MB
Bio
I am a bird aficionado and really enjoy spotting them them on hikes. I greatly appreciate the variety of birds cross North America and the world. They are amazing and intelligent creatures, each so unique and with a wonderful life.
Stories (156)
Filter by community
1932 Olympics
The 1932 Winter Olympics is a multi-sport winter event held in Lake Placid, New York, United States, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games. The games opened on February 4th, and closed on February 15th. It was the first of four winter Olympics in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980. Godfrey Dewey, founder of the Lake Placid Club and son of Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, brought the games in part of Lake Placid.[1] California also had a plan for the Winter Games of 1932. William May Garland, president of the California X Olympiad Association, ordered the games in Wrightwood and Big Pines, California for play. For the event, the world's highest ski jump at the time was constructed in Big Pines, but in the end the games were awarded to Lake Placid. Coca-Cola would later become an approved soft beverage manufacturer for this Winter Olympics. The Olympics opened with Franklin D. Roosevelt, then the governor of New York. Nine months later he was to be voted US President. Billy Fiske, carried the flag for the United States in the opening ceremonies. A member of Aspen ski park in Colorado, he was killed in 1940 serving in the Battle of Britain. Sonja Henie won the second of three consecutive Olympic gold medals in figure skating. She'd previously won gold in 1928 and 1936. Irving Jaffee won the gold medals in speedskating at 5,000 m and 10,000 m, beating previous champion and world record holder Ivar Ballangrud in the 10,000 m by 4.5 m. In both the summer and winter games, Eddie Eagan became the first Olympian to earn gold medals in different sports. In 1920 he won gold in wrestling at the summer games in Antwerp, and gold in bobsleigh at Lake Placid. The bobsleigh race was held two days after the close of the games festivities, due to the unseasonably warm weather in the region the week before. In the medal count the USA earned a total of 12 medals. That was the last time the US finished to top medal count at the Winter Olympics. Seventeen counties participated. Medals were won at 14 events in 4 contested disciplines. At those Games, competitors representing 17 countries participated, down representing 25 countries at similar Games in 1928. Argentina, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, Brazil, The Netherlands and Yugoslavia did not send competitors to Lake Placid. At the time, Lake Placid was a town with a population of under 4,000. In the midst of a crisis, the president of the Organizing Committee, Mr Godfrey Dewey, gave a plot of land belonging to his family for the building of the bobsleigh track in the face of significant obstacles to collecting funds. Norway's Sonja Henie and Andrée and French pair Pierre Brunet excel in defending their skating titles in figure. American Billy Fiske won a second gold medal in the four- bobsleigh. Sweden's Gillis Grafström, however, was stopped attempting to earn his fourth gold medal, coming second behind Austrian Karl Schäfer. For the first time and only time in Olympic history the American group racing concept has been used in the speed skating competition. Similar to the European heats programme, where two teams are playing against each other and the clock, which required mass starting and competitors playing against each other. American Eddie Eagan accomplished a remarkable feat by winning gold medals both in summer and in winter. He'd won the light-heavyweight boxing division at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Summer Games. Twelve years later he had won in Lake Placid's four-man bobsleigh.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
1948 Olympics
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially referred to as the V Olympic Winter Games, were a 1948 multi-sport winter event held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be held since World War II; it had been 12 years since the last 1936 Winter Games. By choosing a host city in a neutral country, and removing Japan and Germany, the political atmosphere of the post-war world became inevitable during the Games. The planning committee faced numerous challenges because of the lack of financial and human resources incurred by the war. Those were the first of two Olympic Winter Games under IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström. 28 States marched at the opening ceremonies on 30 January 1948. Bibi Torriani played for Switzerland men's national ice hockey team, and became the first ice hockey player to recite the Olympic Oath on behalf of all athletes. Nearly 670 athletes competed in 22 sports across four disciplines. Being used at the Games were two demonstration sports: combat patrol, which later became the biathlon, and winter pentathlon, which was abandoned after the games. In notable results, the figure skaters Dick Button and Barbara Ann Scott and the skier Henri Oreiller developed into. Several sports venues were still in place by the very first time St. Moritz hosted the 1928 Winter Games. Both the venues were outdoor, ensuring the Games relied heavily on favourable conditions. In September 1946, the IOC named St. Moritz as host of the 1948 Olympics during the 39th General Session held in Lausanne, Switzerland. There were two tenders in the selection process, and St. Moritz was chosen ahead of Lake Placid, USA. St. Moritz was selected for having been located in Switzerland, which had been neutral during the war, and also for having already hosted a 1928 Winter Games. This rendered management of the Games simpler and more cost-effective. Planning a Winter Olympic Games in under 18 months was also a formidable challenge