What is all the Olympic hubbub?

Well, I can just speak to the Boston question. Fortunately, my fellow Boston-area neighbors were opposed to it. Here is an article that covers how the process went and how it turned out.

Boston decided it was more work than it was worth and the financial risks were too high. Denver did the same in 1976 after winning the bid for the games. That’s why they asked Lake Placid to do it in 1980. Lake Placid formed a group to help use the facilities and it’s been a huge boost to the economy.

It costs several hundred million dollars – minimum – to stage the Olympics, and it disrupts the city for weeks if not months.

The US Olympic committee thought that Boston would be a good site to host – the mayor of Boston said he didn’t want his city to be on the hook for hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars.

The only countries recently that put on the Olympics are dictatorships, where this kind of shit can be imposed on people. (Or cities that already have the facilities mostly or all in place, Like LA or London.)

I used to love watching the Olympics until it became too commercialized.

I also hadn’t thought about the marathon bombings. Maybe they’re a little gun shy.

Thanks all. I understand some of the issue now. I still don’t understand about the committee. How did they get that job? Does the world hire them? Who decides who gets to decide? Does anybody know?

Cities that want the prestige and business put out bids to the Olympic organizing committee. That committee evaluates the bids, then makes the selection. The Olympics have been getting more and more expensive. It is difficult for cities to get back the $$$ they put in. Some cities get outside funding, so don’t care about that.