Closing Ceremony: Winter's Only A Few Months Away

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

Is this true?

About the surfing? Yes. Since Paris itself could never have a suitable venue for surfing, that competition will be held in Tahiti in 2024. And you just know that Malibu will be handling that event for L.A. in 2028!

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

The cold weather should help China next year with the covid situation.  Let's hope in 3 years Paris can have the crowds of athletes and fans back in the stadium.

There’s an article in today’s New York Times that hints that the Chinese are planning more draconian covid restrictions that we saw in Japan. The IOC is refusing to discuss publicly. Although I suppose if the pandemic fades by next year they may not have to be used.

The surfing in Tahiti seems a crazy solution, when it seems there is decent surfing in Portugal (based on the HBO documentary I saw) nearby. I guess without some flexibility, the need to provide a surfing venue could really limit the cities/countries that could hold the Olympics.

[blackwing]

I found the closing ceremony a bit boring... maybe I wasn't paying attention but I just didn't understand the connection between Japan and ska, or for that matter, the constant use of traditional European classical music.  I didn't understand who those two ladies were that kept walking around the floor greeting everyone and why they were the focus.  

I had been wondering how Paris was going to present, and I guess it's not a surprise that it would be a pre-taped virtual presentation.  Looked great, I loved seeing all the major Paris landmarks.  Would have been great to get a clip of Tahiti as well but maybe that would have confused people.  Will be interesting to see how it plays out, it would seem to me that the surfing competitors won't actually feel like they are at the Olympics, but rather just another competition.

I always love a good Olympics closing montage... great to see all of the moments, and nice to see that NBC included some non-Americans.  I especially liked the clip of South Carolina-born Jasmine Camacho-Quinn exclaiming "I just won a gold medal?!" 

[Iseut]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

The surfing in Tahiti seems a crazy solution, when it seems there is decent surfing in Portugal (based on the HBO documentary I saw) nearby. I guess without some flexibility, the need to provide a surfing venue could really limit the cities/countries that could hold the Olympics.

My understanding (as very much a nonsurfer) is that the best Portuguese surfing is way offshore, with bigger, more unpredictable waves. The waves in Japan looked relatively small to me, and a short paddle right off the beach. Tahiti is probably more manageable altogether, though I agree that those athletes will not really get the Olympic experience. ( But they probably aren't complaining too much about having to go to Tahiti! 🍹 ) The Olympics have done this type of split thing before, too...definitely in equestrian events and probably some others. At least the Games in LA and Brisbane will definitely have easy access to surfing venues!

Back on topic...as always, there was a lot of controversy around whether to hold these Olympics, but Japan did as well or better than could have been expected, and the closing ceremony was beautiful and respectful. Very grateful to everyone who made it happen, and hope that everyone involved felt safe and continues to stay healthy. 

[emma675]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

The surfing in Tahiti seems a crazy solution, when it seems there is decent surfing in Portugal (based on the HBO documentary I saw) nearby.

I was wondering if there was some IOC rule about only one country hosting, which would not allow Portugal to host an event that France is the official Olympics nation for. Or maybe France would have to pay for the location/stands/etc/ but Portugal would get the profits, which I can't see going over well. Was surfing even an Olympic event when Paris was selected for 2024?

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, emma675 said:

I was wondering if there was some IOC rule about only one country hosting, which would not allow Portugal to host an event that France is the official Olympics nation for. Or maybe France would have to pay for the location/stands/etc/ but Portugal would get the profits, which I can't see going over well. Was surfing even an Olympic event when Paris was selected for 2024?

First bolded: Not sure what the rule is now, but there is the example of Sweden holding equestrian events during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. So there was at least an exception there.

Second bolded: My totally exhaustive and thorough online research indicates that surfing was approved for only the 2020 Olympics in 2016, and Paris was chosen as the 2024 site in 2017. But surfing was not approved for 2024 until late last year.

So I guess they at least knew surfing was a possibility when they chose Paris, but not a certainty.