despite the scarcity of many venues. As these Games were the first outside after World War II they were given the name "The Games after Renewal." Japan and Germany were not invited to these Games, because they were both ostracised by the international community for their participation in World War II. And their absence was short-lived after returning to the Olympic Games of 1952. The Soviet Union did not send athletes to the St. Moritz Games in 1948 but sent ten delegates as Games Observers to determine how successful they would be had the Soviet athletes involved. The effects of World War II has also been felt in 1948. Economic resource constraints and physical resources affected the Gaming organisation. The athletes themselves got affected by lack of funding. Most entrants joined in lieu of little or no supplies. For one memorable event, Norwegian skiers had to borrow skis from the American Team in order to compete. The opening ceremonies took place on January 30, at 10:00 am along with the first hockey games and the first two heats of the two-man bobsled. The closing ceremonies were held on February 8, at 4 p.m. Both the honours were presented at the closing ceremonies, rather than immediately after the celebration as standard custom dictates. The stad olympique conducted the opening and closing ceremonies. Additionally, speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey championship competitions were played on the rink. Most of the ice hockey games took place at the Suvretta and Kulm Stadiums in St. Moritz. Bobsled was held in St. Moritz-Celerina, at the Olympic Bobrun. Skeleton was checked on line Cresta Ride. Olympia Bob Run was created in 1897 and modernised for the 1948 Games, while the Cresta Run was first built in 1885. The ski jump events were held in St. Moritz, on the ski jump slope of Olympiaschanze. This was conceived in 1927 for the 1928 Play, and was still in operation until 2006. The alpine competitions took place on ski-runs at and near Piz Nair.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
1936 Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics was a 1936 multi-sport international exhibition held in Berlin, Nazi Germany, formally known as the XI Olympiad Games. Berlin won a bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain, at the 29th IOC Conference held in Barcelona on 26 April 1931. This was the second and final time the International Olympic Committee gathered to vote for a town that did not host the Olympics as in the years to come the committee did decide to do so. Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler had designed a massive track and field arena of 100,000 seats to match the Los Angeles Games of 1932, as well as six gymnasiums and many other smaller stadiums that would serve the different sports as part of the games. The games were first transmitted on television, and radio transmissions reached 41 nations. The German Olympic Committee hired Director Leni Riefenstahl for $7million to film the Olympics. Her video, dubbed Olympia, invented to this day many of the sport shooting techniques today common to Olympic sports. Hitler considered the Games to be a reason for promoting his White Supremacy and Antisemitism practises and beliefs, and the official Nazi party publication, the Völkischer Beobachter, claimed with the best possible words that Jews would not be allowed to participate in the Olympics. In a number of instances German Jewish athletes ' participation was omitted or banned while some Jewish sports club swimmers, Hakoah Vienna, took part. It seems to have been Jewish side-line players from other nations, to keep the Nazi party from being angry. Reichsmark's gross ticket sales were 7.5 million, profiting over RM 1 million. The approved budget did not require outlays from the City of Berlin outlays to the German National Budget. Hans von Tschammer und Osten played a major part as Reichssportführer, i.e. the president of the Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, the Reichs Sports Office, in founding and running the Olympics. This fueled the idea that the use of athletics would harden the German heart and unify German youth. At around the same time, he also said that sport was "a method of washing away the bad, the Jewish, and other undesirables." Von Tschammer assigned game organisation information to Theodor Lewald and Carl Diem, the former chairman and founder of the Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Leibesübungen, the Reich Sports Agency's predecessor. Among Diem's ideas for the Berlin Games was incorporating the Olympic torch relay between Greece and the host nation. It pioneered the new method of moving the flames that year in a relay network from Greece into the world's Olympic Stadium. Leni Riefenstahl filmed the relay for the 1938 film Olympia. The facility was repurposed at the close of the Olympic Games as the Wehrmacht Olympic Döberitz Hospital, which was used as such during World War II. In 1945 it was taken over by the Soviet Union and became a military base for the armies of Communist occupation. At the end of the 20th century, plans were made to rebuild parts of the old village but no progress was made. Until recently the DKB Foundation has handled with considerable results the vast majority of Olympic village properties; proposals are being made for reopening the site as a living museum. The dormitory building used by Jesse Owens, Weissen Hall, has been entirely restored, integrating in conjunction with the gymnasium and the pool. Big groups and students are also given tours at seasonal periods. In 1936 twenty-two venues were used for Summer Olympics. Most had been housed in a Reich Sportsfeld building. There were 129 events on the Olympic Calendar in 1936, in 25 disciplines and 19 sports.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
