[sidr]

> why cities keep on bidding for the olympics, which is otherwise hard to rationalise.

There was one bid for 2028 and one for 2032. Compare with 8+ bids in years past. There are fewer and fewer new cities that have never hosted before putting in bids (ostensibly due to insane construction costs/demands by the IOC). 3 out of 5 cities bidding for 2024 withdrew their bids and the other two got 2024 and 2028. 2032 seems to have gotten only one bid. What's happening is that this "intangible benefits" theory is dying as more and more of the world realizes that there are none. On the other hand the olympics and the world cup does seem like a good venue for authoritarian regimes to create spectacles.

[throwawayboise]

Public interest in the Olympics also seems to be falling. IIRC the last two olympics had record low viewership. I know I didn't watch at all, and I used to watch most of the big prime time broadcast events 10 years ago. The same seems to be the case for many of my acquaintances.

[brewdad]

I still have an interest in quite a few Olympic sports. NBC's coverage, in the US, has made watching the Olympics unbearable. Things like spending half the broadcast on background/special interest stories instead of the competition. Only showing the US athletes and usually, but not always, the podium winners. Starting an event on one channel and then moving it to a different channel halfway through. etc.

[fmajid]

Not to mention Juan Antonio Samaranch, who ran the IOC from 1980 to 2001, was a Franco crony.

[jerrybender]

> There was one bid for 2028 and one for 2032.

The bidding procedure changed, one preferred bid is selected far earlier to avoid losers feeling frustrated and to lower costs.

[patentatt]

> On the other hand the olympics and the world cup does seem like a good venue for authoritarian regimes to create spectacles.

Off the top of my head: recent Olympic host countries include Russia, China, and Brazil . World Cup hosts includes Russia, Brazil, and Qatar. Yup, checks out.

P.S. Ok, Brazil being in this list is debatable, as they are a democracy ... but with Bolsonaro in power I'll lump them in this group. Yes, I realize Bolsonaro wasn't in office for the Olympics or World Cup, or for the bidding process which happened many years earlier, but he's shitty enough that I'll take the editorial liberty of retroactively smearing his stain back in time.

P.P.S. Yeah, if you want to do the same with Trump in the US I guess I can't disagree either. But the US hasn't hosted an Olympics for 20 years or a World Cup for even longer.