Robert Livingstone
{{For|the Canadian politician|Robert Livingstone Brackin}}{{Multiple issue|{{Like resume|date=May 2022}}{{Promotional tone|date=May 2022}}}}
{{Short description|Canadian producer and sport business journalist}}
{{Infobox writer
| image = Robert livingstone.jpg
| name = Robert Livingstone
| caption =
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario
| occupation = Producer, journalist
| nationality = Canadian
| website = {{URL|http://www.gamesbids.com}}
}}
Robert Livingstone is a Canadian journalist. He is the creator and producer of GamesBids, a news and information website for the Olympic Games bid process, since 1998. He is a member of the International Society of Olympic Historians and "is widely considered one of the world’s foremost experts on the Olympic bidding process."{{cite news |last1=Michael |first1=Tom |title=With Two Weeks to a Decision, Kazakh Olympic Hosting Bid Stands Strong |url=https://www.edgekz.com/with-two-weeks-to-a-decision-kazakh-olympic-hosting-bid-stands-strong/ |access-date=1 April 2022 |work=Edge Magazine}}{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Aaron |title=Chicago's Olympic bid: An expensive proposition |url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/09/30/news/economy/chicago_olympics_economics/index.htm?postversion=2009093008 |work=CNN Money}}
Covering the Olympic bid process
Livingstone's specialty is the Olympic Games' site selection process and he frequently comments in the media as a notable expert on the issues related to hosting of the Olympic Games by various cities.{{cite news |last1=Edwardson |first1=Lucie |title=Calgary now front-runner for 2026 Winter Olympics, says online bid tracker |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/olympic-bid-watcher-calgary-front-runner-1.4739520 |work=CBC News |publisher=CBC}}{{cite news |last1=Mclinden |first1=Amber |title=The race before the torch: How does Calgary stack up against other 2026 Olympic Games bid contenders? |url=https://calgaryjournal.ca/2018/09/13/the-race-before-the-torch-how-does-calgary-stack-up-against-other-2026-olympic-games-bid-contenders/ |work=Calgary Journal}}[http://www.suntimes.com/sports/olympics/419021,CST-NWS-oly08.article "Tokyo throws hat into ring for 2016 Olympic Games"]Chicago Sun-Times. June 8, 2007. Accessed July 3, 2008[http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/06/12/2005-06-12_o__shea_can_you_see_as_olymp.html "O, Shea Can You See As Olympics Plan B? Alternate sites are longshots to Games hopes"] New York Daily News, June 12, 2005. Accessed July 3, 2008
Robert Livingstone wrote a weekly op-ed column about New York's 2012 Olympic bid in the New York Sun newspaper.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nysun.com/authors/Robert+Livingstone|title=Robert Livingstone - Archive|website=The New York Sun}}
In 1998 he launched GamesBids.com, a reference site for Olympic bids as well as BidIndex,{{cite news |title=Olympics: Bid pundits say London is eroding Paris's lead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/sports/olympics-bid-pundits-say-london-is-eroding-pariss-lead.html |work=New York Times|date=11 May 2005 }} an original Olympic bid rating system. There, he also serves as senior journalist.
Since 2000, Livingstone has been said to have been "comprehensively covering all Olympic bids for over two decades".{{cite news |last1=Chan |first1=Kenneth |title=Daily Hive |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-2030-olympics-feasibility-progress|publisher=Daily Hive |date=2022-02-04}} He also covers bids for Commonwealth Games, FIFA World Cup, Pan American Games, Asian Games and more{{cite web |title= Robert Livingstone Archives|last1=Livingstone |first1=Robert |url=https://gamesbids.com/eng/author/rliving/ |website=GamesBids.com}} in both journalistic and opinion pieces.
