The latest Olympic joke
The International Olympic Committee (OIC) wanted to avoid another humiliation after Beijing won the bid to host the XXIV Olympic Winter Games. The members of the OIC have been considering a change in the Olympic Charter, which could pave way for an unprecedented double vote during the next OIC session in Lima, Peru on September 13. This may generate public interest in the Olympics.
Paris and Los Angeles were the only remaining candidate cities bidding to host the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, which would be an irony. The flowery, idealistic vision of the Olympic movement was far from Donald Trump's pugnacious speeches. Marine Le Pen would be one of the presidential candidates in the next French elections. The leader of the National Front opposed her country's membership in the European Union. She had plans to curb immigration if she would be elected to the highest position. If Los Angeles hosted the 2024 Summer Games, then the Trump administration may be strict with athletes coming from Muslim countries. If these nations decided to boycott the event, then it should be history repeating itself. (The US and its allies boycotted the 1980 Summer Games, which was held in Moscow. It was a response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Communist bloc returned the favor four years later, as American athletes overwhelmed their foreign competitors during the 1984 Games in L.A.)
“I would love to see the Olympics go to Los Angeles,” Trump said.
Skeptics pointed out that golf became part of the Olympic program, and it would be a real-estate investment that should be hard to pass up. The same skeptics added that golf was Trump's favorite past time. There could be a gray area somewhere, which won't be first in Trump's term. As for the proposed change in the Olympic charter, fans might witness Los Angeles and Paris co-hosting the 2024 and 2028 Games. Both cities have sports facilities, so there won't be any need to start from scratch. Moreover, both Paris and Los Angeles hosted the Summer Games before. This was the main reason behind OIC awarding Beijing the rights to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Chinese capital became the first city to be the host of the Summer and Winter Games. The organizers did a great job in hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics, but winter sports would be something else.
It hardly snowed in Beijing, so anything that won't be played in ice would be held in Zhangjiakou, a resort town not far from the Gobi Desert. It requires artificial snow, which won't be a first. However, beginners would only ski down the fake snow (slope). Could this hurt Mikaela Shiffrin's bid to win another Olympic gold medal? The American and the other skiers would find out four years from now, as the International Skiing Federation (FIS) should include Zhangjiakou in the 2021 FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup circuit. The arid landscape also meant that the government must spend billions in water-diverting schemes to satisfy the Olympic demand. This could give the Olympic image a few more beatings, but the OIC don't have other options. Something may come up during the next session.
