Talk Elections

The second stage of City-Off is here, as fifteen groups of four, comprised of the winners of regional head-to-head battles, compete tfor a place on the final list. Two from each group will progress, and two will be eliminated.

GROUP 1:

Guatemala City, Guatemala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala_City)
()

Frankfurt, Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt)
()

Alexandria, Egypt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria)
()

Melbourne, Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

I'm a Melburnian and I think you all know how much I love my home town. It truly is a beautiful and interesting city, and I happily give it three points.

Whilst I'm sure Guatemala City would also be worth visiting, and Frankfurt would be a wonderful place to visit or live, my one point vote goes to Alexandria, partly for it's history and partly because it seems like (when safe...) it has a nice vibe.

Alexandria gets three.

I think I'll give Guatemala city the other one.

3 Alexandria
1 Melbourne

3 Frankfurt
1 Guatemala City

3 Frankfurt
1 Alexandria

3 Guatemala City
1 Melbourne

Haven't been to Melbourne (I heard good things from Hughento tough) and I only went to the Frankfurt airport.

On the other hand Alexandria is great in many ways and I enjoyed my time in Guatemala city, so...

3 for Guatemala City
1 for Alexandria

You're all horrible people.

9 Alexandria
8 Guatemala City
-------
6 Frankfurt
5 Melbourne

Frankfurt and Melbourne are eliminated, as Alexandria and Guatemala City move on to the top 30.

GROUP 2:

New York City, USA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City)
()

Budapest, Hungary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest)
()

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riyadh)
()

Mumbai, India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 New York City, USA

1 Budapest, Hungary

3 Budapest
1 NY

3 New York City
1 Budapest

Easy one

3 for Budapest
1 for NYC

8 New York City
8 Budapest
--------------
0 Riyadh
0 Mumbai

GROUP 3:

Washington, USA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.)
()

Berlin, Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin)
()

Casablanca, Morocco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca)
()

Osaka, Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3: Berlin
1: Tough choice, all three would be interesting to visit, and tolerable to live in. I'm giving the point to Washington, though.

3 Berlin
1 Osaka

3 Washington
1 Berlin

3 Casablanca
1 Osaka

Though one, because I think Washington should reach the next round. But so should Casablanca and Berlin.

I'll go with the 2 cities I actually visited and enjoyed.

3 for Casablanca
1 for Berlin

8 Berlin
6 Casablanca
---------
4 Washington
2 Osaka

GROUP 4:

Lima, Peru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima)
()

Rome, Italy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome)
()

Nairobi, Kenya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi)
()

Jakarta, Indonesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

One of the weaker groups for me. Certainly don't think any of them will win the competition.

3 for Lima because I liked the south of Peru.
1 for Nairobi 'cos Rome will go through anyway and I'd love to visit Kenya some time, even if not particularly the capital.

3 Lima
1 for Nairobi

3 Rome
1 Nairobi

Another one pretty easy for me.

3 for Rome
1 for Lima

7 Lima
6 Rome
------
3 Nairobi
0 Jakarta

GROUP 5:

Mexico City, Mexico (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_City)
()

Moscow, Russia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow)
()

Beirut, Lebanon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut)
()

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_penh)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 Mexico City
1 Moscow

3 Moscow
1 Phnom Penh

3 for Phnom Penh
1 for Moscow

6 Mexico City
6 Moscow
---------
4 Phnom Penh
0 Nairobi

6 Mexico City
6 Moscow
---------
4 Phnom Penh
0 Beirut

GROUP 6:

Bogota, Colombia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogot%C3%A1)
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St. Petersburg, Russia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_petersburg)
()

Amman, Jordan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amman)
()

New Delhi, India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_delhi)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 Bogota
1 St. Petersburg

3 St Petersburg
1 New Delhi

Haven't been to New Delhi, but I can't imagine an indian city where I would like to live.

I've been to Jordan in January and Amman was the low point of the trip, the city is extremely ugly.

On the other hand Bogotá was nice and St Petersburg is one of my favorite cities so this one is again easy.

3 for St Petersburg
1 for Bogotá

3. St. Petersburg
1. New Delhi

11 St. Petersburg
7 Bogota
---------
2 New Delhi
0 Amman

GROUP 7:

Buenos Aires, Argentina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires)
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Vienna, Austria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna)
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Cape Town, South Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_town)
()

Auckland, New Zealand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

Terribly difficult round.

