GamesBids

GamesBids.com launched July 27, 1998 as Torontosummergames.com, and was published to follow the bid by the city of Toronto to organize the Games of the XXIXth Olympiad in 2008. After Beijing was eventually elected to host the Olympic Games, the site continued to operate, generally addressing and analysing the overall Olympic bid business. Having launched in 1998, GamesBids.com was on the leading edge of publishing original news online. The site has been the source of some key exclusives including the leaking of the official Beijing 2008 Olympic Games logo and providing information before it was due to be released to the public.[1] The logo was leaked ahead of a planned unveiling of the coveted brand that had been delayed by the SARS epidemic, and the website received international criticism for the publication.

GamesBids
Available inEnglish
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario,
Canada
Founder(s)Robert Livingstone
URLwww.gamesbids.com
LaunchedJuly 27, 1998

Many international websites, newspapers, and news stations have mentioned Gamesbids in connection to the Olympic Movement, for instance the International Herald Tribune [2] and The New York Times that wrote "GamesBids.com, an influential, independent Web site based in Canada that looks at the business of the bidding process."[3]

As an English-language publication, GamesBids.com is frequently referenced as a key source by mainstream and specialty media across the United States and Canada and was particularly influential during campaigns by Chicago[4][5] to host the 2016 Games and New York to host in 2012.[6] In 2020, GamesBids.com created headlines across India when it received official clarification from the International Olympic Committee that India remained in the running for the 2032 Olympics after the IOC Vice President said the nation was out of the running.[7]

GamesBids.com is also well-respected by key industry insiders. Baku 2020 Olympic bid chief Konul Nurullayeva said "GamesBids is one of the most influential websites that disseminate information about the preparation for the Olympics, the election process and the candidate-cities."[8]

Olympics critic, activist and author Helen Jefferson Lenskyj wrote that GamesBids.com is "a good source for bid committees but of limited use to critics" in her book Lenskyj, Helen Jefferson (15 April 2020). The Olympic Games A Critical Approach. p. 25. ISBN 9781838677732.. GamesBids.com however regularly covers Olympic Games and events live and on-site and is used as a source for other publications that are not on the scene. In 2015 GamesBids.com provided exclusive coverage of the Tibetan protests of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games bid in Lausanne[9] The website is referenced by Olympic authors and textbooks.

In 2010 GamesBids.com became one of the first web-only publications to receive official Olympic Games accreditation, to cover the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.[10] Such access had only been typically granted to print or broadcast media outlets. In 2013 GamesBids.com was given a rare accreditation to report from Turkmenistan, a country that does not issue journalist visas [11] GamesBids.com has interviewed many prominent figures connected with sport, politics and royalty. In 2019 the website had a rare exclusive interview with Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden during the Stockholm 2026 Olympic bid campaign.[12]

Awards and nominations

In 2015, GamesBids.com was nominated for an inaugural International Sports Press Association Sport Media Pearl Award in the category of "Journalistic Weblog".[13][14] In 2018, GamesBids.com was ranked first in North and South America.[15]

Year Award Category Journalist Result
2015AIPS Sport Media Pearl AwardsBest Journalistic Weblog[16]Robert LivingstoneShortlisted
2018AIPS Sport Media AwardsBest Journalistic Weblog[15]Robert Livingstone5th
2021AIPS Sport Media AwardsBest Column[17]Robert LivingstoneShortlisted

BidIndex

The site publishes and regularly updates the BidIndex, an Olympic bid rating system in which the relative strength of the different bids and their chances of succeeding is measured. The BidIndex was correct when it predicted Beijing, though wrong with Vancouver, London and Sochi. The prediction model is further enhanced after each bid. BidIndex has accurately predicted the last four elected host cities, including Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Pyeongchang for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[18]

2022 BidIndex

BidIndex for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which normally is issued during the early days of the application phase, have been delayed due to the volatility of the field of contestants.[19] It was eventually announced on 21 July 2015, ten days before the host city election.[20]

Date Almaty Beijing
21 Jul 2015 56.44 57.01

BidIndex History

Cities are sorted by final BidIndex score for each Games. Only cities who progressed to the voting stage are shown. The final BidIndex scores are published before the election night, and therefore does not take into account factors such as the quality of each candidate city's final presentations.

