I know that there are sundry economic considerations that go into selecting a site to host an Olympiad. But excepting economics, and considering available facilities & traditions, COULD the Winter Olympics hypothetically be held in the following countries (my suppositions follow):
(and if so, where?)
Russia: most certainly. I’d guess somewhere in or near the Urals, like Yekaterinburg.
Mainland China: most certainly also. I’d suppose there’s skiing in Manchuria.
South Korea: Maybe. It gets cold enough. But is all the good skiing in North Korea?
Argentina/Chile: Does anyone ever ski in the Andes? Do they have world-class events? They don’t have a winter sports tradition AFAIK.
India/Nepal/Bhutan: Are there some ski-able slopes on the fringes of the Himalayas? Do they ever host world-class events? No tradition here, either.
Luxembourg or Lichtenstein: Do they host world-class winter sports events?
Finland: Seems like a natural - any mountainous terrain?
Well, as for Winter Olympics outside of North America, Western Europe, and Japan, there were the 1988 games in Sarajevo. Slovakia put in a bid for the 2006 Winter Games to be held in Poprad-Tatry.
I think one of the problems with some of the areas you listed would be ease of access and the ability to accommodate the games. For example, Liechtenstein is only 61 square miles (160 sq km), smaller than Washington, DC. I would think that Russia would have the ability to host the games someone.
Well, Australia is the first unmentioned country that comes to mind. There’s skiing and suchlike to be had in the Australian Alps.
Even some tropical South American countries are plenty snowy – look at how cool much of Bolivia is, for example. But I do wonder how much “winter sports tradition” they possess.
Some ex-Soviet countries (besides Russia) might be considered, such as Kazakhstan (which actually has had competitors in past Winter Olympics) or maybe a Caucasian state like Georgia, but that’s a pretty unsettled part of the globe to be playing on.
I think more likely than any of these would be some Eastern European country, like the Czech Republic or the aforementioned Russia.
Well, Australia is the first unmentioned country that comes to mind. There’s skiing and suchlike to be had in the Australian Alps.
Even some tropical South American countries are plenty snowy – look at how cool much of Bolivia is, for example. But I do wonder how much “winter sports tradition” they possess.
Some ex-Soviet countries (besides Russia) might be considered, such as Kazakhstan (which actually has had competitors in past Winter Olympics) or maybe a Caucasian state like Georgia, but that’s a pretty unsettled part of the globe to be playing on.
I think more likely than any of these would be some Eastern European country, like the Czech Republic or the aforementioned Russia.
An Olympic Winter Games in the Southern Hemisphere would probably be a big ratings loser in the U.S. and Europe. The only winter sport anyone would watch in the U.S. in the summertime would be figure skating.
Nobody will want to watch hockey or skiing. It would just seem too weird.
And while some of these countries may have ski slopes, do they have ice rinks, speed skating ovals, and bobsled/luge runs? Those are all pretty expensive things to build especially if you don’t have anyone in the country who will want to use them afterwards.
You’re kidding right? Doing your best imitation of an Ugly American?
Because of course we all know that the Olympics are for the benefit of the USA and of course the sports should be scheduled for the viewing pleasure of the US masses.
And of course no other country on the planet would know how to use or wish to use an ice rink, speed skating oval or a luge run. No sirree! I mean Sydney just doesn’t know what to do with all those sites left over from entertaining the US at the Sydney Olympics!
I don’t think it would really work here. Yes, we have a huge area of snow in the south east of the country in the middle of the year, but our “alps” are more like hills by international standards, and it also might simply be not cold enough. Aussie snow is often a wet, slushy affair.
I’m not being an Ugly American, just a realistic one. NBC pays a LOT of money to televise the Olympics. They don’t want to waste that money to show events out of season. They just won’t get big ratings.
If the IOC is presented a choice between making winter sports more popular in the Southern Hemisphere or having NBC park a dumptruck of money outside its headquarters, they’ll opt for the latter.
I don’t think that the Southern Hemisphere would work for the winter olympics, since I think that they have to be held during the winter months of the Northern Hemisphere. I don’t know of anywhere (other than Antarctica) in the Southern Hemisphere that would have that much snow during its summer season.
But I don’t know much about Argentinian weather, either.
It is very hard for a non developed country to host the Olympics.
Even South Korea had a rought time. (not quite being a developed country)
There are lots of good spots in developed countries that could host. Plus repeats. Don’t forget in addition to rating these spotlight third world countries IN developed countries.
How big of a thrill would it be for the athletes from Africa (be it summer or winter) to go to Chad (one of their own) as opposed to Europe, Aussie North American etc.
It doesn’t matter if your country has the best skiing on Earth. If it takes two weeks on a smelly yak through rebel-infested countryside to get there, it’s not a practical location. A big consideration in choosing the next Olympic venue is infrastructure and political stability. The US and Western Europe have been popular locations for those very reasons - well developed transportation systems and urban infrastructures, stable economies, and stable political systems. (relatively speaking)
I see noone has mentioned either Greenland or Iceland. Weather couldn’t be better and I would think that either would have the terrain. As for facilities I really don’t know. Also it seems either would have a tough time getting fans from out of the country to come to the events considering flight times and expense.
Iceland would have a lot of logisitical problems hosting the Olympics. It’s not very big. There aren’t that many places to stay and I don’t think there are a lot of mountains for skiing. Or at least ones that don’t have lava coming out of them.
I know one place that is highly developed, has excellent skiing conditions, already hosts a large tourism business, and with a little bit of planning could likely host all of the required winter events, all within an hour or two by car on paved highways (although traffic could be a problem). I shouldn’t even be saying this.
Please, my Kiwi friends, don’t do it!
Chile also seems to have it going on, from what I’m told. Paved roads are a must, and unlike most of South America, Chile seems to have that well in hand.
