I just came back from the most amazing streetparty I’ve ever witnessed, there must have been millions dancing on the streets and waving flags!
It’s official: Beijing 2008!
I think I’ll go run through the streets screaming some more now, cheers! 
— G. Raven
Congratulations from a Torontonian! 
Considering that National Public Radio commentator Frank DeFord called it a foregone conclusion on Wednesday, I’m not surprised.
Congratulations!
Robin
Thanks guys!
I’m really sorry about the Toronto bid, Sunspace, I know how heartbreaking it is to have years of work nulled in one evening by men in suits 
Considering that we lost in '93 but won now, and that Toronto had a most excellent bid, I think Canada will definitely get either the 2012 or 2016 games.
But anyway… WOOHOO! WE WON!
I’m mostly glad for the Chinese people that saw this as a vote on whether or not China was to be taken seriously in international matters. Being a white man, I caused quite a (positive) stir wherever I went in my Mao T-shirt tonight, they finally seem to feel recognised by the furriners as a great nation
— G. Raven
New York is trying for the 2012 games. I’ve seen stuff on the news about how we’re going to build assorted things (a stadium etc.) to accomodate them. I think it would be pretty damn cool, though I don’t know if I’ll still be living in the city proper by then.
So does Beijing have a cute little mascot for the games yet?
2012 New York Olympics mascot: The Bird.
Yes, a great nation that happens to trample (quite literally) the civil rights of its citizens.
Looks like it will be another tape delayed Olympic broadcast for me to not watch.
Be nice to see comments like this in Great Debates rather than as one off facts.
Raven – Sorry I missed the party. I know people were getting prepared in Shanghai in case China got it. What I really wanna say is that my stock portfolio is really grateful.
What do you really know about the human rights in China. Have you ever stepped out the “Plainfield” and ever learn anything about the world?
By the way,
Congratulations! China!
I was kind of rooting for Toronto. Had the 2008 Games come to North America, that would have torpedoed any North American city’s chances to get the 2012 Games. The San Francisco Bay Area is vying for 2012, and I don’t want to put up with the traffic.
Morrison’s Lament, and the other Dopers from China, congratulations!
When my home city Sydney beat you guys for the 2000 Games, I was elated. Then, as the years of preparation wore on, with stories of curruption, budget blowouts, and general Olympic information overload, I became an Olympic-skeptic. But man, when the games were finally on, it was all worth it.
Sydney hosted, in the words of Juan Antonio Samaranch, “the best games ever”. I don’t think Athens is going to beat that in '04. But I think Sydney will have a fight on its hands with Beijing. I’ve just got this feeling the Chinese will do it well.
Good luck, and well done. The best city won.
Congrats, China Dopers.
I’m sure Beijing will make for a fine Olympic city. I don’t believe that the politics of a country should determine it’s eligibility for athletic events. If anything, I think hosting the 2008 Games will have a positive effect on China’s citizens.
Congrats every one in China!!
Congrats to China. Seeing now that China has won for the 2008 games, that gives Houston a better shot at the 2012 games.
The bid is good. We have three new or in production stadiums (Enron Feild for Baseball, Reliant Park for Opening Ceremonies and Track and Field, and an unnamed basketball arena for Bball and gymnastics), all the major facilities built, and plenty of arenas outside of the new ones (Astrodome, Summit, etc). I feel that Houston will get the next games.
Oh, and on the Canadian bid I have just one thing to say: F*CK Canada!
[sub]You know I love everyone![/sub]
Washington and Baltimore are trying for 2012, too. They have a rather unique joint bid going, utilising the I-95 corridor between both cities. I don’t know if we’re the front-runner among the US cities, but they sure act that way. I’m not sure if I think it’s a good idea or not (we could use the infrastructure money, but Cecil knows what they’ll do to the homeless in the cities when the Olympics come to town…).
Anyway, the US cities are very glad China won, since if Toronto had, then there’s no way another North American city would host the next Olympics (especially after Salt Lake City hosts the winter games next year).
Personally, I was pulling for Paris. And, if Washington does host the 2012 games, I’ll be renting out my place for the month and having a nice holiday in Sweden.
::sigh::
Well, I think a lot of people in Toronto were hoping for a ‘magic bullet’ to pull us out of a bit of a slump, plus kickstart a lot of projects around the city that may now be indefinitely delayed. Transit lines, parks, waterfront redevelopment, that sort of thing.
Many people pointed to the example of Barcelona and its rebirth, and said little about the example of Montreal and its debt. I know many people who are a little relieved that Toronto didn’t win, because they just couldn’t see how we would deal with the inevitable cost overruns. They will now be breathing a sigh of relief.
The immediate talk in Toronto right now is of going for a new Summer Olympics bid for 2012. The race is just a little longer than expected. However, during the next four years, that will require development to leave available the places needed for the bid, such as the Port Lands. Can we keep to that vision in the face of the immediate gratification of immediate development pressure for those locations?
And, a bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics, in Whistler BC, is being prepared. I’m not sure if that bid will win, given the relative nearness, both in time and space, of the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988.
And, Morrison’s Lament, if Toronto hadn’t been in the bidding, I would have cheered for Beijing, no contest. The Chinese people in Toronto (and presumably Canadians living in Beijing (are there many?)) have the best of both worlds: no matter whether Toronto or Beijing won, they have something to celebrate.
And, as matt_mcl posted in his Pit thread:
That is what we must now do: the hard work of reinvigourating our city without the governmental equivalent of winning the lottery. We must become smarter and tougher than we have been before, for our problems are larger than they have ever been before.
Will we? I don’t know. Certainly Mike Harris’s performance with respect to Ipperwash and Walkerton doesn’t bode well. He’ll probably be long out of power by the time 2012 rolls around though. But that’s a completely different Pit thread…
It’s my personal opinion that had Morrison not been living in China, then he wouldn’t be able to celebrate in China. Just had to share that opinion and to say I am thrilled about this Have fun celebrating and be careful Morrison!
Yes, MamaHan, I must agree with that logic
Great sig btw
— G. Raven
Oh, my dear, how narrowly we avoided that…
Oh yes, I am just an ignorant American, with blinders as to how the rest of the world operates. I have never set foot out of my carefully manicured backyard, nor spoken to a soul who doesn’t speak and look like me. Aren’t I quaint?
Nevertheless, the fact remains that I’m not sending a dime of my tourism dollar into a nation that treats its Pandas better than its citizens.
According to Amnesty International, more than 1,700 people have been put to death in China during the last 100 days. My guess is that most were unlucky enough to be homeless, and soiling the streets of Beijing on a day which had IOC officials touring locations. Information like this makes it quite clear that China is not very far from its Tiananmen Square days, and is showing very few signs of moving forward. And here the IOC is rewarding it with the premire internation event which hangs its hat on ideals like worldwide freedom, equality and cooperation.
You know it looks less like Beijing won the games, and instead it’s the drooling advertisers and corporations eager to innundate the untapped 1.3 million dollar consumer market who wooed the IOC. I’d say its the crowning jewel of Juan Antonio Samaranch’s legacy.
I agree with the bulk of the editorial columnists pressing the U.S. to boycott these games. I think it’s a cowardly move by Bush to have not made any comments on this prior to the vote. Nevertheless, I won’t be watching.
Mod’s, sorry for the stray Great Debates fodder. I’ll end my rant with this post.