2016 Olympics

While I was flipping through the channels yesterday at my host family’s house, all of the Danish News services were reporting one story, the 2016 Summer Olympics. As it turns out, the International Olympic Committee is making its final decision as to which city will host the games from right here in Copenhagen. They will make their announcement sometime tomorrow evening. In the meantime, the city is hosting official delegations from all the biding cities, as well as a series of other public sporting events, concerts, etc. There are four cities who are finalists and who have sent delegations to Copenhagen. They are Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Madrid (Spain), and Chicago (USA). The last of these has caused quite a stir here in Denmark, because the delegation includes some pretty well known Americans. Talk show host Opera Winfrey is already here, as is Michelle Obama. President Obama arrives tomorrow, but will only be here for a grand for a total of 5 hours. The President of Brazil as also here, as are the King of Queen of Spain, and members of the Royal Family of Japan. Nevertheless, there are also many famous athletes from all of the biding countries.

Here are some photos of festivities at Rådhuspladsen, the City Hall-Square, near DIS in Copenhagen.

The perception among many Danes is that if Obama is coming all the way here, then Chicago is likely to win the opportunity to host the games. Obama, and his family, are widely popular here in Denmark, and really throughout most of Western Europe. It seems to me however that many Europeans believe Obama to be capable of fixing all of America’s problems, from healthcare and education, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also think he will change many of the States other outdated policies, such as the Trade Embargo with Cuba, and the subjection of Puerto Rico and other US territories which are not granted statehood. I must say, I applaud their optimism and estimation of his abilities, nevertheless, I would be happy if he were to only manage to deal with a few of these issues in his first term. I think it is going to take a little longer to convince Americans to change their thinking about many of these other issues, especially the Embargo with Cuba. My host father has visited Cuba three times, and nothing would make me happier that to one day be able to travel there myself. From what I have heard, it is a beautiful country, albeit not without its problems.

I am curious to know what the American media is saying about the Obama’s trip to Denmark. Denmark is a country that receives very little media attention in the world, so I would love to know how it is being portrayed there. If you like, feel free to send me an e-mail about what you have heard, if anything, about his trip. I will try to respond soon, but I will be visiting Lithuania next week, and may be away from the computer for a while. I hope to have lots of good stories to tell you when I return.