18 replies to this topic

[RobH]

Quote

Greece's hosting of the 2004 Athens Olympics contributed to the country's massive debt, the head of the International Olympic Commitee Jacques Rogge told a Greek daily newspaper Tuesday.

“You can fairly say that the 2004 Games played their part. If you look at the external debt of Greece, there could be up to 2 to 3 per cent of that which could be attributed to the Games,” Rogge told the Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini.

“It could have been staged at a much lower cost, as there were delays that rendered double shifts necessary, and having people work at night does cost more,” Rogge said.

Rogge, who was in Athens earlier this month for the lightening ceremony for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, also said that the post-Game utilization of the installations should have been prepared better.

Greece is heading for its worst-ever recession this year, with the contraction in the eurozone member to exceed a previously forecast 5.5 per cent.

Athens is negotiating the details of a second, 130-billion-euro (174-billion-dollar) rescue loan deal agreed to in October, which includes provisions to write off 50 per cent of the value of Greek bonds held by private creditors.

Greece received a first, 110-billion-euro (147-billion-dollar) bailout package from its international partners in May 2010, preventing the country from going bankrupt.

In return, Greece imposed a series of tough austerity measures to cut its budget deficit

http://www.iol.co.za...-debt-1.1204684

I don't think anyone can really argue the Olympics contributed greatly to Greece's current problems - they're more symbolic of unchecked spending than a root cause of the debt crisis. What I'm more interested in is Rogge's point of view that things could have been done at "much lower cost", and whether the IOC has responsibility for the lavish path the Greek's took when they hosted.

I'm asking partly out of ignorance - how similar was the Greek Games to their bid plan? Did the Greeks do more than the IOC asked of them, would the IOC have been happy with a cheaper Games, if the Games was broadly similar to their bid would they have won with a less lavish bid or did they feel compelled to go overboard with their visions to impress the IOC? And how much of the cost is down to the delays which Greece brought upon itself in the lead up to the Games?

[Kenadian]

I think Rogge's point wasn't that they were overly lavish games, it was more about the slow preparations and questionable legacy planning - all stuff that should have been lessons from the Montreal Games. If you have six years to build things, it will be less expensive. But if you have to move heaven and earth and a stadium roof in two weeks, that's gonna cost ya!

[mattperiolat]

Gotta give him some credit for saying this. Promise you to JAS would NEVER have admitted his five ring circus was a factor in a country's economic problems.

Bottom line, and it pains me to say this from a sentimental point of view: Athens should never have been awarded the Games and when the IOC saw how big the problems were and how close to the wire it was, the Games should have been moved to Seoul or Sydney.

[Soaring]

Agree - JAS would never have said such things. Athens really shouldn't have gotten the Games.

A country with only a mere population of 11 million should never get a summer Games these days. The IOC was reckless in awarding them purely for sentimental reasons.

In saying that, I actually enjoyed watching the Games very much, and think overall they were quite successful for those two and a half weeks. The main issues were in preparations and post use.

[deawebo]

Well, that's what happens when countrys in a bad economic situation are choosen... Maybe Athens games where amazing (in fact the best opening ceremony ever. For my taste) my Greece wasnt to able... Maybe it was a reason why Greece is this way now, but not all its bad... it helped with new infrastucture and good things for Athens! Sadly some venues still being white elefants...

[tikus_kecil]

I think a summer olympic games shouldn't be awarded to any developing country, since the cost will be too much for a developing country, also the possibility of the stadiums being a white elephant will be bigger in a developing country if you compare to developed country, that's why Greece shouldn't be awarded 2004 games

[Rols O'Bertilsson]

Interesting i'view with the head of the Greek Athletics Federation. Says it all, really:

Quote

INTERVIEW-Olympics-From heaven to hell, Greek sport in freefall

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Peeling paint flakes from Athens' Olympic park. Its entrances locked, this once sparkling edifice to sporting greatness lies rotting and largely unused -- maintenance costs too high for near-bankrupt Greece to operate.
The rate of decay and dilapidation in just eight years provides a visual clue to the Greek scenario, one as effective as any economist's report or politician's statement.
"Like heaven and hell," Greek athletics federation chief Vassilis Sevastis told Reuters, comparing the heady days of 2004 when the Greeks staged the Olympics, with today.
Back then the country was crackling with optimism, pride and activity, as it rushed to deliver the multi-billion dollar Games organizers hoped would boost the country's growth and its modern image abroad.
The Greeks also spared no expense in preparing the foundations for a spectacular medal haul: 16 medals for a nation of just 10 million people.
These days, however, Greek athletes must be satisfied with a trickle of money as they prepare for this year's London Olympics, the debt crisis having dried up almost every revenue stream for sports, public or private.
"It reflects our reality. The country that gave birth to the notion of measure went completely over the top," Sevastis said.
The 2004 Games that were to help shape a better future for Greece, turned into a noose as the billions of euros they cost only weighed on the country's subsequent debt crisis.
The country's coalition parties must tell the European Union on Monday whether they accept the painful terms of a 130 billion euro ($170 billion) rescue, which Greece needs soon to avoid a chaotic debt default.
"SOULLESS BUILDINGS"
Having squandered the first three years of preparations, organisers were told in 2000 to speed up work or risk losing the Olympics. As a result, Greece embarked on a four-year building frenzy, with three shifts a day, that lasted up until a few days before the Olympics.
The country dug deep into taxpayers' pockets, dishing out an estimated $12 billion, more than double the initial projections.
"Obviously opportunities were lost," Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) President Spyros Kapralos told Reuters.
"The success of the 2004 Olympics was lost when the lights went out at the end of the closing ceremony as our country had no plan to capitalise on their success."
A string of failed attempts to lease some of the facilities has only further highlighted Greece's inability to draw any benefits from hosting the world's greatest sports extravaganza.
Even the city's entire southern coastline to the port Piraeus, which had been sprinkled with Olympic venues, remains fenced off, prime real estate in a state of limbo for eight years.
"The dream of the Olympics that improved our image in the world during those 16 days has been lost, and it makes me sad," Kapralos said.
"We had a foundation of good people in 2004, a dynamic which now is lost just like the venues that have become soulless buildings."
Kapralos still hopes Greece can return from London with six medals, but it is a challenge to see where they may win them as Greek sport continues to be shredded by the financial crisis.
The Greeks will march into the Olympic stadium first, as tradition dictates, with a team numbering around 75, or half the size of the team it sent to the Beijing Games in 2008 -- athletes' dreams another victim of boom-time profligacy.
"CATACLYSMIC EVENT"
Apart from massive budget cuts for all Greek sports federations, gone are all the state incentives for athletes to succeed on the world stage.
"The debt crisis now has affected both sport and the National Olympic Committee. In the previous quadrennium (2005-2008) the Greek state paid around 30 million in total towards the country's Olympic preparation," said Kapralos, a former water polo player.
"We had agreed the same amount from the state (for 2009-2012). In 2010 and 2011 the amount we got from the Greek state was zero," he said. "So our preparation has suffered."
The cuts essentially meant the end of any effort to send a competitive team to London, and even made it near impossible for athletes to qualify as travel budgets were slashed.
The gymnastics team were unable to travel to Tokyo for their Olympic qualifiers. The weightlifting, sailing and water polo teams experienced similar problems in recent months.
The HOC had to step up and foot the sailors' bill for the trip to Australia for the world championships while the International Olympic Committee is paying the preparation for 22 Greek athletes' and the country's women's water polo team, the 2011 world champions.
Greece's athletics competitors are left with ramshackle training facilities, their indoor training centre at the Olympic stadium leaks and athletes must use buckets to collect the water.
"It was a cataclysmic event on all levels for us," Sevastis, who has seen annual state funding for athletics cut by more than 40 percent from 2010 to 2011, said of the 2004 Games.
"There were mistakes, there were excesses, yes, in the run-up to the Athens Games. Funding (for sport) was more than significant, sponsors came in.
"Nowadays our athletics pyramid has collapsed. Our future is neither bright nor hopeful. The passion of the athletes and their personal commitment is what keeps things afloat."

Reuters

[baron-pierreIV]

The Greeks lied/fudged their books to get into the Euro community. Why am I not surprised that they also cooked the books about the spending of Athens 2004? They spent like their economy was on the level of a China or the UK.

It just goes to prove that for a country with a less than a 20 million population base, hosting a 21st century SOG is unsustainable. Take not, Qatar and Azerbajian.

Edited by baron-pierreIV, 06 February 2012 - 06:53 PM.

[Rols O'Bertilsson]

baron-pierreIV, on 06 February 2012 - 06:13 PM, said:

It just goes to prove that for a country with a less than a 25 million population base, hosting a 21st century SOG is unsustainable. Take not, Qatar and Azerbajian.

Hmmmm. Take note that there's only 22 million or so of us Aussies, yet we still sustained Sydney 2000.

[baron-pierreIV]

Sir Rols, on 06 February 2012 - 06:17 PM, said:

Hmmmm. Take note that there's only 22 million or so of us Aussies, yet we still sustained Sydney 2000.

Was it only 22 mil in 2000? OK, let's make it 20 mil population then. So the middling countries like Austria, Ireland, Azerbajian, etc., really can't sustain a SOG.

Edited by baron-pierreIV, 06 February 2012 - 06:54 PM.