Rio Wins Bid for Olympics 2016

[Admiral Beez]

Like that's ever been an issue before. Beijing got the Olympics, despite the corruption there; and with frequent uprisings. And look at Seoul ... it was awarded the Olympics way back in 1981, when they were still an authoritarian dictatorship!

On the contrary, Beijing was the perfect spot for the Olympics, nothing like a dictatorship to keep the peace. Corruption may be an issue in China, but violent crime, especially against Western foreigners (a core risk to Olympic bids, IMO) was very low.

 

[shumoon]

More than 5. Off the top of my head, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung (which might be a better choice that the other two in July/August), Buenos Aires, Rio, Sao Paulo, Santiago, Lima, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, ... and probably another half-dozen Brazilian cities I've never heard of.

Jakarta equals Houston with slums: the heat, humidity, flat topography, traffic plus a lot more poverty. If Houston's 2012 Olympic bid was not taken seriously, I don't know how anyone could suggest the summer Olympiad could go to Indonesia's capital. My own experience in Jakarta was that summer in the city means one thing: mosquitos.

 

[nfitz]

Jakarta equals Houston with slums: the heat, humidity, flat topography, traffic plus a lot more poverty. If Houston's 2012 Olympic bid was not taken seriously, I don't know how anyone could suggest the summer Olympiad could go to Indonesia's capital. My own experience in Jakarta was that summer in the city means one thing: mosquitos.

I don't disagree ... which is why I noted that Bandung might be a better choice.

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Does anyone know roughly how much a ticket is to go to one Olympic event (i.e. track & field)?

 

[doady]

Rio gangs shoot down a police helicopter:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_brazil_violence