In a move that should prompt high-level discussions in Galway and Limerick, not to mind Dublin and Cork, Tulsa are making a bid to host the 2024 Olympics. The 'Oil capital of the world' is just the 45th largest city in the United States with a population of 393,000. It isn't even the biggest city in the state of Oklahoma. That hasn't deterred Jennifer Jones of the Tulsa 2024 bid committee who describes her city as more authentic than commercialised cesspits like Los Angeles. Sort of. “The larger cities aren’t truly representative of what the real America is,” . “The real America is the midsize cities, and we want people to see America.”
Tulsa is not quite a famous sporting city although the city has embraced the W.N.B.A. team, the 'Shock', as well as hosting several major golf tournaments and the Bassmaster Classic, an elite fishing competition. The city's signature landmark is the Golden Driller, a 76-foot-tall oil worker with cheese-color skin and a giant belt buckle who looks a superhero. Tulsa faces competition from other American cities to reach the finals of the bidding process, but the plan to locate the main media centre sitting at the feet of the 'Driller' and to have Olympic medals hanging from its sizable neck will surely tip the scales in favour of the Oklahoma city. The only remaining issue for Tulsa is finding a place to host water polo which has so far proved elusive.
(H/T Metro and New York Times)
