The first of a two part series examining the concept of a bi-national Olympic bid between the Western New York region and Southeast Ontario was recently published by Saving Cities. This first segment looks at the attractiveness of the region as hosts for the Summer Olympics, as well as the affordances a bid could offer the region.  The second part looks at why this bi-national bid may not work out.  As one security expert phrased it – “it’s an effing logistical nightmare.”  Another expert estimates that there are no less than 7 agencies on each side working on security and border regulation, let alone the other logistics to be worked out.  (Spoiler, it would still be a huge economic boost for the area to at least put the bid in.)

Unfortunately neither segment allowed for daydreaming about the closing ceremony.  London set a pretty high standard, and how would the Eastern part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis (you knew I was going to work that in somehow, right?) compare. First, in the Battle of the Annies, advantage UK.  Annie DiFranco has done amazing things for Western New York and her music is not bad, but she is no Annie Lennox – UNAids Ambassador, Oscar Winning, OBE granted Annie Lennox.  The rest of the field is almost a conditional let.  Consider that the population of the UK is roughly 65 million people, and TO to WNY offers a population less than a 10th of that.  So putting a line up of (in no particular order): Brian McKnight, Kim Gordon, Foreigner, Goo Goo Dolls, The Barenaked Ladies, 10000 Maniacs and The Tragically Hip, with nods to Rick James, Harold Arlen and Cab Calloway against One Direction, The Spice Girls (video below), the Kaiser Chiefs, an Oasis Coverband, Queen, the Who and Madness as well as Her Annieness doesn’t seem too shabby.

The complete lineup for the London 2012 closing ceremonies can be found here, and Spotify has a playlist, ‘course.

Now if someone could only explain why the UK competed under the guise of “England” when it fielded teams composed from all part of the Empire (Wales, Scotland, N. Ireland and England) that’d dandy.