IOC demands to Norway for 2022 Olympics causes Oslo to drop bid

[benjipwns]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/10/02/ioc_demands_oslo_drops_bid_after_over_the_top_list_of_requirements.html

-They demand to meet the king prior to the opening ceremony. Afterwards, there shall be a cocktail reception. Drinks shall be paid for by the Royal Palace or the local organizing committee.
-Separate lanes should be created on all roads where IOC members will travel, which are not to be used by regular people or public transportation.
-A welcome greeting from the local Olympic boss and the hotel manager should be presented in IOC members' rooms, along with fruit and cakes of the season. (Seasonal fruit in Oslo in February is a challenge...)
-The hotel bar at their hotel should extend its hours "extra late" and the minibars must stock Coke products.
-The IOC president shall be welcomed ceremoniously on the runway when he arrives.
-The IOC members should have separate entrances and exits to and from the airport.
-During the opening and closing ceremonies a fully stocked bar shall be available. During competition days, wine and beer will do at the stadium lounge.
-IOC members shall be greeted with a smile when arriving at their hotel.
-Meeting rooms shall be kept at exactly 20 degrees Celsius at all times.
-The hot food offered in the lounges at venues should be replaced at regular intervals, as IOC members might "risk" having to eat several meals at the same lounge during the Olympics.

The IOC issued a statement responding to Oslo's decision:
This is a missed opportunity for the City of Oslo and for all the people of Norway who are known world-wide for being huge fans of winter sports. And it is mostly a missed opportunity for the outstanding Norwegian athletes who will not be able to reach new Olympic heights in their home country.

[I'm a Puppy!]

IOC can't afford to be so finicky. Most cities are hip to their scam.

[Mupepe]

wtf?  like they're royalty!

[benjipwns]

The two bids left:

There's Beijing, China, which doesn't actually sit within 120 miles of a usable ski mountain, and there's Almaty, Kazakhstan, which in its bid touted itself as "the world's largest landlocked nation."

...

China, for instance, is promising the construction of a super high-speed train to those far off mountains, even though Beijing is littered with abandoned venues from its 2008 Summer Games. Price doesn't matter.

And Almaty actually has a decent, viable and potentially winning bid. It looks like a good place for the Games, at least once you get past the Borat jokes – "Other Central Asian countries have inferior potassium."

Gotta go with the country that has superior potassium imo

[Great Rumbler]

the minibars must stock Coke products

What about Dr. Pepper?

[benjipwns]

the minibars must stock Coke products

What about Dr. Pepper?

I thought dogs were supposed to be loyal to their masters.

[Kara]

The monsters.

[chronovore]

The Olympics are a huge, huge scam.

I love watching athletes compete, but everything which surrounds the Olympics just makes me queasy; it’s like the greeting card and candy industry collusion on holidays, except amped up to “11” on a 1-to-10 scale. The main exception is that governments are spending huge amounts of tax money to attract this private industry which masquerades as international culture.

I lost what little tolerance I’d had when they tried to remove Greco-Roman Wrestling from the itinerary. Sorry, wait: WHAT WAS THE FIRST GODDAMNED SPORT CELEBRATED IN THE GREEK OLYMPICS?

Seriously, to hell with them and the five rings they rode in on.

[brob]

https://twitter.com/KongenDin/status/517218612005072896

Norwegian royalty has no respect.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

this tweet was preceded by a wu tang joke and followed by a national union joke. because all he does is tweet dad tier jokes

[close]

[Rman]

I can see NATO nations eventually saying no to the ICOC and it will be a Russia/China thing, since they have a huge hard on for the Olympics.

Beijing wants to host a Winter Games?!

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

even the bitchiest, most high-maintenance celebrities my company deals with don't ask for all of that.  That includes the billionaires who made shitty mimosas out of $500 champagne.

[chronovore]

even the bitchiest, most high-maintenance celebrities my company deals with don't ask for all of that.  That includes the billionaires who made shitty mimosas out of $500 champagne.

Reminded me of this story:

[benjipwns]

I love that story, it really is such a perfect way of masking a simple overall performance check within the crazy rock star persona. I have to imagine it's pretty common with professionally managed groups these days, but you'd have to keep the lid on it or people would just focus on getting that one right.

[Cerveza mas fina]

No wonder only places like Brazil, Russia and China get these things.

[Momo]

Vince McMahon should create the xolympics

[Dennis]

No wonder only places like Brazil, Russia and China get these things.

They fit right in!

[El Babua]

Vince McMahon should create the xolympics

And it still won't have any wrestling.

[Trent Dole]

Vince is the most successful promoter ever and fucking hates that he is a wrestling promoter.

[chronovore]

Vince McMahon should create the xolympics

And it still won't have any wrestling.