Irbis wrote:Welf is right, people who have no idea what Olympics can do for nations, especially poorer or not free ones, like it did for second world countries before 1989, please do read on that topic first before you start spouting old, tired crap about wasting money on more abstract things than just feeding base animal needs, okay?
I get the feeling that the benefits the Olympics provide to the host country have changed quite a lot since then. Which is why fewer countries want to host them.
So what do the Olympics in their current form consistently provide to their host country ?
Lets go with Olympics since 2000 unless someone has a better start point for this.
Well in theory, the Olympics provide income and prestige mainly. Now with people trying to get more and more prestige, the Olympics are costing more and making the whole thing pointless since you never turn a profit and people ridicule you for spending an ungodly amount of money. I'd wager that if people were more frugal about preparing for the Games, then the idea of at least having a profitable sporting event in your country would entice more nations to sign up for it.
But than there would be no flashy opening ceremony to attract people to it and give you prestige.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.
You win. There, I have said it.
Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
True but things seem to have gone past the point of diminishing returns. The amount of money being spent now outweighs what you get from it in terms of profit or national prestige, that's why nobody wants the 2022 Games.
If candidates just stepped back and said:
"Screw spending 40 billion dollars. We may not have the best and most modern facilities, but we can make what we have sufficient for the Olympics at 1/10 the cost. This would allow us to have the prestige of hosting the games, as well as being able to pocket much more of the advertising and tourist dollars the Games bring in."
Purple wrote:But than there would be no flashy opening ceremony to attract people to it and give you prestige.
After Beijing they needed to retire the trophy for the opening ceremonies, no one else wants to spend the money to top that.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Purple wrote:But than there would be no flashy opening ceremony to attract people to it and give you prestige.
After Beijing they needed to retire the trophy for the opening ceremonies, no one else wants to spend the money to top that.
London was done pretty well, and for a lower cost (though given current UK austerity, still rather pricey).
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Yes, the London opening ceremonies were excellent. I still think Beijing's were better.
London's was an example that you didn't have to keep topping the last guy to have a very nice opening/closing ceremony.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Borgholio wrote:True but things seem to have gone past the point of diminishing returns. The amount of money being spent now outweighs what you get from it in terms of profit or national prestige, that's why nobody wants the 2022 Games.
Except the Chinese apparently. They consider the prestige worth paying the price.
Really, maybe I am biased because I only watch things from the TV but the impression I have of TV viewers is that for the most part they do not care about the sports. Or maybe only care for for one or two out of the lot. Ultimately the Olympics are there for us to see a flashy ceremony and compare it to other flashing ceremonies we seen in the last years and than talk about it to our friends increasing the prestige of the host nation. The sports are just an excuse to pull the ceremony off.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.
You win. There, I have said it.
Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
Borgholio wrote:True but things seem to have gone past the point of diminishing returns. The amount of money being spent now outweighs what you get from it in terms of profit or national prestige, that's why nobody wants the 2022 Games.
Except the Chinese apparently. They consider the prestige worth paying the price.
Beijing had the summer games in 2008. They might be saving a lot of money reusing things built for the 2008 games.
Beijing had the summer games in 2008. They might be saving a lot of money reusing things built for the 2008 games.
Maybe by reusing the (now abandoned) sporting arenas, they might actually break even this time. Only takes two Olympics in a row to get a return on your investment. :-/
The stadium is not abandoned, and word has it, generates quite some income even after the games. Other bits of the infrastructure I don't know.
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Beijing had the summer games in 2008. They might be saving a lot of money reusing things built for the 2008 games.
Maybe by reusing the (now abandoned) sporting arenas, they might actually break even this time. Only takes two Olympics in a row to get a return on your investment. :-/
They made a profit. Granted it wasn't high percentage wise for the amount they put in, but then it was more about the prestige than profit. However the fact that made a profit is icing on the cake so to speak.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
They made a profit. Granted it wasn't high percentage wise for the amount they put in, but then it was more about the prestige than profit. However the fact that made a profit is icing on the cake so to speak.
Huh, you're right. $171 million in profit. On a $40 billion investment. London definitely had a much better return.
I think one issue with the Olympics is that the promise of new infrastructure, tourist revenue, and the prestige of being a host country made it very enticing for countries that end up not having robust enough economies to support the massive costs required to run them. The most high-profile case of this was Greece. While it wasn't the only cause by far, the massive loss the country took when it hosted in 2004 certainly didn't help their financial crisis a few years down the line.
Though considering the OP, that might be changing since the last few have been very expensive and the amount of money spent is much more widely known.
