The Olympics have weathered world wars, boycotts and corruption scandals. These days, the IOC has a new crisis on its hands: Finding cities willing to host the games.
The troubled race for the 2022 Winter Olympics is a case in point. High costs and internal political opposition prevented several potential contenders from bidding. Two candidate cities withdrew and two others could still drop out.
The way things are going, the winner could be decided next year by default. Take the games, please.
"I have not seen anything like this before," senior Norwegian IOC member Gerhard Heiberg said. "This is urgent. We need to sit down and discuss what is going on. We are at a crossroads here."
It's a challenge the International Olympic Committee and new President Thomas Bach need to resolve quickly to ensure the long-term viability of the world's most prized sportsevent.
Changes to the bidding process and efforts to reduce the cost of the games are among the key issues being addressed by the IOC as part of Bach's "Agenda 2020," his blueprint for the future of the Olympic movement that will be voted on in December. Watching closely are countries and cities considering whether to bid for the even bigger and more expensive Summer Olympics of 2024.
The financial burden is worrying potential host cities. Specifically, the $51 billion price tag associated with February's Winter Olympics in Sochi. Olympic officials say most of that huge sum went to long-term projects and that the operations costs of the Olympics were no higher than previous games.
No matter. The public perception is that the games cost too much. Concerns over Rio de Janeiro's delayed preparations for the 2016 Olympics have further dampened enthusiasm for hosting the games.