vancouver and Sochi in the running.

Just six months ago, the local council in Pragelato made a very short-sighted decision to approve plans to demolish the Large and Normal ski jumping hills. So, unless this work hasn't started yet, this means that a re-run of the 2006 Olympics would not be possible.

Which leaves Vancouver and Sochi as the natural choices. Russia is definitely not in the good books of the IOC at the moment, which would normally leave Vancouver as the front runner. But, as 4everchan pointed out earlier in this thread, the Olympic village has been sold off as private apartments (as often happens when an Olympics is over, to try to retrieve some of the cost). So, where do you house the athletes, delegations, fans, etc.?!

A smaller complicating factor is that Calgary is bidding for the 2026 Olympics. And the possibility of having 3 out of 5 Olympics being held in the same country would be highly controversial.

I've nothing against having a re-run of the 2010 or 2014 Olympics. I really enjoyed both the Vancouver and Sochi Games. But, personally, if the Olympics were to be relocated, I would prefer to see them go to Almaty. Let's face it, Almaty should have got the 2022 Olympics. They have the facilities in place, and have proved on multiple occasions that they are capable of it by doing a great job in hosting the Asian Games in 2011 and the Universiade in 2017. Plus, it would mean that the 2018 Olympics would remain in Asia.

As for the other option, cancelling the 2018 Olympics completely, I can only see that happening in the worst-case scenario where war does break out. The IOC will want to try to get the Games held in some form in any other scenario.

Whatever happens, if the Olympics do not get held in PyeongChang, I am sure that the IOC will pull some strings to make sure that they do get held there in the not too distant future. Probably 2026, with the current bidders for those Games asked to consider 2030 instead (it would actually work out better for them, as it would mean they would have longer to prepare. But, changing to 2030 would not go down well in Innsbruck, who are trying to get the 2026 Games because it would be 50 years since the city last hosted the Olympics in 1976).

But, those are just my thoughts. And who knows what way things will go between now and February.

CaroLiza_fan

Sam L · Sep 15, 2017

I very doubt the Games will get cancelled or moved. There's so much money involved in this that people will risk it.

I've bought tickets and I will go no matter what.

The athletes will go because they've trained for 4 years and they want to win.

Also how's the tickets to going to work if the Games are relocated?

If it's cancelled South Korea will owe a lot of people a lot of money.

starla16 · Sep 15, 2017

North Korea fired another missile test to Japan at a distance that can now reach Guam. After years of NK Missile fail jokes, Kim the dictator is now very serious, he has a big bargain now and can make a huge impact, a capable missile and hydrogen bomb is a huge bargaining chip.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-no...deepening-regional-tension-idUKKCN1BP357?il=0

Interspectator · Sep 15, 2017

CaroLiza_fan said:
I have been thinking about this for a few months now. I hate to be pessimistic but, if I am totally honest, I can't see the PyeongChang Olympics happening as planned.

If there is the potential of some sort of strike or war, I cannot see the IOC or the NOC's taking the risk of putting the athletes and their teams, officials, etc. in harm's way. They may make some pretty strange decisions at times, but this is a matter of safety.

That is not to say that I can't see the Olympics happening at all. If the threat of something happening in the Far East persists, I can see the Olympics being relocated. It's not as if it hasn't happened before.

Here is a table listing all the Olympics that were moved or cancelled, and also shows when those cities did get to hold them:

City Type Due To Host Did Host Delay
Chicago Summer 1904 – –
Rome Summer 1908 1960 52 years
Berlin Summer 1916 1936 20 years
Sapporo Winter 1940 1972 32 years
St. Moritz Winter 1940 1948 8 years
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter 1940 (1928) (-12 years)
Tokyo Summer 1940 1964 24 years
Helsinki Summer 1940 1952 12 years
Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter 1944 1956 12 years
London Summer
1944 1948 4 years
Denver Winter 1976 – –
Whistler (offered) Winter 1976 2010 34 years
Salt Lake City (offered) Winter 1976 2002 26 years
Lake Placid (offered) Winter 1976 1980 4 years

The 1908 Summer Olympics were relocated from Rome to London because of a natural disaster. Although, the difference is that there were 2 years between said natural disaster and the Opening Ceremony, as opposed to the current 5 months. And, being a Summer Olympics, there was not the worry about specialist facilities, such as ski jumping hills.

