Mention of the possibility of the 2020 Olympics being delayed/cancelled got me thinking:
What if the 1916 Olympics were scheduled for Cleveland, Ohio instead of Berlin. Cleveland was a contending city. (I'm assuming that butterflies have minimal effect on the war.)
Would they be cancelled on account of the war? If so, when would the cancellation be declared?
If they were held, would any of the belligerents come? Canada almost certainly would.
Would the USA take steps to make sure that athletes could cross the ocean safely--perhaps American liners, brightly lit up with well publicized schedules, with a symbolic escort--an obsolescent predreadnought or armored cruiser. Would anyone want to sink one of the liners, and incur the ire of the USA?
If they did go on, and nations from both sides showed up, what a den of intrigue! (And what an opportunity for some thoroughly deniable diplomacy.)
I could see a great A/H spy/intrigue tale here, or even an old fashioned mystery . "Who killed the British equestrian entry's prized stallion? And why did the Cleveland officer patroling the Olympic village wind up dead? Are there Wobblys in the restaurant staff?"
Even if few or no warring powers show up, there's still plenty of room for funny business. If Italy was, for some reason, still on the fence, the diplomacy just got even higher stakes...
I lack the time or skills to do something like this, at least currently--if someone wants to run with it, I'd love to see it.
Any potential here?
What if the 1916 Olympics were scheduled for Cleveland, Ohio instead of Berlin. Cleveland was a contending city. (I'm assuming that butterflies have minimal effect on the war.)
Would they be cancelled on account of the war? If so, when would the cancellation be declared?
If they were held, would any of the belligerents come? Canada almost certainly would.
Would the USA take steps to make sure that athletes could cross the ocean safely--perhaps American liners, brightly lit up with well publicized schedules, with a symbolic escort--an obsolescent predreadnought or armored cruiser. Would anyone want to sink one of the liners, and incur the ire of the USA?
If they did go on, and nations from both sides showed up, what a den of intrigue! (And what an opportunity for some thoroughly deniable diplomacy.)
I could see a great A/H spy/intrigue tale here, or even an old fashioned mystery . "Who killed the British equestrian entry's prized stallion? And why did the Cleveland officer patroling the Olympic village wind up dead? Are there Wobblys in the restaurant staff?"
Even if few or no warring powers show up, there's still plenty of room for funny business. If Italy was, for some reason, still on the fence, the diplomacy just got even higher stakes...
I lack the time or skills to do something like this, at least currently--if someone wants to run with it, I'd love to see it.
Any potential here?