1984 Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the XXIII Games, was an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984 in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was the second time the Olympics took place in Los Angeles, the preceding one in 1932. California's home state was then — U.S. President Ronald Reagan who has formally opened the Games. The 1984 Games logo, known as "Flags in Motion," featured horizontally aligned red, green, and blue flags that overlapped with stripes. Sam the Olympic Eagle became the official mascot for the games. These were the first summer Olympic Games under IOC leadership of Juan Antonio Samaranch. In response to the US-led boycott of the preceding 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a total of fourteen Eastern Bloc countries, including the Soviet Union and East Germany, boycotted the 1984 Games; Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country that opted to attend the Games. For unknown causes, Iran and Libya have all opted to boycott the Games. Thanks to the exclusion at some games, the competition was reduced, and 140 National Olympic Committees participated, which was a achievement at the time. The USA won the most gold and silver medals, followed by Romania and West Germany. The 1984 Summer Olympics is commonly regarded as the most financially successful modern Olympics, and served as an example of how the idea of the Olympic Games could be applied. Due to low labour costs combined with a reliance on private sector support, the 1984 Olympic Games created a profit of over $250 million. A celebration of the 25th anniversary was held at the central Olympic Stadium on 18 July 2009. The ceremony included a address by the president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee Peter Ueberroth, and a re-creation of the cauldron lighting. In 2028 Los Angeles will host for the sixth time the Summer Olympics. Following Palestinian militant assassination of Israeli athletes in Munich, huge financial debts in Montreal, and boycotts, by the late 1970s, few cities had been able to qualify for the Summer Olympics. Only two cities made significant offers for the 1984 Summer Games but, as a result of post-Iranian democratic economic changes and a change in the country's political system, Tehran's bid was withdrawn prior to the final selection of a "good" city in 1978. The 1984 Summer Olympics selection process then consisted of a single, completed Los Angeles bid, which was accepted by the International Olympic Committee. The selection was officially made at the 80th IOC Session held in Athens on 18 May 1978. The Olympic Torch Relay began in New York City in 1984 and ended in Los Angeles, spanning 33 states and the district of Columbia. Unlike later torch relays, the athletes went on foot carrying the torch continuously. The trail spanned more than 9,320 mi and featured 3,636 athletes. Noted player O.J. Simpson was among those taking part, carrying the torch up the California Incline of Santa Monica. Gina Hemphill, Jesse Owens ' niece, carried the torch into the Coliseum, completed a lap around the track and handed it over to the next athlete, Rafer Johnson, decathlon winner of the 1960 Summer Olympics. With the torch he set off the flame, which went though a specially made flammable Olympic symbol, and engulfed all five rings. The flame then passed over the peristyle to the cauldron and stayed flame for the remainder of the Match. For the Olympiad John Williams wrote "Olympic Fanfare and song." This song won a Grammy for Williams and was one of the most well-known musical pieces of the Olympic Games, along with Leo Arnaud's "Bugler's Dream;" the latter is also applied to the Olympic Fanfare and Theme release. Composer Bill Conti also wrote a "Power" song to inspire the weightlifters
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
1928 Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, formally known as the IX Olympics, was an international multi-sport event that was held from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had originally qualified for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but was convinced by Pierre de Coubertin to give way to war-torn Antwerp in Belgium for the 1920 Games, and to Paris for the 1924 Games. The USA won both gold and silver medals. The only other candidate city for the 1928 Games was Los Angeles which was eventually selected to host the Games four years later. A.S. Summer Olympics in preparation for 1932 The budget and revenues of the 1928 Games were reviewed by the Olympic Committee The commission declared a net deficit of $1,183 million with revenue of $1,165 million, resulting in a total shortfall of $18,000 which was a substantial improvement from the 1924 Olympics. The Dutch nobleman Frederik van Tuyll van Serooskerken first proposed Amsterdam as the host city for the Summer Olympic Games of 1912, long before the Dutch Olympic Committee was formed. The Summer Games were ended in 1916, because of World War I. In 1919, the Netherlands Olympic Committee vetoed the Amsterdam proposal in favour of their vote for the election of Antwerp as host city for the 1920 Summer Olympics. Paris was chosen in 1921 for the 1924 Summer Olympics, on condition that the 1928 Summer Olympics be held in Amsterdam. On 2 June 1921, the International Olympic Committee approved the decision, with the consent of the Dutch Olympic Committee. They were the first games to have been played during the IOC presidency of Henri de Baillet-Latour. The Olympic Flame was first illuminated for the remainder of the Games, a tradition that remains to this day. Torch relay will, however, not be held until the 1936 Summer Olympics. For the first time, the nation parade started with Greece, which carries the origin of the Olympics, and concluded with the host nations, a tradition that has been going on since then. Prince Hendrik, consort of Queen Wilhelmina, officially opened the Games, appointing