"The same group of athletes who participated in the Olympics last year were handed over to you, and with their help, it should be easier to set up a sports department." Arthur thought for a moment and continued to add.

Minister Grant was also relieved to hear this. After all, it is not easy to build a sports system out of thin air in two years, let alone directly on a world stage such as the Olympic Games.

With the athlete base of Australasia participating in the Olympics last year, at least we can train athletes more quickly and quickly, and then support the number and scale of athletes.

As for sports medals, these athletes who have been training for another four years should be able to gain something, right?

"If Australasia's sport is doing well, then the government should consider building a sports department. Minister Grant, I'm allowing you to nominate a candidate for the Minister of Sports in the future, but only if you build Australasian sport and at least achieve some results in the future Olympics, understand? Arthur looked at Grant Bu with a little deep meaning and said with a smile.

When Minister Grant heard this, he immediately nodded and said reassuringly, "I understand, Your Majesty." Please rest assured, before the Olympic Games, I will try to train at least a few hundred athletes for my country to participate in the Olympic Games, so that our Olympic Games will be as large as the previous London Olympics. ”

Arthur nodded, motioning for Minister Grant to do it.

The Foreign Office moved quickly, perhaps because of the good relations with Australasia, and Germany did not hide its attitude, as Minister Andrew said that Germany would give up the right to host the next Olympic Games.

Minister Andrew also took advantage of the situation to make a request, in view of the good relations between Germany and Australasia, after consulting Wilhelm II, the German government and the sports department agreed to Australasia's request, and publicly declared a few days before Christmas that Germany would give up the right to host the next Olympic Games, and explicitly and implicitly stated that Australasia was suitable to be the host country of the Games.

I have to say that the faces of the great powers are indeed quite big.

The day before Christmas, the IOC sent a telegram from the Australasian government asking if Australasia was willing to transfer the hosting of the Olympic Games from Germany to Australasia if it could build a stadium with a capacity of at least 40,000 people, and if the Games were fully publicized and more countries were invited.

Because Australasia does not have a sports department, the IOC's inquiry cable was sent directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As soon as Foreign Secretary Andrew received the telegram, he immediately asked Arthur for instructions.

As for the IOC's conditions, Arthur agreed without even thinking about it.

After all, sports have been valued by countries around the world, and the development of sports in Australasia is also the trend of the times.

Regardless of whether the Olympics can be held or not, it is necessary to build a new large-scale stadium that can accommodate tens of thousands of people.

After all, for some European immigrants who like sports, the popularity of various sports may also be one of the reasons why they choose to immigrate.

And the rest of the conditions for vigorously promoting and inviting other countries, this is what any country hosting the Olympics will do, and will do with all its might.

After all, the Olympics are certainly not held in any country for the common good, and the politicians and aristocrats of this era do not have this ideological awareness.

In addition to the strong demand of the people, the country's hosting of the Olympic Games is more of a demand for the expansion of national interests and external influence.

After a wonderful Christmas with my family, the day after Christmas, the IOC's reply telegram arrived.

They congratulated Australasia on winning the right to host the 1912 Olympic Games, and said that after the announcement, the IOC would send a team to Australasia to help Australasia build the venues and prepare for the Olympic Games in two and a half years, and to supervise the construction of the venues in Australasia, after all, the hosting of the Olympic Games is also related to the prestige and status of the IOC.

A successful Olympic Games can not only greatly enhance the prestige and status of the host country, but also greatly enhance the influence and status of the International Olympic Committee.

This also equates to the current Australasia and the IOC in the same boat. If the Olympics are not held well, not only will Australasia's prestige suffer, but countries around the world will gradually look down on the Olympics.

But if this Olympic Games are held well, not only Australasia's external influence and international status will be greatly improved, but also the influence of the International Olympic Committee will be greatly improved.

Of course, the arrival of the IOC actually has a more important purpose, that is, to negotiate with the host country on the specific events of the next Olympic Games.

Even in future editions, the host country will be given the privilege to decide whether or not to host a small number of sports.

This also means that the host country in later generations will be able to hold some projects that its own country is better at, and cancel some projects that other countries are good at.

Of course, this privilege is even more pronounced in this era. For example, the 1912 Olympics in Sweden eliminated events such as boxing, free wrestling, weightlifting, hockey and archery on the grounds that these sports were unhealthy, prone to injuries and not widely practiced.

Although the reason seems formal, the specific reason for the cancellation may only be known to the host country and the IOC at the time.

However, this kind of regulation is basically tacit, after all, if a country spends a lot of money and manpower to host an Olympic Games, and the national committee does not make some concessions, who wants to waste time?

Arthur is also not very ambitious, and on dozens of Olympic sports, he can cancel five events that Australasia is not good at, and then replace them with sports that domestic athletes are good at.

As for the rest of the rules for the Games, officials can discuss them with the State Transport Commission.

As long as it does not harm the interests of Australasia, some appropriate concessions are acceptable.

After all, Arthur's main purpose was to use the Olympics to increase Australasia's influence.

If many countries are reluctant to participate because the changes are too large, it will be a bit more than worth the cost.

According to Arthur's memory, the 1912 Olympic Games used auxiliary electronic timing and finish camera in many events, which greatly improved the accuracy of time and solved some disputes over the ranking of the finish line.

These improvements are significant for the sport and, if possible, could be seen at the Olympic Games in Australasia.

Since the telegram could only be used for a brief period of communication, Minister Grant agreed with the IOC to wait for the other party to arrive in Australasia for a detailed communication.

But it is still necessary to publicly declare that the change of hosting rights is necessary, and Secretary Grant is even ready to warm up for the Olympics now.

At the end of December, just after Christmas, the International Olympic Committee publicly announced that because of Germany's voluntary cancellation of the right to host the Olympic Games, the Olympic Committee decided to transfer the right to host the Olympic Games to Australasia in accordance with Germany's wishes.

The Fifth Olympic Games will be held in Australasia from May to July 1912 in Sydney, the capital of Australasia.

At this time, the influence of the IOC was already quite large, so after the IOC issued an official statement, many people, sports organizations and countries have officially taken note of the Olympic Games.

The Olympics have evolved into a form of peaceful struggle for some countries, and sports have gradually gained political influence.

To put it simply, if Great Britain and Germany were to compete in the Olympics together, athletes from both countries would naturally become competitors and enemies.

There is only one reason, and that is that their country is in a state of competition, and the level of competition is exaggerated.

Even if they themselves are friendly to each other, they will have to go to the opposite side under the pressure of public opinion from the domestic and foreign media and the expectations of the domestic public.

If they lose on such a big occasion, it will not only lose their people, but also the media and people who support them behind them.

Peaceful competition in sport can also evolve into a political struggle and a struggle for national dignity.

Immediately after the IOC's public announcement, Arthur convened a cabinet to come up with a plan for the construction of the stadium as soon as possible, and asked the Ministry of Finance to prepare sufficient funds.

The construction of stadiums is not destined to be a small investment, coupled with a lot of publicity at home and abroad, as well as the reception of athletes and organizations from other countries, as well as the holding of the Olympic Games, the awarding of medals and the procurement of equipment, etc., it is destined that the Olympic Games will cost a lot of money.

Arthur also has a certain demand for the scale of the stadium construction, which must meet the maximum capacity of 45,000 people at least, and ensure that the use of the stadium can be maintained for at least tens or even hundreds of years.

Arthur didn't want the stadium he had worked so hard to build become a dangerous building in just a short period of time, especially when it was about the country's prestige.

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(End of chapter)