As much as I love New Zealand, and if this was between the countries it would get at least a point, Auckland itself isn't really particularly interesting to me.

Cape Town would be an excellent place to visit, or live, I'm sure. Beautiful topography, interesting history, nice location, and a dash of cultural similarity alongside plenty of difference. But the other two are two of the best in the world.

Vienna. Looks beautiful. Constantly up there with Melbourne and Vancouver in the liveability stakes. Only city other than Melbourne with good coffee, apparently. Beautiful architecture, throbbing with history, and barely acceptable climate. 1 point.

3 points for Buenos Aires. I love this city, and can't wait to get back there. Even if the footpaths are an absolute disgrace...

3 for Vienna
1 for Good Air

Edu will correct me, I'm sure, but it's more "Fair winds" than "Good air".

Very difficult choice indeed.
I'm sorry for Cape Town, but:

3 Vienna
1 Buenos Aires

3 Cape Town
1 Auckland

Sorry for Cape Town (which I liked very much), but this is also a no contest for me

3 for Buenos Aires (best city in the world I might add ;D)
1 for Vienna


Yeah, I think Fair Winds is the accepted translation. Of course I had to look up in Wikipedia why the city was named like that, and apparently it is the modified name of some saint from Cagliari :P
Though I found this "When the Aragonese conquered Cagliari, Sardinia from the Pisans in 1324, they established their headquarters on top of a hill that overlooked the city. The hill was known to them as Buen Ayre (or "Bonaria" in the local language), as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city (the Castle area), which is adjacent to swampland." So maybe Good Air is not so far off after all.

Lol, yeah, I didn't know why my city was called this way, so sue me ;D

3 Cape Town
1 Buenos Aires

9 Buenos Aires
8 Vienna
---------------
6 Cape Town
1 Auckland

GROUP 8:

Havana, Cuba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana)
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Prague, Czech Republic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague)
()

Jerusalem, Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem)
()

Taipei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 Prague, 1 Jerusalem

This is a tough on. Jerusalem, Havana and Prague are all among the worlds most beautiful cities. But Ill try to go against the coming pro-Prague tide and vote for crumbling Old Havana (and ignore the suburbs...).

Havana 3
Jerusalem 1

No doubt: History must prevail here.

Haven't been to Havana or Taipei.

Obviously Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and Jerusalem is very nice which it's amplified by it's great history. So this is easy.

3 for Jerusalem
1 for Prague

3 Havana
1 Prague

3 Havana
1 Taipei

I'm Cuban, so...

3 for Jerusalem
1 for Prague

16 Jerusalem
14 Prague
--------
9 Havana
1 Taipei

GROUP 9:

Boston, USA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston)
()

London, UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London)
()

Baghdad, Iraq (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad)
()

Hong Kong, China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 London
1 Hong Kong

3 Hong Kong
1 London

3 Baghdad
1 Boston

3 London
1 Hong Kong

3 London
1 Boston

3 London
1 Hong Kong

London is great, good that it's getting to the next round easily ;D

3 for Baghdad
1 for London

15 London
9 Hong Kong
---------
6 Baghdad
2 Boston

Group 10:

Santiago, Chile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago)
()

Stockholm, Sweden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm)
()

Johannesburg, South Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg)
()

Kyoto, Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

I love Santiago, and can't wait to get back - an easy 3 points for me.

1 point to Johannesburg, I'd like to visit all three and probably prefer to live in Stockholm, but Joburg, despite it's many problems, has an appeal.

Santiago 3
Stockholm 1

3 Stockholm
1 Kyoto

Never been to Kyoto and Johannesburg is nice, but Santiago and Stockholm are beautiful.

3 for Santiago
1 for Stockholm

12 Santiago
12 Stockholm
------------
3 Kyoto
1 Johannesburg

GROUP 11:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro)
()

Dublin, Ireland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin)
()

Lagos, Nigeria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos)
()

Beijing, China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 to Rio, 1 to Lagos.

Lagos is a truly horrible place, dunno why anyone would vote for that hellhole. I am sure Rio will have plenty of fans, so Ill give my three points to Dublin.

Dublin 3
Rio de Janeiro 1

3 Beijing
1 Rio

3 to Beijing
1 to Dublin

3 Rio
1 Dublin

3 to Rio
1 to Dublin

Unlike Beijing or Lagos, I've actually been to Dublin and Rio and they are both great cities. No reason not to vote for them. Even though I'm sure Beijing is pretty amazing too.

