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Location Date South America 1487289600 Asia 1475362800 North America 
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Location Date Niagara-On-The-Lake 1438383600 St. Catharines 1438383600 Markham 1383350400 Brampton 1344985200 Mississauga 1344898800 Niagara Falls 1344034800 Toronto
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Friday before the final weekend of the Toronto Pan Am games I went by City Hall Nathan Phillips Square to see some of the events going on. Designed in the 1960s this is a bland concrete lovers paradise.
The two curved towers face a large paved plaza. There is a rectangular pond which becomes a skating rink in winter. Attempts to break the concrete monotomy which potted plants and gardens have been tried.
For the Pan Am Games a large dose of colour has been added. A temporary feature of the City's name in large letters by the pond has become a popular games icon with many selfies taken there.
There were three performance stages and big screen tvs for people to see live events taking place. In the evenings the square becomes a cultural venue with live musical performances on the main stage.
Nearby was the official souvenir store and a ticket agent. The games have been a positive influence in rejuvenating one of the blandest places in the city. The giant Toronto logo is going to become a permanent fixture and will be moved to different sites around the city before finding a permanent home.
There has been excitement about Toronto bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics after the success of the Pan Am Games. I even received a telephone poll the day of the closing ceremonies asking
1. Would I support an Olympic Bid?
2. Would I support a Mayor that supported an Olympic Bid?
3. Would I support a councillor that supported an Olympic Bid?
The timing of the poll was biased as the day of the closing ceremonies it is skewed to generate a more favourable response. This makes it suspect who commissioned such a poll? I wrote to my local councillor to mention this poll and that it was unscientific. Newspaper headlines have since claimed 60% support for an Olympics bid??!
Pan Am is only 20% the capacity of the crowds any Olympics would bring. Once you factor in Russia, China, Europe, Asia, Africa, and venues spread out across the Toronto region, our roads and poor transit infrastructure simply can not cope.
The bid will cost $50M and the games $3B at min when we never seem to have money for basic services?. Politicians are good at finding ways to waste our money so lets see how they decide to proceed.
The two curved towers face a large paved plaza. There is a rectangular pond which becomes a skating rink in winter. Attempts to break the concrete monotomy which potted plants and gardens have been tried.
For the Pan Am Games a large dose of colour has been added. A temporary feature of the City's name in large letters by the pond has become a popular games icon with many selfies taken there.
There were three performance stages and big screen tvs for people to see live events taking place. In the evenings the square becomes a cultural venue with live musical performances on the main stage.
Nearby was the official souvenir store and a ticket agent. The games have been a positive influence in rejuvenating one of the blandest places in the city. The giant Toronto logo is going to become a permanent fixture and will be moved to different sites around the city before finding a permanent home.
There has been excitement about Toronto bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics after the success of the Pan Am Games. I even received a telephone poll the day of the closing ceremonies asking
1. Would I support an Olympic Bid?
2. Would I support a Mayor that supported an Olympic Bid?
3. Would I support a councillor that supported an Olympic Bid?
The timing of the poll was biased as the day of the closing ceremonies it is skewed to generate a more favourable response. This makes it suspect who commissioned such a poll? I wrote to my local councillor to mention this poll and that it was unscientific. Newspaper headlines have since claimed 60% support for an Olympics bid??!
Pan Am is only 20% the capacity of the crowds any Olympics would bring. Once you factor in Russia, China, Europe, Asia, Africa, and venues spread out across the Toronto region, our roads and poor transit infrastructure simply can not cope.
The bid will cost $50M and the games $3B at min when we never seem to have money for basic services?. Politicians are good at finding ways to waste our money so lets see how they decide to proceed.
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