The Men
This weekend decisions are made on the IOC President for the next 8 years, where the Summer Games of 2020 will be held, and whether wrestling finds it way back into the Olympic family.
A European again seems favourite to be President (which in itself may not be popular with many nations), but I believe Rogge has been viewed a good President, if not as progressive as some would like, and so that should not work against Bach of Germany who is considered the favourite.
Another Euro in the mix is the Ukrainian pole vaulter, but is not expected to survive the first round of voting. His Lordship was considered a possible candidate at one time, but has essentially decided on the IAAF as the next governing body needing his help - however that will be delayed a little as he has stated he would not run against Lame Duck, who has decided to have one more term.
The Cities
Tokyo appears to be the sentimental favourite to be our host in 2020 - when awarded the 1964 Summer Games in 1959 (elections were 5 years before the Games in those days) it was a bold move by the IOC to have it's first Asian Games and to go away from the traditional "strongholds". Tokyo has previously prepared for the 1916 and 1940 Summer Games - the Chinese/Japanese conflict caused them to pullout of 1916 (though subsequently the Games were cancelled because of the Great War of 1914-18) and the Second World War caused the cancellation of the 1940 Games). Concerns remain about pollution from the nuclear plant fallout, and Japan's ability to contain future accidents.
It is hard to believe that anyone would seriously vote for Istanbul - though with the way the "voting blocks" are cobbled together these days anything is possible. Rogge has said (in another context) that the IOC is powerless to "dictate" the domestic laws of host cities/member countries, but surely in the case of bidding host cities you just don't vote for them! Turkey's disgraceful domestic policies are only running second in criminality to Syria. The Turkish head of delegations claim that the recent drug bans show how they are cracking down on the abusers neatly overlooks the fact that it was 'outside testers' that produced the results, not the domestic testing. In the case of Russian failed test it was impractical at such a late date fro the IAAF to move the WC, but here the IOC can send a message by not voting for Istanbul.
Much has been made of Spain's very high unemployment (over25%), but if the IOC continues to believe in the stimulation of economies and the rejuvenation of deprived areas then Madrid fits the bill. Having made previous bids, something like 80% of the facilities are thought to be in place, and its projected cost is $1.9b. - just 10% of Istanbul's projected $19b.!!
The Sports
On the surface it was very hard to understand how wrestling, by any stretch of the imagination a "core" sport of the Olympics, could have been eliminated; but dig a little deeper and much was "rotten in the Kingdom of Denmark"! It would appear that the IOC move was aimed at getting the attention of wrestling's governing body, as previous efforts to get its "house in order' had failed. It would be a major surprise if wrestling is not reinstated, however it transpires that a week ago the wrestling federation and a group supporting its bid engaged "in activities that were not in line with the 'Rules of Conduct for the international federations seeking inclusion in the Olympic programme'." for which they received a reprimand. The IOC now consider the matter closed.
Squash appears to have a groundswell of support, as it is certainly now widely played across the world, but there are already 2 other racquet sports in the Olympics.
Probably Baseball/Softball are seen as too "American" to find their way back in. With the professionalisation of the Olympics, the refusal of MLB to be involved is a major drawback (though it does probably mean the medals are shared around a little more!); and in Softball the US has been so dominant that it put itself out of the Games.
hard to recognise, unlike Lynn Davies and Ralph Boston