So, let us now look at the Winter Olympics. In practice, only one edition has been relocated, as gravy has already pointed out.

In 1970, Denver was selected to hold the 1976 Olympics. But rising costs meant that the people of Colorado voted to hand the Games back in November 1972. After being offered to other cities in North America and turned down, they eventually ended up in Innsbruck, which had held the Olympics 12 years earlier in 1964. The announcement was made exactly 3 years before the Opening Ceremony.

Again, 3 years is a lot longer than the current 5 months we have to work with. But, there is another Winter Olympics that was relocated in theory within a shorter time frame.

All four Olympics (Summer and Winter) that were due to be held in 1940 and 1944 ended up being cancelled because of the Second World War. However, in 1938, Japan requested that the 2 sets of Olympics that they were due to hold in 1940 be re-allocated, due to Japan already being at war with China.

As gravy explained earlier in this thread, Sapporo handed their 1940 Olympics back 19 months before the Opening Ceremony was due to be held. So, there would have been plenty of time for the replacement host, St. Moritz, to prepare for them. And, having hosted the Olympics in 1928, St. Moritz already had everything in place.

As it happened, controversies led to St. Moritz being stripped of the 1940 Olympics 9 months later. But, despite it being only 10 months until the Opening Ceremony, the IOC still managed to relocate the Games. To Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the host of the previous Olympics. But then war broke out a few months later, and they were finally cancelled.

10 months is not a long time to organise an Olympics, but the IOC believed that it could be done. Admittedly, 5 months is a lot shorter. But, if somewhere that has everything already in place is willing to step in, I do believe that it could be pulled off.

With both the 1940 and 1976 Olympics, the three cities that were selected had all hosted the Games within the previous 12 years. If we apply that theory to the present, that would put Turin, Vancouver and Sochi in the running.

Just six months ago, the local council in Pragelato made a very short-sighted decision to approve plans to demolish the Large and Normal ski jumping hills. So, unless this work hasn't started yet, this means that a re-run of the 2006 Olympics would not be possible.

Which leaves Vancouver and Sochi as the natural choices. Russia is definitely not in the good books of the IOC at the moment, which would normally leave Vancouver as the front runner. But, as 4everchan pointed out earlier in this thread, the Olympic village has been sold off as private apartments (as often happens when an Olympics is over, to try to retrieve some of the cost). So, where do you house the athletes, delegations, fans, etc.?!

A smaller complicating factor is that Calgary is bidding for the 2026 Olympics. And the possibility of having 3 out of 5 Olympics being held in the same country would be highly controversial.

I've nothing against having a re-run of the 2010 or 2014 Olympics. I really enjoyed both the Vancouver and Sochi Games. But, personally, if the Olympics were to be relocated, I would prefer to see them go to Almaty. Let's face it, Almaty should have got the 2022 Olympics. They have the facilities in place, and have proved on multiple occasions that they are capable of it by doing a great job in hosting the Asian Games in 2011 and the Universiade in 2017. Plus, it would mean that the 2018 Olympics would remain in Asia.

As for the other option, cancelling the 2018 Olympics completely, I can only see that happening in the worst-case scenario where war does break out. The IOC will want to try to get the Games held in some form in any other scenario.

Whatever happens, if the Olympics do not get held in PyeongChang, I am sure that the IOC will pull some strings to make sure that they do get held there in the not too distant future. Probably 2026, with the current bidders for those Games asked to consider 2030 instead (it would actually work out better for them, as it would mean they would have longer to prepare. But, changing to 2030 would not go down well in Innsbruck, who are trying to get the 2026 Games because it would be 50 years since the city last hosted the Olympics in 1976).

But, those are just my thoughts. And who knows what way things will go between now and February.

CaroLiza_fan

That's a lot of research and very informative. Thanks!

koatcue · Sep 15, 2017

If Russia won't participate, I might not watch it, especially skating

starla16 · Sep 15, 2017

koatcue said:
If Russia won't participate, I might not watch it, especially skating

I hope not, also Russia can be an alternative venue if things escalate into a full cold war rhetoric in the Korean peninsula.
Kim will use the new capable bombs as a bargaining chip, I doubt he will make the first move but he will use this to make scare mongering especially in SK.

