I live here in Vancouver the site of the 2010 winter Olympics. I am totally excited about this fabulous sporting event. Providing the world stage for this amateur event is a huge accomplishment for the organizing committee. I just wish more people felt the same way.
The local media is of course all over this event and all the preparations that are going on to make it all come together. What I can't seem to get my head around is all the negativity that seems to be surrounding the coverage. Granted lots of money have to be spent to ramp up the facilities required to put the Olympics on. But the naysayers seem to be forgetting that not only is all this money being spent in the local economy stimulating many local businesses but we will also have all these venues left for future generations to enjoy. They won't go away after the two-week event. These facilities will be enjoyed by many generations to come.
I know that some of the previous Olympics have not been a smashing financial success. But I bet that very few of those host nations in the end regret having done all that they had to do to put on the show. The boost to the local economy and the dollars that follow no doubt made up for any front-end investment in the event. And let's not forget the Olympics are about the athletes not the opportunity to profit from the event.
Of course there are financial risks. Especially in these tough economic times. Isn't stimulus spending the order of the day though? It seems to me that the Olympics are the perfect place to stimulate our local economy. The Olympic village being built to house the athletes is an example of this. Due to the global credit crunch the city is being forced to underwrite the cost of construction. The media seems to think this a complete outrage. What they miss reporting on is these condo units are going to be for sale on the open market once the Olympics are done. In that neighborhood condos sell for an outrageously high amount of money. The city can't help but not only just make their money back but make a tidy profit as well.
I am confident that when the opening ceremonies start the detractors will be largely silenced. Pride in our hosting the Olympics will be overwhelming. I suspect even the media will be jumping on the bandwagon and be reporting on the amazing job that Vancouver and Whistler is doing putting on the games. Olympic fever will trump even cost concerns at least until the events are over.
No doubt on the day following the closing ceremonies the headlines will return to cost overruns and financial mismanagement. Even without any real possibility so soon of an accounting of all that happened. The true cost and revenue generated can't possibly be known for at least a few years following the event. Tourist numbers and dollars will likely grow for several years after.
Security is obviously a huge issue around these types of events and the cost is very high. I admit this might be turn out to be an outrageously high expense. It is a sad testament to the times we live in. But even with these added costs I am confident the games will be a success both financial and as an event that will put Vancouver on the map.
Having said all this I would still like to see the Olympic games brought back down to reality. Do we really need those opening and closing ceremonies that have become larger events then the athletic events themselves? The money and efforts they consume has risen to the point of being absurd. The Olympics is supposed to be an amateur sporting event not the commercial spectacle that it has become. I am certain the athletes would welcome the focus returning to the games and away from the circus it has become.
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