her husband as their Deputy. The Queen was unable to attend the opening ceremonies, because she was on holiday in Norway and did not want to disrupt her trip. That was the second time an opening ceremony at the Olympics was not directly officiated by a head of state. Initially, the Queen refused to participate in either the opening or closing ceremony; it is believed that she objected to the Dutch hosting of the 1928 Games because she considered the Olympics a display of paganism. Nonetheless, she returned from Norway to attend the closing ceremonies before the conclusion of the Game and declared the first prizes at the trophy distribution that was completed shortly beforehand. At the 1928 Summer Olympics the competition contained the 14 teams, 20 disciplines and 109 events. The Summer Games of 1928 used 14 stadiums for athletics. The Swim Pool was destroyed as temporary location in 1929. The football stadium Het Kasteel was rebuilt in 1998–99. In 1950 Monnikenhuize Stadion was demolished. The Schermzaal Sports Hall was destroyed, too. The Olympic Stadium was renovated between 1996 and 2000, and is still in use. The New Stadium was destroyed in 1929, and it replaced Amsterdam City Homes. In total, 46 nations were represented at the Amsterdam Games. Everyone competed in the Olympic Games at Malta, Panama and Rhodesia. Deutschland returned, although banned, in 1920 and 1924. The promotional poster for the Game was made by Jos Rovers plus 10,000 copies. The poster shows a running man in white uniform, in the backdrop is the Olympic Stadium and the Olympic flag.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
1920 Olympics
The Summer Olympics of 1920, officially known as the VII Olympic Games, were an international multi-sport competition held in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920. In March 1912, at the 13th session of the IOC, Baron Édouard de Laveleye, president of the Belgian Olympic Committee and of the Belgian National Football Association, suggested Belgium to host the 1920 Summer Olympics. No set host city had been suggested at the time. Thanks to World War I, the 1916 Summer Olympics, to be played in Berlin, capital of the German Empire, have been postponed. The outcome of the war and the 1919 Paris Peace Conference not only affected the Olympic Games as a result of the creation of new states but also as a consequence of sanctions against the nations who lost the war and were blamed for initiating it. Forbidden to participate in the games were Austria, France, Russia, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Germany did not return to the Olympic arena until 1928 but instead organised a series of events, dubbed the Deutsche Kampfspiele, starting with the Winter Edition of 1922. The USA won both gold and silver medals. The sailing contests were held in Ostend, Belgium and two were held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The bid to host the 1920 Summer Olympics in Belgium's name was rendered at the 13th IOC session in March, 1912. That was done by Baron Édouard de Laveleye, president of the Belgian Olympic Committee and the Royal Belgian Football Union. No set city of host was suggested at the time. Henri de Baillet-Latour as chairman and Alfred Verdyck as secretary general, president of the Belgian Football Union Clubs, formed an executive committee on 17 April 1919. They formed seven committees to handle budgets, lodging, public relations, advertising, plans, trips, and holidays. Finance and preparation proved to be the two hardest things to tackle: in February 1920, six months before the Games really started, the event schedule was published. An ice hockey tournament marked the Season's early start around April 23rd and 30th 1920. Played at the "Palais de Glace" in Antwerp, or at the Ice Palace, this was the first time ice hockey was an Olympic sport. The first stone of the current Beerschot Olympic Stadium was laid on 4 July 1919 by the mayor of Antwerp, Jan De Vos, and it was inaugurated less than a year later, on 23 May 1920, with a gymnastics display. The nautical stadium or Stade Nautique d'Antwerp was designed at the end of Jan Van Rijswijcklaan using the city ramparts as a spectator stand. Most events, such as shooting, fencing, and equestrian sports, were held at pre-existing sites in and around Antwerp and as far away as Ostend. Such events were the first to recite the Olympic Oath, the first to unleash doves symbolising peace, and the first to lift the Olympic Flag. The USA won 41 gold medals, 27 bronze and 27 silver medals, the most won by any of the 29 countries participating. Sweden, Great Britain, Finland and Belgium joined the 5 most successful medal earning nations. The Games featured a week of winter sports, the first skating participation since the Olympics in 1908 and ice hockey marking their appearance at the Olympics. Nedo Nadi has won 5 gold medals in fencing competitions. The Olympic schedule featured 156 events covering 29 disciplines and 22 sports all across 1920. The Sailing scheme was valid for all 16 sailing classes but only 14 sailing contests were contested in competition. Seventeen athletics venues were used during the 1920 Summer Olympics. As has been the case since time immemorial, this was the first time the nfl game was broadcast around the world.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
