Monday 30 November 2015

Ich bin ein Hamburger!

(As JFK never said.)

From the BBC:

Residents of the German city of Hamburg have voted against hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hamburg was one of five cities left in the running, alongside Rome, Paris, Budapest and Los Angeles.

But 51.6% of residents of the city voted no in a referendum on Sunday. The No camp argued that money earmarked for the Olympics could be better spent...

Hamburg's mayor Olaf Scholz was disappointed with the result: "That's a decision that we didn't want, but it's clear."


Well done lads!


4 comments:

L fairfax said...

I would answer "If the UK bombs ISIS targets in Syria, this will"
possibly help non extremists resist ISIS although I doubt it.

Tim Almond said...

Close vote, and the Germans are maybe more sensible than most, but along with Boston doing the same, it's a good sign that the Olympics are basically dead in their current form.

As an event, it makes no sense any longer. Go back 60+ years, you had no global TV, no international flights. You got the games and people came to watch them live. You put them in different places so that people could get a chance to watch. And, it was all a bit lashed together with existing facilities (the 1948 games made a small profit).

Today, Usain Bolt and the other top 100m runners can all fly to a place, have a race and it can be beamed around the world. They're doing it all the time. You don't need a massive event.

Lola said...

Another one in the eye for cronyism.

James Higham said...

You're making me hungry again. As for the Olympics, if it means those opening and closing ceremonies, count me out.