Nobody wants to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. There are two cities left in the running, Beijing, China and Almaty, Kazakhstan, after Oslo, Norway pulled out of the running. I thought that Norway would have been the perfect host for the games, but they disagreed, and who knows if anyone will still be in the running by the end of the process.
There are going to many theories as to why nobody wants to host this winter games, but I have a fairly simple explanation: Sochi, Russia. The most recent games were not bad from a spectator's perspective, sure, but if you're planning to host the Olympics, what you see is a country pouring billions of dollars into the games with very little long term benefit. One cannot blame people in other countries for not wanting that to happen in their backyard, nobody wants to see their city become bankrupt because of the expense of hosting a games. That means that public support dries up, and bids get withdrawn.
This has happened before, when nobody wanted to host the 1984 games apart from Los Angeles. Like before, the reluctance was largely caused by an extremely expensive games immediately before the selection process began - the 1976 Montreal games, specifically - and cities largely withdrew because they did not want that most recent boondoggle to be repeated at home. The 1984 games might not have been the best games in the world - boycotts saw to that - but they also were relatively cheap and actually managed to turn a profit. People remembered that the Olympics didn't have to be an overpriced disaster with half-finished facilities.
Memories are short though, so in the wake of a different overpriced disaster with half-finished facilities, we're again seeing a reluctance to host the games. The IOC isn't helping matters, since they're still acting like the most important organization in the world rather than someone who is suddenly incredibly unpopular, demanding things such as prioritized road lanes just for them. This isn't exactly going to endear them to a population that is already less than willing to host their party. If the IOC would learn modesty and not demand any perks at all, they might be able to get more cities on board.
The solution for the future of the Olympics is the same solution that presented itself in the 1980s, we need to have a games that is relatively inexpensive. Fewer big splashy new arenas, opening ceremonies that do not cost the same as your average blockbuster film, that kind of thing. Oslo was the perfect bid because Norway participates in everything, so facilities would exist and less would need to be built. It could result in a sensible games, which is what the Olympics need the next time around.
Of the two remaining bids, it's unlikely that Beijing would give a sensible games, since they did not do that when they were host in the summer. Almaty could pull it off, they have already said that their bid is going to have a relatively small budget. That is exactly what the Olympics needs, and if they can put together a good games for very little money, they could revive the whole Olympic movement. The problem with the games is that they have become more expensive than they're worth, so we need a host to prove they do not have to be.