1912 Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, formally known as the V Olympic Games, were an international multi-sport spectacle which took place in Stockholm, Sweden, from 5 May to 22 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports with 2,408 athletes. The games were played on July 6 with a planned release within a month, with the exception of tennis and football, and shooting. It was the final games to receive solid gold medals and Japan's attendance was the first time an Asian nation had participated. The only plan for the play, selected in 1909, was for Stockholm. The games were the first to feature handicraft competitions, women's sailing, women's diving and the first to win both the decathlon and the modern pentathlon for Jim Thorpe. For tournaments electrical synchronisation was used, and the host nation disallowed boxing. The organisers also declined to skate the figure because they wanted to support the Nordic Games. The USA won most gold medals while Denmark won the most silver medals. They are the last eight-year Summer Games up until the end of World War I. In the year 1920 the second Olympic Games was held. The Summer Olympics of 1912 had twelve positions in competition. That was the first time more than one venue had been qualified for the football event, which has been the case since then. Sweden's Olympic Stadium served as one of the equestrian venues for the Summer Olympics in 1956. Råsunda Arena was the site of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup. It was revealed that under the initial bid plan a new stadium was to be built, initially planned to be located inside Östermalm's athletic grounds. It was determined to save costs that only one of the stadium stands will remain permanent, with the other three made of concrete and destroyed after the Olympics. Stadium expenditure had been expected to be 235,000 kronor. Arrangements were made for the use of Östermalm Athletic Grounds with the cooperation of the state commissions and Traneberg Five new sites were planned to locate the Olympic Stadium, in addition to the Östermalm Sports Grounds. The Stockholm Olympic Stadium was constructed on the site of the old Swedish Athletic Grounds to protect the remaining areas for future uses during the Olympics. Similar to other pre-existing sports stadiums, the Olympic Stadium was built north of the capital Initial support for a timber stadium was given to the sum of 400,000 Kr, but architect Torben Grut also drafted potential designs for a stone stadium. The decision to build the stone version was taken after discussions with the Swedish Central Athletics Development Commission, and a national lottery made additional funds available until there was confidence that no further funding would be needed to build the venue. Nevertheless, it was discovered that the original estimate for the stone stadium would still be too costly, and the plans were revised again to simplify construction and cut costs. An agreement was reached with a customer on 2 November 1910 that it would be finished in full by 25 May 1912. The V Olympiad Games opened formally on 6 July 1912. The Swedish Royal Family left Stockholm Palace at 10:40am, and was greeted at the Olympic Stadium by members of the IOC. Three thousand competing athletes had already assembled on nearby Östermalm Athletic Grounds, and they began to reach the stadium in alphabetic order by area according to the Swedish spelling. The Swedish team came in last but in later practise the Greek team struggled to hit the limit. A hymn was chanted, a traditional Swedish chant was played, and the prayers were read first in Swedish, then in English. Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf has briefed Queen on behalf of the Swedish Olympic Committee.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
2016 Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the XXXI Olympic Games and commonly known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport spectacle that was held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary sporting events starting on 3 August. At the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 2 October 2009 Rio was confirmed as host city. Around 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees participated, including the first-time Kosovo, South Sudan and Olympic Refugee Team members. The events featured 28 Olympic sports and 306 medal collections, including sevens rugby and golf, added to the 2009 Olympic Programme. These sporting activities took place in the host city's 33 stadiums and five separate stadiums in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília and Manaus, Brazil. This is the first Winter Games ever held in South America. They were also the first to be hosted in a Portuguese-speaking country, the first summer edition to be held entirely in the host country's winter season, the first to take place in Latin America since 1968, and the first to take place in the southern hemisphere since 2000. Those is the first Summer Games that took place under the International Olympic Committee chairmanship of Thomas Bach. The U.S. toped the medal table, winning the most gold medals and the highest overall medal count; the U.S. team have won the summer record 1000th Olympic gold medal. Great Britain becomes second in recent Olympic history soon after becoming the host country to lift the gold count in the Olympics. In the medal table China was in third place. The host nation of Brazil won seven gold medals, the largest haul for any single Summer Olympics, finishing in 13th place. Bahrain, Fiji, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kosovo, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Tajikistan and Vietnam each won their first gold medals, as did the group of Independent Olympic Athletes. On 5 August 2016, Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Thomas, and Andrucha Waddington conducted the opening ceremony at Maracana Stadium. The ceremony addressed facets of Brazilian history and culture, which featured a segment provided by Fernanda Montenegro which Judi Dench with an appeal for environmental conservation and global warming avoidance. The new mascots of 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were revealed on 24 November 2014. They'd been created by Sao Paulo-based animation company Birdo. The Olympic mascot Vinicius, named for the composer Vinicius de Moraes, portrays the Brazilian