3 for Dublin
1 for Rio

12 Rio de Janeiro
9 Dublin
-------
6 Beijing
1 Lagos

GROUP 12:

Chicago, United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago)
()

Madrid, Spain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid)
()

Dakar, Senegal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakar)
()

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpur)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

For me the three is easy, one of my top holiday destinations, Chicago. Me+Architectural guidebook+a week=lovely.

1 point for Madrid.

3 Chicago
1 Kuala Lumpur

3 Dakar
1 Madrid

3 Madrid
1 Dakar

I might change my vote if Dakar gets in trouble. Its one of the most interesting African cities.

3 for Kuala Lumpur
1 for Dakar

3 Madrid
1 Chicago

An old debate: can we change our vote after others have voted ?
In my survivors, it's borbidden, now (except for a mistake) ;)

I used to be a zero-edit kinda guy, now I'm happy to give, say, 15 minutes leeway.

8 Madrid
7 Chicago
------------
5 Dakar
4 Kuala Lumpur

GROUP 13:

Caracas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracas)
()

Copenhagen, Denmark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen)
()

Mecca, Saudi Arabia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca)
()

Bangkok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krung_Thep)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

Copenhagen 3
Caracas 1

Mmmm... very difficult between Mecca, Bangkok and Copenhagen... Let's say

3 Mecca
1 Copenhagen

3 Bangkok
1 Mecca

Update the title of your thread, hughento: maybe some people don't come and vote because they think we are still stuck to group 11 ;)

Time's up on this group anyway, so I'll cast my vote and move on and not make the same mistake with the next group :)

3 points for Bangkok
1 point for Copenhagen

Just to get Mecca out. The way the Saudis have treated it is foul.

6 Bangkok
5 Copenhagen
----------
4 Mecca
1 Caracas

GROUP 14

Sao Paulo, Brazil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo)
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Istanbul, Turkey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul)
()

Tel Aviv, Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Aviv)
()

Tokyo, Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 Istanbul
1 Tel Aviv

Give peace a chance.

3 Istanbul (one of the worlds most interesting cities)
1 Tokyo

I agree with politicus vote, but we must be tactical:

3 Tokyo
1 Istanbul

3 Tokyo
1 Istanbul

For the same reasons as big bad fab

I didn't like Tel Aviv one bit, unlike the rest of Israel. The city is not the most beautiful but it's not really ugly.
On the other hand I had a good time in Sao Paulo, but the city is pretty f**king horrible.

Istanbul was both great and beautiful, and since I can't decide between the other two cities mentioned above I'll go with Tokyo, which looks interesting enough.

3 for Tokyo
1 for Istanbul

3 Istanbul
1 Tokyo

12 Istanbul
11 Tokyo
------
1 Tel Aviv
0 Sao Paulo

GROUP 15

Cusco, Peru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cusco)
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Paris, France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris)
()

Damascus, Syria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus)
()

Sydney, Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney)
()

Give three points to one city, and one point to a second city, that you like. The two cities with the least points will be eliminated. Voting will remain open for at least 24 hours.

3 Paris
1 Cuzco

I think our final group is the toughest yet!

3 points to Sydney, so that every continent will be represented in the final stage, and because it really is a beautiful city. Probably the city with the best placement in nature terms in the world.

1 point to...the oldest city on earth? The grand Paris? The Incan mystical capital up in the Andes? Incredibly hard choice, but I think I'll have to go with Paris.

3 Cuzco
1 Paris

3 Cuzco
1 Sydney

3 Paris

(I often vote against France and French in survivors - very often, in fact :P - but in the "City-Off", well, Paris deserves to be very, very, very high)

1 Sydney

(well, it's quite hard, but, as I don't want to see Cuzco making it, I should support Sydney over Damascus)

What do you have against Cuzco, Fab? it's a wonderful city.

3 for Cuzco
1 for Paris

3 Damascus
1 Paris

This really is a crazy round. Its:

10 Cuzco
10 Paris
5 Sydney
3 Damascus

Kinda regret I didn't give my three points to Sydney. Its a wonderful city and my favourite metropolis. I just thought it would be safe anyway and Cuzco is a great place for a history buff like me (so is Damascus for that matter). Hope some Sydney fans show up and safe it.
Anyway those four cities are all among the worlds 20 most interesting cities IMO.

10 Cusco
10 Paris
--------
5 Sydney
3 Damascus