The Olympics Should Always Be Held in North America or Europe

Dear International Olympic Committee,

I know you have a duty to help spread the Olympics around the world. It’s an important task to make sure that every country has an adequate chance to compete, and every fan has the opportunity to take part in the festivities.

I argue that the best way to do that is to host the Olympic games in either North America or Europe, every single time.

It’s not a popular opinion, I know. It’s going to be hard to get your friends in Russia, Japan, Brazil and elsewhere to appreciate this idea. But think about it. What culture in the world is more sports crazed than the United States? We have 113 professional sports teams and more than 220 sports stadiums in use that have a capacity of more than 20,000. And that doesn’t even include Canada or Mexico.

In Europe, there are more than 290 sports stadiums in use with a capacity of more than 25,000. If you remove Russia, there are still more than 270.

Let’s face it. North America and Europe already have the infrastructure in place for these things. Let’s look at public transportation.

In Europe, rails, metro, buses and the like are already in place to take people around the continent. During the 2012 London Olympics, there were no reports of any competitors who were unable to reach their events due to transportation or traffic problems. And since the 2010 games in Vancouver, the Canada Line that was installed as part of the games has gained about 40 million riders a year through 2014.

Let’s just compare some news headlines around the Olympics.

Here’s the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Beijing Olympics: Human rights abuses getting worse
Beijing’s Migrant Construction Workers Abused
The Beijing Olympics Were A Mistake

Here’s the most recent, Sochi, from 2014.

Sochi Winter Olympics ‘cost billions more than estimated’
Forced Labor at the Sochi Games
The Waste and Corruption of Vladimir Putin’s 2014 Winter Olympics

Now, let’s compare that with the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics debt-free, VANOC final report says
2010 Olympics: Vancouver Winter Games Gave Economy A $2.3 Billion Boost, Report Says
Vancouver real estate, tourism, international sports profile still profiting from 2010 Olympics

And the 2012 London Games.

Olympics and Paralympics £528m under budget
London 2012 Olympics ‘have boosted UK economy by £9.9bn’
Exploring the Record-Breaking Health and Safety Performance of the 2012 Olympic Games

Although, to be fair, the Vancouver Olympics also did have their controversy.

Canada’s mild climate leaves Winter Olympics short of snow

Now let’s compare cost. The last two games held in Europe and North America cost a total of $21.2 billion, while the last two games held outside Europe and North America cost $91 billion. Sochi cost $51 billion in 2014, London was $14.8 billion in 2012, Vancouver $6.4 billion in 2010 and Beijing was $40 billion in 2008.

That’s fucking nuts.

I know there’s going to be some controversy surrounding the decision to do this, but this is the type of controversy the Olympics needs. It’s a hell of a lot better than the usual human rights violations and public health scares (I’m looking at you, Beijing and Rio) your games have become synonymous with.

So let’s make it happen. Alternate between North America and Europe every summer and winter games. And honestly, there’s really no need for a host city. Let’s keep it continental. Make it easy on yourself and on the people of the world.

Just a suggestion.