Rio 2016

The Olympics are being held in Rio de Janeiro this year and already things are off to a rocky start. The stadium is expensive as hell to build (as they all are), the expense and pressure around hosting it is straining Brazil's already fragile political system, and Zika virus is obviously a huge issue, particularly with the revelation it's sexually transmitted. Also, they shot a jaguar for some reason.
The Olympics in general seem to be a piss poor investment, but are for some reason are a major dick waving contest between countries so we end up investing a ton of money into something that's briefly newsworthy but ultimately probably not that good of an idea.

 

[Hyperion]

Yeah the Olympics are crazy expensive. Just look what they did to Greece. To think people actually want to spend all that money for an event that lasts two weeks.

Still can't be as bad as that Russian debacle that Putin called the winter olympics.

 

[autisticdragonkin]

Still can't be as bad as that Russian debacle that Putin called the winter olympics.

Putin made a lot of money from them, I am unsure as to whether the Brazilian government is

 

[Without A Gout]

Putin made a lot of money from them, I am unsure as to whether the Brazilian government is

The IOC, like FIFA, isn't taxed by the host countries for using them for their games. It's the ultimate robbery. The host countries build a bunch of shit that they will probably never use again, and the IOC imitates Scrooge McDuck diving into a pool of money.

These Olympics will probably be a fucking disaster, because Brazil's ecostructure is an absolute mess right now, but it doesn't matter to the IOC when they have bags upon bags of cash to take from it.

 

[Joan Nyan]

I'm sure the Olympics will go well!

 

[vertexwindi]

Egh, Rio.

I've only been to São Paulo, but I've heard stories. Scary place.

 

[Male Idiot]

Makes even my country look advanced by comparison and that's a huge deal!

That seawater is GREENISH BROWN!

 

[XYZpdq]

I remember a couple of years ago hearing on BBC world services how Rio was shaping up to be a massive disaster.

 

[GabeRegan]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/americas/rio-olympics-body-parts-found/
More bad news for Rio, as human body parts washed up in front of the Olympic Beach Volleyball Arena. The article also has information about the other problems already mentioned in the thread.

 

[XYZpdq]

Those poor disadvantaged limbs just wanted a chance to see the games and dream about a better life for themselves. How dare they be treated like second-class people!

 

[Pickle Inspector]

They should have have moved the Olympics, the effects of the Zika virus are really horrible and the Olympic Village (Where the competitors stay), every olympics, is infamous for the amount of sex that goes on (http://time.com/7554/a-brief-history-of-sex-at-the-olympics/), it's a tragedy waiting to happen.

 

[Without A Gout]

They should have have moved the Olympics, the effects of the Zika virus are really horrible and the Olympic Village (Where the competitors stay), every olympics, is infamous for the amount of sex that goes on (http://time.com/7554/a-brief-history-of-sex-at-the-olympics/), it's a tragedy waiting to happen.

A lot of them usually have protected sex, as the IOC is usually benevolent enough to provide them all with condoms. This year, they will be providing 450,000 of them to athletes. Hopefully, they're smart and use these, if they do the hanky panky.

 

[Trans Fat 41g]

This just in: the whole area breaks out in MACHETE FIGHTS

 

[XYZpdq]

This just in: the whole area breaks out in MACHETE FIGHTS

I've heard Team USA has a good chance in the 100yd Machete Fight this year!

 

[Cosmos]

The IOC, like FIFA, isn't taxed by the host countries for using them for their games. It's the ultimate robbery. The host countries build a bunch of shit that they will probably never use again, and the IOC imitates Scrooge McDuck diving into a pool of money.

These Olympics will probably be a fucking disaster, because Brazil's ecostructure is an absolute mess right now, but it doesn't matter to the IOC when they have bags upon bags of cash to take from it.

I think it's really dumb that they keep hosting these huge sporting events (not just the Olympics, but also things like the World Cup) in developing countries. It's an open secret that the cities that host these events are almost always left worse off than they were before. However, cities that already have the infrastructure and venues to support a major sporting event can make money... too bad the IOC and FIFA tend to (as in always) pick cities with the most ambitious plans for custom-built facilities. Custom-built facilities that are used only once and then are abandoned because they're completely impractical. This article explains it well:

Once the 17-day extravaganza is over, the city must then attempt to find productive use of the dozens of venues it has built. These projects often cost hundreds-of-millions of dollars to construct, take up 10 to 20 acres of valuable urban real estate (frequently for decades), and cost tens-of-millions of dollars to maintain each year. Despite this, many of these former Olympic venues are scarcely used, as is the case with Beijing's Bird's Nest and Water Cube, or many of the venues built for the Athens games. The list of white elephants is long.

 

[Without A Gout]

too bad the IOC and FIFA tend to (as in always) pick cities with the most ambitious plans for custom-built facilities. Custom-built facilities that are used only once and then are abandoned because they're completely impractical.

How can you say that? Look at the incredible future these structures have in store for them:

That last one was from Beijing in 2008. I can't imagine how that professional-grade soccer stadium in Manaus or any of the "innovative" buildings in Rio will end up in five to ten years.

 

[Army Burger]

How can you say that? Look at the incredible future these structures have in store for them:

That last one was from Beijing in 2008. I can't imagine how that professional-grade soccer stadium in Manaus or any of the "innovative" buildings in Rio will end up in five to ten years.

Are those first two pics from the one in Sarajevo?

 

[Without A Gout]

Are those first two pics from the one in Sarajevo?

I believe they're both from Athens in 2004. I know the first one is from there.

 

[FlamingPie]

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And I think I just threw up in my mouth.

 

[Army Burger]

Here's a pic from the ski jump at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. Granted Brazil's odds of falling into war are obviously a bit less than what happened in the former Yugoslavia, but I think it's a good indication of what could happen.