The only bids remaining are Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing (which has no mountains) — all the other states that had bid have pulled out following devastating popular opposition (the remaining cities are in countries where the public doesn't get a vote).
Olympic corruption is legendary. Every Olympic Games drains billions from the public purse, grants offshore corporations enormous legal privileges, imposes brutal authoritarian crackdowns on protest and public expresion, and involves a humiliating bid process where bribery is the order of the day.
"The vote is not a signal against the sport, but against the non-transparency and the greed for profit of the IOC," Ludwig Hartmann, a German politician said when his country said no. "I think all possible Olympic bids in Germany are now out of question. The IOC has to change first. It's not the venues that have to adapt to the IOC, but the other way around."
Don't hold your breath on that.
Why no one wants to host the 2022 Olympics
[Dan Wetzel/Yahoo Sports]
(via Hacker News)
(Image: Manifestation Anti JO Annecy, Comité Anti Olympique Annecy 2018 Zrilic, CC-BY-SA)