Livingstone is an expert on all Olympic bids, but was noteworthy during the failed Calgary 2026 Olympic bid when he published his "Dear Calgary:" series{{cite web |last1=Livingstone |first1=Robert |title=Dear Calgary |url=https://gamesbids.com/eng/tag/dear-calgary/ |website=GamesBids.com}} that guided the city through the complexities of an Olympic bid prior to a decisive plebiscite. The series received media acclaim in Calgary along with several Q&A interviews.{{cite news |last1=Small |first1=Kaylen |title=Why insider says 2026 Olympics wouldn't have been good fit for Calgary |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/5426773/2026-olympics-host-italy-ioc-calgary-rob-livingstone/ |work=Global News Calgary |date=2019-06-25}}{{cite news |title='Calgary might be the only city left standing': A glimpse into Olympic bid politics |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-olympic-winter-games-bid-1.4174924 |publisher=Calgary Eyeopener}} Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi apparently took inspiration from Livingstone's remarks during his 2026 Olympic bid campaign when he said “This has been called the most transparent process in Olympic history.”{{cite news |title=The Mayor Cannot Be Leading It Anymore |url=https://www.sprawlcalgary.com/sprawlcast-slice-the-olympic-bid-lives-on-88ccc915de40|work=The Sprawl}} "The mayor was alluding to a tweet from GamesBids.com journalist Robert Livingstone, who covers Olympic bids worldwide" a journalist from The Sprawl reported.
As a long-time Olympic journalist, in 2014 Livingstone was invited to carry the torch in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics torch relay where he ran a leg in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.{{cite web |last1=Waterworth |first1=Ben |title=Robert Livingstone Interview |url=https://share.transistor.fm/s/2f5dac68 |website=Off The Podium - An Olympics Podcast |publisher=Transistor.FM }} In 2010, Livingstone became one of the first web-only journalists accredited to cover the Olympic Games.
Livingstone serves as a committee member of the Richmond Hill Sports Hall of Fame in Richmond Hill where he currently resides.{{cite web | url=https://www.richmondhill.ca/en/things-to-do/Sports-Hall-of-Fame.aspx#Committee | title=Sports Hall of Fame | date=8 May 2025 }}
Television, video, radio and podcasts
Livingstone appeared as an expert on the television show {{cite episode |title = Tarnished Gold | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/477632/tarnished-gold | series = Investigative Reports | network = A&E | air-date = 2000-09-14 | season = 10 | minutes = 60 }} to discuss the controversial Olympic bid vote-buying scandal involving Salt Lake City. He also appeared as an Olympic bid expert on show {{cite episode |title = De Sotchi à Pyeongchang | series = Les Grands Reportages | network = CBC/Radio-Canada | air-date = 2018-01-25 | minutes = 60 }} where he discussed issues with siting the Olympic Winter Games.
In 2021, Livingstone was featured in an Olympic-themed Off The Podium podcast which discussed his career included becoming one of the first-ever web-only journalists to receive accreditation to cover the Olympic Games and running in the Olympic torch relay at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Livingstone appeared in a CBC Sports Program "The Breakdown"{{cite web |last1=Strashin |first1=Jamie |title=The Breakdown |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG8q4RVD41I |website=Youtube |date=5 February 2022 |publisher=CBC Sports}} in 2022 that took a critical look at the history behind Beijing being awarded the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, a process that he extensively covered with multiple visits to China, Switzerland, Indonesia and Kazakhstan from 2013 to 2014.
Livingstone had also been a guest on several radio programs including in 2021 on the Scott Radley Show{{cite news |last1=Radley |first1=Scott |title=Scott Radley Show |url=https://omny.fm/shows/scott-radley-show/can-hamiltons-bid-secure-the-2030-commonwealth-gam |work=CHML Radio Hamilton |date=2021-09-27}} in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to discuss the city's Commonwealth Games bid.
Awards
In 2015, Livingstone was nominated for an inaugural International Sports Press Association Sport Media Pearl Award in the category of Journalistic Weblog for his work on GamesBids.com.[https://www.sportmediapearlawards.com/nominees Sport Media Pearl Awards Website - Nominations List]{{Cite web|url=https://gamesbids.com/eng/other-news/gamesbids-com-producer-nominated-for-aips-sport-media-pearl-award/|title=GamesBids.com Producer Nominated For AIPS Sport Media Pearl Award|first=G. B.|last=Staff|date=November 4, 2015}} In 2018 he was ranked first in North and South America.{{Cite web|url=https://aipsawards.com/single-news?id=67|title=AIPS Sport Media Awards: The Top 10 finalists|website=aipsawards.com}} He finished on the podium for the first time on May 13, 2025 placing third for Best Column in the 2024 edition, writing about sports politics surrounding Olympic cricket. {{Cite web |title=A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams: AIPS Sport Media Awards honour top journalists of the year in special ceremony in Rabat |url=https://www.aipsawards.com/single-news?id=20457 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.aipsawards.com |language=en}}