Quote:
Originally posted by jpow
There is ZERO chance that the Olympics would be postponed or canceled. A lot of people don't realize how big an event like the Olympics are. This has been planned for the past nine years at least and will not get canceled for Zika. London wasn't canceled due to the terror threats, Sochi wasn't cancelled due to it's human rights issues, Beijing wasn't cancelled due to it's health concerns with it's pollution. Athletes have worked their WHOLE life to be at their peak for this moment, a moment they've planned on peaking at for years and years (for example, Simone Biles's coach said that she has not tried peaking Simone at her absolute best to save herself for Rio). To think it will be postponed or cancelled is insulting to the entire sports world.
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It won't be cancelled, and rightfully so. It is a huge event and everything should be done to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible.
But, the situation is Brazil is
a lot more severe than anything you mentioned. Things like London's security was a concern, but money and more diligence can help prevent that, and it did. In Brazil you've got a President who is on her knees and a massive proportion of the country dislikes, you've got protests frequently, some of which go up to 1 million people, the economy is doing really quite poorly and the Olympics costs billions... the Brazilian people are
not happy. And that is even without mentioning the threat of Zika.
Its a massive shame because the Olympics (as well as the World Cup) is not only about the tournament, but about showcasing your culture, history, and identity to the world. We did that really well in London in 2012, particularly with our opening ceremony, and I felt Beijing did in 2008 as well. It really can bring people together. There was a real sense of togetherness and patriotism when the Olympics was on in 2012 over here in London... and I'm not even a patriotic person. It was similar when South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010; the whole of Africa embraced it and finally the eyes of the world was on Africa for good reasons.
But I'm not getting that hype or vibe from Brazil this year. They hosted the World Cup in 2014, and a lot of the population did not support that as it required building stadiums that ultimately will rust. Having the World Cup in 2014 and Olympics this year was a real chance for country to grow its economy (if done in the right way, the Olympics can benefit business), and really bring people together and show to the world how awesome Brazil is. Instead, a lot of tickets haven't been sold, there is a President who isn't well liked and talks of corruption, the economy isn't doing great with the gap between the rich and the poor getting bigger and bigger, and the people in Brazil are rightfully annoyed. Now to put the icing on the cake, there is Zika to deal with.
I'm optimistic it can be a good Olympics... but its a bit of a mess right now.
I want the games to be a success.