Sam L · Sep 15, 2017

Russia will be there. Olympics will go ahead in Pyeongchang. Everyone needs to just stay calm. There was a terrorist incident just moments ago in London. We don't hear about London not being a safe place to host anything. Paris just got 2024 Games. Everyone just calm down.

MelDee · Sep 15, 2017

Sam L said:
Russia will be there. Olympics will go ahead in Pyeongchang. Everyone needs to just stay calm. There was a terrorist incident just moments ago in London. We don't hear about London not being a safe place to host anything. Paris just got 2024 Games. Everyone just calm down.

Agreed. Unfortunately, given the state of the world we live in, moving the games to another country wouldn't reduce the danger. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think that it's Kim Jong Un we have to worry about at the moment, I'm more worried about how Trump handles the situation.

L'Équipe just reported that there's no plan B to replace Pyeongchang. https://www.lequipe.fr/Tous-sports/...n-cas-de-conflit-avec-la-coree-du-nord/834508

So it's either Pyeongchang, or no Olympics at all.

smontgomery · Sep 15, 2017

Please don't make this a Political thread! No one has handled this situation for many, many years.

koatcue · Sep 15, 2017

Sam L said:
Russia will be there. Olympics will go ahead in Pyeongchang. Everyone needs to just stay calm. There was a terrorist incident just moments ago in London. We don't hear about London not being a safe place to host anything. Paris just got 2024 Games. Everyone just calm down.

That's aweful!:reye::angry1:

Tutto · Sep 15, 2017

I can't imagine it being cancelled - moving to 2019 perhaps?

CaroLiza_fan · Sep 15, 2017

Tutto said:
I can't imagine it being cancelled - moving to 2019 perhaps?

Seems like they are pressing ahead with it. The schedule was announced today:

https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/schedule

Curling and the Qualifying for the Ski Jumping Men's Normal Hill competition kicking things off on the 8[SUP]th[/SUP], while the Opening Cermony and the first of the Figure Skating competitions (Men's SP and Pairs SP for the Team Event) being held on the 9[SUP]th[/SUP].

Here is where I first saw about the schedule being announced:

http://iceskatingworld.com/2018-winter-games-2018-pyeonchang-games-unveils-schedule/

Apparently, the ticket sales aren't going well because of this business in North Korea, so the organisers have released the schedule to try to whip up interest.

It'll be interesting to see how things progress.

CaroLiza_fan

CaroLiza_fan · Sep 15, 2017

Interspectator said:
That's a lot of research and very informative. Thanks!

You're welcome. :thank:

But, just be aware that the table in your quote is now different to the table in my post... because I just spotted a mistake. :drama:

For Garmisch in 1940, I accidentally put the date for the previous St. Moritz Olympics down (1928) instead of the date for the previous Garmisch Olympics (1936). And hence got the wrong time difference.

Sorry. :eek:

:

CaroLiza_fan

mirai_asada · Sep 21, 2017

Not cancellation per se, but somewhat related: France may skip the Olympics if safety isn't guaranteed.

mrrice · Sep 21, 2017

mirai_asada said:
Not cancellation per se, but somewhat related: France may skip the Olympics if safety isn't guaranteed.

This is what I feared. I'm also worried about how South Korea will be able to host if sponsors begin to pull out. The tension continues to rise every time I see President Trump on the news. When I hear things like we're going to obliterate No. Korea, it scares me because you can't obliterate No. Korea without having fallout drift over the entire peninsula. I truly hope things go well but, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

chloepoco · Sep 22, 2017

mrrice said:
This is what I feared. I'm also worried about how South Korea will be able to host if sponsors begin to pull out. The tension continues to rise every time I see President Trump on the news. When I hear things like we're going to obliterate No. Korea, it scares me because you can't obliterate No. Korea without having fallout drift over the entire peninsula. I truly hope things go well but, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

My sentiments exactly...

Ender · Sep 22, 2017

It is getting more and more worrying, I hope they can make it out peacefully.

Will the 2018 Olympics be cancelled?

4everchan

Mathman

narcissa

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA

Sam L

starla16

Interspectator

koatcue

starla16

Sam L

MelDee

smontgomery

koatcue

Tutto

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA

mirai_asada

mrrice

chloepoco

Ender

Match Penalty

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