I decided to give myself a couple of days off. After writing daily for three straight weeks and also keeping my regular job, I was a bit tired. I figured that if Lindsey Vonn, Evan Lysacek, and others get a day off, then I can too, right? Yet, I also have to be honest: I’m in a post-Olympic funk.
With no Winter Games, I’m all the more ready for warmer weather, definitely ready for London 2012, and also curious about which cities the IOC will select to host both the 2018 and 2020 Olympics. These are the next choices they must make. Here’s a look at what we have coming up in the next several years:
July 27-August 12, 2012 – London
The Summer Olympics will take place in London, England. England has not hosted the Olympics since 1948! As for the opening ceremony…? I’d love for it to include a tribute to Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, but my bet is that there will be much focus on soccer (the real football), how London heroically hosted the Games after WWII in 1948, and possibly they might even choose a soccer player(s) to light the cauldron. (Though Torvill & Dean and Linford Christie will be contenders too.)
2013 IOC Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina
The term of an IOC president is limited to one eight-year term and if re-elected, he or she can serve another term of four years. The current IOC president, Jacques Rogge, will be completing his two terms in 2013, at which time a new president will be elected. Who is selected by the IOC members for both President and the executive board will mostly likely impact those cities which are chosen for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Games thereafter.
Prior to this meeting, in 2011, Durban will host an IOC gathering for the selection and announcement of the host for the 2018 Winter Games. (More on this a bit further down.)
February 7-23, 2014 – Sochi
The next Winter Olympics will be held in this small resort town located near the Black Sea. I’m hoping for a beautiful opening ceremony which includes Russian folk dancing, ballet, giant Faberge eggs projected on to the stadium floor, and inflatable nesting dolls. Is it too much to hope for a giant chessboard made of ice? Russia’s performance in the recent 2010 Winter games was considered an embarrassing finish by country officials, winning only 15 medals total, three of which were gold. But there will be more discussion on this in a future post. Stay tuned.
August 5-21, 2016 – Rio de Janeiro
The 2016 Summer Olympics will—for the first time ever—be held in South America! I think that such “a first” is exciting! Although I am American, I’m pleased that Rio beat out its rivals Madrid and Chicago, but I still don’t understand why Toronto keeps getting overlooked? (Can you tell me, Mr. Rogge?) I just finished watching a video which was presented to IOC officials outlining the plan for venues and the athletes’ village, which can be seen by clicking on the linked dates above. It’s not overly impressive, but if I were an athlete, I’d be excited about having my own private beach and getting to play frisbee on the sand with fellow Olympians! Expect an opening ceremony paying tribute to Carnivale, Samba, and Brazil’s many soccer champions. If Pele is still living, we’d be crazy to consider anyone else as the choice to light the cauldron!
2018?
No city has been chosen to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, and as stated earlier, the IOC will make this selection next year (2011) in Durban, South Africa. at its annual meeting in Buenos Aries. According to GamesBids.com, the finalists have already been selected, and I can’t say I’m thrilled with the final choices:
- PyeongChang, South Korea
- Munich, Germany
- Annecy, France
My gut is telling me that PyeongChang will be selected. The city has bid on several Games, including 2014 which it lost to Sochi. Also, given the recent performance of South Korea in the 2010 Winter Olympics, including several gold medals from short track speed skating and Kim Yu-Na’s in figure skating, it’s a likely choice, and officials will likely feel obligated to select an Asia city again since the last three games have been in Europe and North American. However, I’m not happy with this, but it’s mostly for selfish reasons. Olympics coverage is bad enough for us Americans with NBC. How much worse will it be in a host city that is 14 hours ahead? Oh, it could be horrible, and the bags under my eyes will be unsightly!
2020???
As for the 2020 Summer Games, the field is still wide open. No finalists have been announced, and although the US Olympic Committee recently announced that no U.S. City would be bidding, there are still a lot of exciting contenders! What I am most excited about is one particular city in Europe which I think would make an excellent host for the Summer Games: Lisbon, Portugal. I’ll be writing more on this soon, hoping that somehow, my argument for Lisbon can miraculously convince IOC members. What’s interesting, too, about these Games is this: just yesterday it was announced that rock climbing will be an eligible Olympic sport for the 2020 Games. I have mixed feelings on this, and will be posting more on this very soon.
With all this talk of Summer Olympics, it’s got to start getting warmer, right?
Swifter, Higher, Stronger.
The Olympic Fanatic 
I think you’re right about S. Korea. Yes, I vote for Lisbon in 2020. Think I’ll be around? If I am, maybe I’ll go!
Great post, OF! I am so excited about London. I am amazed that England hasn’t hosted in 60+ years! And including South America? Well, Lord have mercy, it’s about time!!!
Hmm…rocking climbing? Well, I guess they’ve included just about every other possible outdoor activity there is. When they opened the door for beach volleyball–which, IMO, is only about titillation–then anything was possible! (Uh0h, I’ve just enraged scores of beach volleyball fans!!!!)
I really enjoyed your post, but isnt the 2018 winter olympic games host city going to be selected in 2011 in durban, south africa?
You are correct, Jordan! I jumped ahead of myself. The new IOC President will be chosen in Buenos Aires, but the 2018 Games site will be announced in Durban. Great catch!
as much as i would like the winter games to be held in pyeongchang, it would be such a pain to watch the games given the time zones from the us. i experienced it once, just this year with vancouver. i was 16 hours away in beijing and it was not a pretty sight. i would be watching from three in the morning and onwards… but, the ioc is unpredictable, i mean several cities bid for the games over and over, and the ioc havent once awarded them the games recently. take paris and madrid. both cities scored high during the evaluations, but both failed to capture the bid. paris in 1992, 2008 & 2012. or madrid with 1972, 2012 & 2016. who knows? maybe pyeongchang is just another paris or madrid. also i think pyeongchang’s bid might be jeopardized because of the short-track controversies in recent years… remember back in 2002 when apolo ohno won the 1500m gold after the disqualification of kim dong-sun? the negative reaction by the south korean’s was frightening… the hate mail blew up the olympic website site, and i personally believe the ioc wont easily forget about the past… i have a feeling that munich might prevail over pyeongchang, even if the winter games are hosted in europe twice. but in the end its the decision of 100 so ioc members (:
I agree with a lot of what you write. I abhor the time difference when Olympics are in Asian countries.
Paris and Madrid are in the same boat as Toronto. I still don’t understand why this great Canadian city has not been awarded a Summer Games. Paris should already have been awarded them again too. I appreciate the diversity of new awardees such as South America and Korea, but personally, the time difference for the Seoul, Sydney, and Beijing Games nearly killed me! I could go for a Munich Winter Games.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I look forward to more.
I would want Dubai to Host the 2020 olympics. been living here since 4 years and i certainly look forward to dubai hosting it. 2022 FIFA is going to held in Doha, a neighbouring country of UAE.