animals and incorporates the attributes of cats, primates, and birds. The mascots "both were born out of the Brazilians ' enthusiasm when it was announced that Rio will host the Games," according to their fake identities. Brand director Beth Lula clarified that the mascots were supposed to reflect the peculiarity of Brazil's culture and people. The names of the mascots were determined by a public vote, the results of which were announced on 14 December 2014; the names, referring to the co-writers of the song "The Kid from Ipanema," won over two other words, comprising 44 per cent of 323,327. During the Olympic Wrestling matches, Vinicius's plush dolls were given to coaches to carry in the ring if they wanted to challenge a referee's ruling. On 31 December 2010 the new logo for the 2016 Summer Olympics was revealed, created by the Brazilian group Tatíl Design, participating in a competition between 139 agencies. The logo depicts three characters joined at their arms and feet, reflecting the Sugarloaf Peak's general shape. The emblem was also designed to include a three-dimensional outline, claimed by artist Fred Gelli, that made it the "first 3D logo in the history of the Olympics." Scandals dominated the run up to these Games, including the political and economic crises in Brazil; the outbreak of the Zika virus and the big pollution in the Guanabara Bay; and a bribery scandal involving Russia that affected Russia;
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
2020 Olympics
The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially the XXXII Olympic Games and commonly known as Tokyo 2020, is an annual international multi-sport event to be held in Tokyo, Japan. These Games were originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, but on 24 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Organizing Committee announced the Games to be postponed until 2021, and to be held no later than the summer of 2021. The Olympics will now be publicly announced and advertised as Tokyo 2020, but the timeline varies. On 7 September 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host city at the 125th IOC Session held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is expected to be the second time that Japan has hosted the Summer Olympic Games, particularly Tokyo, the first being in 1964, making it the first Asian city to host the Summer Games twice. Ultimately this will be the fourth Olympic Games in Japan, which previously hosted Winter Olympics in 1972. The 2020 Games will be the second of three consecutive Olympics in East Asia, the first being the 2018 Pyeongchang County Winter Olympics in South Korea and the second being the 2022 Beijing, China Winter Olympics. These games are likely to see the introduction of new and extended Summer Olympics competitions, including 3x3 basketball, BMX freestyle, and running Madison, as well as more sports combined. Under updated IOC rules allowing the host organising committee to add events to the Olympic programme and extend the existing core Olympic tournaments, karate, sport climbing, sailing and skateboarding are scheduled to make their Olympic debuts, as well as adding baseball and softball for the first time since 2008. The latest mascot for Summer Olympics 2020 is Miraitowa, a character with blue-checkered patterns inspired by the games ' official logo. The fictitious abilities include the ability to teleport. The mascots were selected from a selection process, created by the Japanese artist Ryo Taniguchi in late 2017 and early 2018. A total of 2,042 candidate designs were submitted to the Tokyo Organizing Committee, which picked three pairs of unnamed mascot designs to make the final decision for elementary school students in Japan. The findings of the selection were announced on 28 February 2018, and the mascots were named on 22 July 2018. Miraitowa is named after the Japanese words for "may" and "eternity," and Someity is named after certainiyoshino, a type of cherry blossom. Someity's name also refers to the English word "too tall." The mascots are hoped to help finance the Tokyo Games through merchandising and licencing deals. Sony and Panasonic are partnering with NHK to create broadcast standards for 8 K resolution Television, planning to introduce 8 K TV sets in time for the 2020 Olympics. RAI, an Italian broadcaster, announced that it plans to begin 8 K Olympic coverage. It will be the first European Summer Olympics under the IOC's latest pan-European rights deal with Eurosport which began at the 2018 Winter Olympics and is scheduled to continue until 2024. The rights to the 2020 Summer Olympics cover nearly all of Europe, with Russia losing until 2024 because of a pre-existing deal with a marketer. In each region, Eurosport plans to sub-license free-to-air network access as well as other networks operated by Discovery Inc .. It will be the last Games in the UK where rights are owned exclusively by the BBC, albeit as a part of a sub-licensing agreement agreed for the Games 2022 and 2024; Eurosport has complete power of pay-television. These are also the last Games in France, the rights to which France Télévisions mainly retain. As pay TV rights operator, Eurosport is expected to make its debut after Canal+ has agreed to divest its pay TV rights due to cost-saving measures. France Télévisions plans to get the Eurosport Games sub-licensed in 2022 and 2024.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
