Why Switzerland? Italy has better food and more Alps than any other country.
It would be unfair to always have the events in the European time zone. That’s why I suggested the solution in post #36.
Switzerland because it is a traditionally neutral nation and has a climate that is suitable for winter sports. They already have the necessary facilities, both event settings and lodging. Also, the Swiss are competent and reliable. 
@dadx, the National Endowment of the Arts is tiny. Last time I heard, the US “defense” budget contained more $$ for military bands than the entire NEA.
A friend of a friend has competed in 4 Olympics, and is qualifying tomorrow for his 5th.
( triathalon)
Winter is my favorite, but thats pretty exciting!
So exciting, EK! I hope he makes it and stays healthy:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sailing-governing-body-start-testing-viruses-rio-124955136–spt.html
Why make political neutrality an issue for the Winter but not the Summer?
Number of times hosting Winter Games:
EUROPE
3 France
3 Italy
2 Switzerland
2 Austria
2 Norway
1 Germany
1 Russia
1 Yugoslavia
AMERICAS
4 USA
2 Canada
ASIA
2 Japan (3rd game in 1940 cancelled bcs of WW2)
1 S Korea
0 China (2022 pending)
I wonder if they’ll ever have the Winter Olympics in South America. I guess the only place where it might be feasible would be Argentina? I doubt they could ever hold them in Africa or Australia.
I’ve found the Olympics compelling since childhood, largely because of the stories my grandmother used to tell me about her brother, who won six Olympic medals (four gold) in track and field in three Olympics – the very first American Jew to win any Olympic medals at all.
Argentina and Chile can both do it.
Chile & Australia have lots of skiing. In fact, aussie ski instructors flock to japan to work during the Aussie skiing off season.
I like the Olympics so I watch them. If you don’t like them, don’t watch. For a few years, I ‘knew’ (in a ‘I know Kevin Bacon’ sort of way, friends of my niece and nephew but I’d seen them race since they were little kids) a few of the athletes in the winter games and that made it more fun.
Baby kiddo competed with a few Olympians back when they were in the summer league. We hosted a foreign athlete who went on to final in one event in 2008 (with all of this talk about doping, she was paranoid about contaminating her body, was super careful about reading the ingredients lists in the foods, and really appreciated my from scratch cooking!). Kiddo’s friend had a crush on one local Olympic champion - also, when it was not even known the kid would become an Olympian. So yes, we also “knew” lots of Olympians and watch both Summer and Winter Games.
I only have interest in sports like figure skating, gymnastics, swimming, and track & field during the Olympics. So I enjoy watching the Games. The Opening Ceremonies have always been a “must watch” for me. The word “awesome” is overused, but the Beijing opening ceremonies was truly awesome.
I don’t like the way American television hypes up a few athletes with the “star” treatment. I can’t name another American swimmer except for Michael Phelps.
The olympics have never really been what they claimed to be in some senses, the whole “amateur” thing, for example, to a large extent was designed to keep it a ‘gentleman’s’ thing, since presumably only the well heeled could afford to participate. Avery Brundage was the classic model of this, and he couldn’t wait to strip Jim Thorpe of his medals when it was found out Thorpe had once played semi pro baseball. Then, too, the ‘amateur’ stuff kind of went out the window with the eastern block countries, where the “Red Army” Hockey team was a professional team, the full time job of those athletes was the sport, pure and simple. As time went on, you had someone like Carl Lewis, who were making money (legally) on endorsements, and it could be argued that the US Men’s basketball team, prior to 92, were college basketball players whose prime job was basketball, given the nature of division 1 college sports,and for sports with big federations athletes were not exactly struggling.