Games City Final BidIndex Score Voting Outcome R1 R2 R3 R4
2022 Winter Olympics Beijing 57.01 Won 45
Almaty 56.44 Eliminated in Round 1 40
2020 Summer Olympics Tokyo 62.14 Won 42 - 60
Istanbul 61.45 Eliminated in Round 3 26 49 36
Madrid 58.76 Eliminated in Round 2 26 45 -
2018 Winter Olympics Pyeongchang 66.17 Won 63
Munich 65.83 Eliminated in Round 1 25
Annecy 54.86 Eliminated in Round 1 7
2016 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro 61.42 Won 26 46 66
Chicago 61.24 Eliminated in Round 1 18 - -
Tokyo 59.02 Eliminated in Round 2 22 20 -
Madrid 57.80 Eliminated in Round 3 28 29 32
2014 Winter Olympics Pyeongchang 64.99 Eliminated in Round 2 36 47
Sochi 63.17 Won 34 51
Salzburg 62.62 Eliminated in Round 1 25 -
2012 Summer Olympics Paris 66.18 Eliminated in Round 4 21 25 33 50
London 65.07 Won 22 27 39 54
Madrid 61.22 Eliminated in Round 3 20 32 31 -
New York 57.59 Eliminated in Round 2 19 16 - -
Moscow 49.58 Eliminated in Round 1 15 - - -
2010 Winter Olympics Salzburg 66.82 Eliminated in Round 1 16 -
Vancouver 65.31 Won 40 56
Pyeongchang 60.05 Eliminated in Round 2 51 53
2008 Summer Olympics Beijing 75.44 Won 44 56
Toronto 63.79 Eliminated in Round 2 20 22
Paris 58.71 Eliminated in Round 2 15 18
Istanbul 53.94 Eliminated in Round 2 17 9
Osaka 53.81 Eliminated in Round 1 6 -

Past Olympic Host Election Results

GamesBids has curated and publishes a comprehensive list of past Olympic Host election results[21] that documents bid cities, IOC Sessions, locations and dates of elections, round-by-round vote counts and other notes for all past Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games and Youth Olympic Games. This information is not compiled elsewhere, including on the International Olympic Committee website.

Founding

GamesBids.com was founded in 1998 [22] as an Olympic bid news and information web site created in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by Robert Livingstone.

References
  1. Sports Business Journal. "Toronto Web Site Unveils Beijing 2008 Logo In Advance". Retrieved 2022-02-15. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. "Olympics: Bid pundits say London is eroding Paris's lead". International Herald Tribune. Reuters. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
  3. Macur, Juliet. "Chicago 2016 Offers the I.O.C. a Compact Games Plan". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  4. Andrew Stern. "2016 Games a toss-up, tracking websites suggest". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  5. Steve Rhodes. "No Medal for Chicago's 2016 Olympic Bid". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  6. Katie Thomas. "No Clear Leader in Early Evaluation of 2016 Olympic Bids". New York Times. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  7. "IOA denies International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates claim on 2032 games". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  8. Nurullayeva, Konul. "Baku leads in survey of international information portal to host the Olympics in 2020". Trend.az. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  9. Robert Livingstone. "Tibetan Protesters Interrupt Beijing 2022 Presentation In Lausanne". GamesBids.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  10. Ben Waterworth (2021-09-28). "Off The Podium - An Olympics Podcast" (Podcast). Off the Podium. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  11. Robert Livingstone. "Reclusive Turkmenistan Opens Doors; Begins Construction of Olympic Dreams". GamesBids.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  12. Robert Livingstone. "Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria Says Stockholm Åre 2026 Olympic Bid Can Deliver Exactly What The IOC Asks". GamesBids.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  13. Sport Media Pearl Awards Website - Nominations List
  14. Staff, G. B. (November 4, 2015). "GamesBids.com Producer Nominated For AIPS Sport Media Pearl Award".
  15. "AIPS Sport Media Awards: The Top 10 Rankings Americas". aipsawards.com.
  16. Sport Media Pearl Awards Website - Nominations List Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  17. "Writing - Best Column". AIPS Awards. AIPS. Retrieved 1 Apr 2022.
  18. GamesBids.com - BidIndex - 2015-07-31
  19. GamesBids.com - IOC To Shortlist 2022 Olympic Winter Games Candidates Monday - What to Expect - 2014-07-11
  20. GamesBids.com - BidIndex: Beijing Has Slight Edge Over Almaty In 2022 Olympic Bid - 2015-07-21
  21. "Past Olympic Host Election Results". GamesBids.com.
  22. About GB - GamesBids.com
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