2012 Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, formally the XXX Olympic Games and commonly known as London 2012, was an international multi-sport event held from July 27th to August 12th 2012 in London, United Kingdom. The first game, the women's round of football competition, began at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on July 25, followed by the opening ceremony on July 27. 10,768 athletes from 204 Individual Olympic Bodies participated in this. On 6 July 2005, London was selected as the host city at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore after a bid led by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and then London Mayor Ken Livingstone, beating offers from Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris. London was the first city to host the modern Olympics three times, having previously hosted the Summer Games in 1908 and 1948. Design for the Games has required substantial redesign, including a emphasis on sustainability. The goal was a new 200-hectare Olympic Park, built on a former factory site in Stratford, east London. The Games have permitted the use of already-existing pre-bid venues. The Games also earned general admiration for their operation, especially strongly admired by the volunteers, the British military and the enthusiasm of the public. Danny Boyle's opening ceremony received widespread global acclaim, broad praise from the Uk public and a range of wide-ranging backlash from various social media outlets. After the Olympics Michael Phelps becomes the most decorated Olympic athlete ever, winning his 22nd Medal. The first female athletes joined Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Brunei, and each now qualifying nation sent a female athlete to at least one Olympic Games. Women's wrestling was included in the first period, and the Games were the first at which women competed in each competition. They were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Belgian Jacques Rogge, to be succeeded by German Thomas Bach the following year. The United States led the final count for the gold, followed by China and Great Britain as host. Many world and olympic records have been set at the games. Although some controversies have arisen, the 2012 games have been considered extremely successful with increasing standards of excellence among nations around the world, packed stadiums and smooth organisation. In reality, the sport history and restoration focus at the post-games venue, much like the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996, has been used as a blueprint for future Olympics. Muse's "Survival" has been announced as the official music of the Olympics, to be used for the games ' worldwide media outlets. The Royal Mail asked artists and illustrators to create 30 stamps, distributed in lots of 10 between 2009 and 2011, in August 2009. The last one published July 22, 2011. To commemorate the Olympics, crafted by Saiman Miah, two £ 5 coins were made. As other Olympics since 1952, the Royal Mint will draw upon a collection of one-kilogram gold and silver commemorative coins. "Inspire a century" is the official theme for Summer Olympics 2012 It was chosen to show the promoter's commitment to inspiring the world to participate in athletic competitions through the history of its athletics, particularly the younger generations. The mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games were unveiled on 19 May 2010. Wenlock and Mandeville are animations showing two drops of steel from a steelworks at Bolton. They are named after Much Wenlock, a city in Shropshire that houses a reference to the modern Olympic Games, and Stoke Mandeville, a village in Buckinghamshire where there was a reference to the first Paralympic Games. Michael Morpurgo, the artist, wrote the concept of mascot storey, and created an animation. Two storeys have been built for the mascots: from A Rainbow and Adventures On A Rainbow. In the lead-up to the Olympics there were disagreements about sponsorship, the athletes ' use of social media and other foreign issues. Following a long lottery process, thousands of participants qualified to obtain tickets for the events they chose, but a large number of empty seats were noticed during the tournaments, particularly at some of the most popular competitions. Speculation was raised that this was due to corporate donors ' inability to use the tickets they'd received.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
2008 Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics was an international multi-sport festival that took place from 8-24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes competed in 28 disciplines and 302 events, among the 204 National Olympic Bodies. It was the first time that China hosted the Summer Olympics but the third time that the Games took place in East Asia, following the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan in 1964 and the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988. They are the second summer Olympic Games in a Socialist Republic, following the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the sixth in a industrialised world after the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union, and the first overall Olympics hosted by a Communist State since the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics were held by the former Yugoslavia. After two rounds of voting by members of the International Olympic Committee, Beijing was given the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, having received a majority of vote. The Government of the People's Republic of China has been promoting the Games and spending actively in new technology and transport networks. A total of 37 stadiums were used to host the games, with twelve built especially for the 2008 Olympics. The equestrian competitions were held in Hong Kong making this the third Games under the authority of two independent NOCs which coordinated the competitions. The sailing events were contested in Qingdao, while the football events were held in other nearby towns. The official logo for the 2008 Games, called "Dancing Beijing," featured a stylised calligraphic character jīng in reference to the host city. 3,500,000,000 people attended the Beijing Games globally, which featured the longest distance for an Olympic Torch relay. Event