Still, though, outside the big sports like the major track events, basketball, skating, skiing and so forth, there is a lot of true amateurs. The kids who won in 1980 were college hockey players, which is not the same thing as basketball or football in terms of how they are supported and such, so winning the gold medal was a big deal (actually, the 1960 Sun Valley games US win was even more impressive, lot of those guys were ordinary joes, carpenters, etc:). Some of the sports are definitely the realm of the pretty well off, to get to Olympic level sailing takes resources that many just don’t have, it is a very expensive sport to pursue to that level, but with other sports you do see the true amateur, the ones who eek out an existence and manage to participate, and I do think there is value there.
The problem with the Olympics is they have become a spectacle, and a lot of it has to do with the entertainment value of TV in it. So for example, Olympic nations put out for spectacles, because that drives up the interest for tv, if you have gorgeous facilities that people from TV can walk around and pontificate upon, makes for good spectacles. The whole thing caters to TV, and that kind of creates what we have seen, ridiculously expensive facilities that bankrupt the host country and in the end, often leave facilities in ruins (look at what happened with Greece after 2004, or other countries, all the dreams of what would happen after the Olympics usually fade away, with little permanent change.
I think that the LA model in 84 actually has some merit. LA got away with a successful olympics if I read correctly because they used a lot of existing facilities, they used the many college facilities, they spruced up the LA coliseum, and otherwise worked with what they had. Maybe part of the answer is that the bidding come from places that are set up to host it, where relatively little has to be done to have what you need.
I think that other than China and maybe Russia, few countries think having the Olympics is all that prestigious, and if you add in the IOC bidding process, which is about as straight arrow as FIFA, it just isn’t worth it. I am glad Boston backed out, given the dynamics of Boston, its geography, I don’t think it could handle an Olympics without severely driving themselves into debt, despite all the colleges and facilities there, it would be very difficult to stage it there IMO (put it this way, someone wondered in Foxboro where the Patriots play would be good for the track and field and opening ceremonies, Foxboro is one of the most difficult stadiums to get to, it is not that close to Boston and is difficult to commute to, forget about driving). I suspect the Olympics will go on, driven by TV, but I think eventually there will be existing facilities, a la LA, maybe Lake Placid in NY, and some other places that will end up being rotating hosts, or maybe the IOC itself will build facilities in some locations. If you want a perspective on the Olympics, take a look at the problems blossoming with Rio 2016, and it tells a lot.
I’m rooting for Qatar Winter Olympics 2026-- woo hoo!
Yeah, as an Angeleno, I’d love to host an Olympics. We wouldn’t have to build many new venues thanks to the many we already have. The Olympic Village could be at USC or UCLA or both. The Coliseum would have to be renovated to bring back the track, but other than that there are venues for everything, even a relatively new velodrome.
I’ve attended the olympics and it was fun. DH worked for a company at the time that was a sponsor, so he was a volunteer at the aquatics venue. We still have his “uniform”. We somehow seemed to be the free lodging for many different friends and relatives in and out, in and out, for several weeks before, during and after the olympics. I felt like I was running a B&B, only I was also working fulltime at the time.
Wiith the olympics came all sorts of other fabulous concerts and theater and art exhibits that were held simultaneously. They don’t get much attention in the press, but are great side benefits.
What I care about most is that there are good facilities for the athletes. Last time, the half pike had slushy ice, and it wasn’t fair for all those young people who had spent years in preparation.
I wish the Winter Olympics were held in Europe or Canada, so I could go.
There is an overwhelmingly obvious reason to place the Summer Olympics in Greece. Who can argue with it?
There is no nation with a similar history for the Winter Olympics. Therefore Switzerland seems like an excellent alternative, to me. If there were an equivalent location in another time zone, have at it. But to my knowledge, there is not.
I like both the summer and winter Olympics. I wished Boston had not dropped out and was surprised that some of my former schoolmates were opposed to having them there and had a NIMBY attitude. The city has so much to offer and I’m sure it could have made it work.
I dreamt of being in the Olympics when I was a kid, but they never offered the right event for me. 
I agree about our TV coverage, but at least we get to see many of the events.