Olympics
not made of Gold
By Matt
Strausser
Magis staff writer
What do
Rio de Janeiro, Havana, and Istanbul have in common? Other
than a healthy drug trade, they are all losers. They all were
eliminated as possible host cities for the 2012 Olympic games.
They join the list of dozens of other cities that lost their
bid for the games.
So, why do so many cities want the Olympics? Is it the thrill
of competition, the good sportsmanship, the “Olympic
Spirit”? No, no, and “no.”
It’s all about money.
Hosting the Super Bowl brought millions of dollars into Houston
via hotels, restaurants, and tourism all with minimal costs.
The Olympics, economically, is like the Super Bowl on ‘roids.
Hosting the Olympics with multiple venues, multiple events,
and international appeal is a billion-dollar business.
That is, of course, if people come.
There in lies the Greek tragedy. Reuters reports that the
conservative Greek government wanted the Olympics to boost
their struggling tourism market even to the tune of $5.5 billion,
which quickly turned into $7.5 billion and finally $12.09
billion. Regardless, the Greeks were more than willing to
pay because, as VOA journalist Roger Wilkinson emphasizes,
tourism is 18% of the Greek economy and annually there are
more tourists in Greece than citizens. Greece without tourism
would be like Texas without oil or Britney Spears without
sex appeal.
However, the dwindling attendance in spite of the monetary
effort and heightened building and security costs may leave
the city in ruins. Andreas Tzortzis reports that hotels and
businesses were led to expect full rooms and full pockets,
but businesses now stand to lose money from additions and
preparations for the games. Journalist Rebecca Ward reports
that ticket sales, the main moneymaker for Athens, were dwindling
at the beginning of the games, but rose towards the end. Even
with the jump in ticket sales, it may not be enough to cover
the extra expenses.
When all looks bad for the Greek tourism industry, there is
still the ever-optimistic Dimitris Avramopoulos, the Greek
Minister of Tourism, who hopes that the Olympics instead of
being an Achilles’ heel will turn tourists’ focus
back to Greece after the games end.
Regardless of optimistic predictions, the Olympics may bring
economic trouble to a country that expected a positive cash
flow. Unlike America, a land that has 300 million taxpayers
to share the expense, the picayune 10 million taxpayers of
Greece might find themselves with a few hundred less drachmas
in their pockets.
The moral of the story: Don’t bet on sports. Greece
must serve as an example to the dozens of US cities, including
Houston, that are spending millions of dollars vying for Olympic
games. It’s a billion-dollar gamble.
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