sets many world and Olympic records in sport history, and is currently the most expensive all-time Summer Olympics, and the second most expensive ever since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The opening ceremony was praised by viewers and numerous international media as spectacular and spellbinding, and by other accounts as "the greatest ever in Olympic history." At the Olympics, an impressive 87 countries earned at least one medal. At 48, China won the most gold medals and became just the seventh different nation to top a combined tally of the Olympic medals, taking a total of 100. The United States came second in the gold medal count but won the highest number of overall honours, totaling 112. Russia has secured third place in the count for gold medals. The opening ceremony officially began at the Beijing National Stadium at 8:00 p.m. on 8 August 2008. Average Chinese Time. The number 8 is connected to the Chinese community's prosperity and religion, and here it was a triple eight for the year, and a double for the time. The ceremony was co-directed by Chinese director Zhang Yimou and Chinese choreographer Zhang Jigang, and featured a cast of over 15,000 actors. The ceremony lasted over four hours and cost over US$ 100 million to make. UNGA President Miguel d'Escoto addressed the meeting and delegates from 105 countries addressed. A dazzling selection of Ancient Chinese art and literature had regulated the ceremony. It opened with Fou Drums beating for countdown. Finally a giant scroll was unveiled and became the series ' centrepiece. The official single of the 2008 Olympics, titled "You and Me," was performed by Britain's Sarah Brightman and China's Liu Huan on a wide spinning globe rendition. The last Olympic Torch relay competitor, former Chinese gymnast Li Ning, lit the cauldron after being raised into the air by ropes, and finished a loop at National Stadium roof height.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
2004 Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics, officially known as the XXVIII Olympic Games and simply known as Athens 2004, was a major international multi-sport festival under the name Welcome Back held in Athens, Greece, August 13-29, 2004. The Games saw 10,625 participants participating, about 600 more than anticipated, led by 5,501 team members from the 201 nations. Across 28 different disciplines, thirty1 medal competitions were held. Athens 2004 marked the first time since the Summer Olympics in 1996 that all countries with a National Olympic Committee have participated. The 2004 Olympic Games also marked the return of the city they started in. Having previously hosted the 1896 Games, Athens was at the time one of the four cities to host the Summer Olympics on two separate occasions. A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games replacing that used by Giuseppe Cassioli during the 1928 Games. This rectified the long-lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum instead of a Greek location. The current stadium contains the Panathenaic Stadium.[6] IOC President Jacques Rogge described the 2004 Summer Games as "unforgettable, fantasy games," leaving Athens with a significantly improved infrastructure including a new ring road airport, and network of subways. There have been questions about the cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games and their possible connexion to the 2010-2018 government debt crisis in Greece, but there is little to no evidence for this connexion. The 2004 Olympics is commonly considered a success, with the rising degree of rivalry among nations all over the world. The United States led the final medal count trailed by China and Russia in 15th place with host Greece. Numerous world and Olympic records were set at these Games. Mascots have been a staple at the Olympic Games since the 1968 Winter Olympics, hosted in Grenoble, France. Two official mascots have appeared at the 2004 Olympics: Athena and Phevos. The sister and brother were named after Athena, the wisdom, preparation, and battle goddess, and Phoebus, the god of light and music, respectively. The ancient daidala which also had religious connotations as toy dolls inspired us. During the first time, major networks were permitted to offer digital coverage of the Olympics over the Internet, provided that they restricted such programming internationally, to secure broadcasting rights in other areas. For example, the BBC made all of its live programming available to UK high-speed Broadband subscribers free of charge; US subscribers could only view phased excerpts. The International Olympic Committee banned the development of unique weblogs and/or other websites for Olympic athletes, as well as coaches, support personnel and other officials, to preserve their personal view of the Games. We weren't allowed to post any of their voice, images, or photos. There was an example where a athlete also had a qualified website but was not explicitly set up for the Games. The NBC launched its own website, called NBCOlympics.com. It's focused on streaming Games TV, including video clips, medal lists, live scores. The main aim, though, was to provide a list of what sports had been on the different affiliates of NBC Universal. The Games were broadcasted on cable, on one network or another, 24 hours a day. As for each organisation, it relied heavily on technology to create a successful event, the Organising Committee and everyone concerned with it. Two separate data networks were run by ATHOC, one for Games planning and one for Gaming. Throughout the wireless networks is included more than 11,000 computers, more than 600 servers, 2,000 printers, 23,000 fixed-line telephone devices, 9,000 mobile phones, 12,000 TETRA machines, 16,000 TV and video facilities and 17 Video Walls connected by more than 6,000 kilometres of cable.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
