Bad news. Madrid is one of the four cities competing to host the 2016 Olympics, having passed the initial selection. The rivals are Tokio, Rio de Janeiro and Chicago. Having lost out to London for the 2012 event, Madrid’s administration has gone straight for the following games. I’m not a big enthusiast for the Olympics anyway, and I suspect after this year’s show in Beijing there will be fewer fans of the event. However, Madrid Pharaoh and part-time Mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardón is determined to get the games, largely as a monument to his everlasting glory.
One of the key projects proposed by Gallardón is…..and you’re just not going to believe this….the burial of part of the outer ring road near to the Olympic stadium! At last, urban tunnelling is going to get the recognition it deserves and become an Olympic sport. This should help to increase the local medal haul, especially as it forms such a neat triathlon with property speculation and trench hurdling as parts of the city are ripped up yet again. I assume that the plan for Atletico Madrid to pay for the Olympic stadium still stands, although I wonder whether the housing construction planned for the site of the club’s existing stadium will really seem so attractive as property prices plunge? Perhaps if no one is interested in buying houses on the site they could just erect a giant obelisk in honour of the Unknown Speculator. In the event of a successful bid, I predict many other pointless but hugely expensive great works as Madrid reaches out to become the most heavily mortgaged city in the world.
An interesting side effect of the bid is its effect on Gallardón’s political future in the PP power struggle. The Olympic bid requires Gallardón to spend the next couple of years providing suitable incentives to members of the International Olympic Committee, which could leave him a bit too busy to fully fight his corner in the PP. Meanwhile, we are left with the hope that the international selectors will not allow the games to be held on European soil just four years after the London Olympics.
One of the key projects proposed by Gallardón is…..and you’re just not going to believe this….the burial of part of the outer ring road near to the Olympic stadium! At last, urban tunnelling is going to get the recognition it deserves and become an Olympic sport. This should help to increase the local medal haul, especially as it forms such a neat triathlon with property speculation and trench hurdling as parts of the city are ripped up yet again. I assume that the plan for Atletico Madrid to pay for the Olympic stadium still stands, although I wonder whether the housing construction planned for the site of the club’s existing stadium will really seem so attractive as property prices plunge? Perhaps if no one is interested in buying houses on the site they could just erect a giant obelisk in honour of the Unknown Speculator. In the event of a successful bid, I predict many other pointless but hugely expensive great works as Madrid reaches out to become the most heavily mortgaged city in the world.
An interesting side effect of the bid is its effect on Gallardón’s political future in the PP power struggle. The Olympic bid requires Gallardón to spend the next couple of years providing suitable incentives to members of the International Olympic Committee, which could leave him a bit too busy to fully fight his corner in the PP. Meanwhile, we are left with the hope that the international selectors will not allow the games to be held on European soil just four years after the London Olympics.
No comments:
Post a Comment