The Olympics: waste of money or celebration of excellence?

[edyzmedieval]

Bit late to the party here... but honestly, I would definitely support the idea of having the Olympics in Athens or Greece for that matter every other 4 or 8 years. Switch every other time but every other 8 years have them in Athens or some other place in Greece.

It's the historical place, Athens already has the infrastructure (crumbling and abandoned, by the way) and it's worth keeping it where it has been for thousands of years. Granted, you don't have the spectacular diversity of a new place every time, but it's a huge drain on the budget and sometimes the amount is not recouped by the generated tourism and revenue.

[Gilrandir]

Bit late to the party here... but honestly, I would definitely support the idea of having the Olympics in Athens or Greece for that matter every other 4 or 8 years. Switch every other time but every other 8 years have them in Athens or some other place in Greece.

Do you want Greece to sell one of its islands once in four years?

[edyzmedieval]

Do you want Greece to sell one of its islands once in four years?

Clearly not.

They already have the infrastructure in the first place - it's just that it's crumbling, not taken care of and in essence, it's not even old. It barely has 12-14 years. That's not old when you consider that some football stadiums in England are in top shape and they're over 70-80 years old. Such a strong revenue from tourism and external sources, like TV rights for example, would bring a lot of money for a Greece that needs a good amount of cash to at least pay off the debts. Plus - history. You're doing the Olympics in the very heart and Olympic spirit.

A lot of money is spent on infrastructure - Greece already has it.

[Gilrandir]

Clearly not.

They already have the infrastructure in the first place - it's just that it's crumbling, not taken care of and in essence, it's not even old. It barely has 12-14 years. That's not old when you consider that some football stadiums in England are in top shape and they're over 70-80 years old. Such a strong revenue from tourism and external sources, like TV rights for example, would bring a lot of money for a Greece that needs a good amount of cash to at least pay off the debts. Plus - history.

A lot of money is spent on infrastructure - Greece already has it.

When you compare the UK and Greece, I'm not sure the quality is of infrastructure is the same. It may need a repair, so more money investments. And Greece doesn't have any to spare.

You're doing the Olympics in the very heart and Olympic spirit.

If we look at modern Olympics, it would be more appropriate to hold them in the USA every four years - in the very heart of dollar-emitting and the corresponding spirit.

[edyzmedieval]

Comparing the UK and Greece on terms of infrastructure is relatively unfair - let's remember the UK was one of the biggest empires in history, so plenty of time and money to have a top notch infrastructure. I was giving examples of UK stadiums because they have been used for an extended period of time and they have been in good maintenance. 70-80 years old is old infrastructure, not relatively modern infrastructure with just over 10 years of existence.

The idea is that Greece already has the main infrastructure in place - stadiums, bobsleigh rinks, athletic facilities - all it needs is just repair and proper maintenance.

[Pannonian]

Comparing the UK and Greece on terms of infrastructure is relatively unfair - let's remember the UK was one of the biggest empires in history, so plenty of time and money to have a top notch infrastructure. I was giving examples of UK stadiums because they have been used for an extended period of time and they have been in good maintenance. 70-80 years old is old infrastructure, not relatively modern infrastructure with just over 10 years of existence.

The idea is that Greece already has the main infrastructure in place - stadiums, bobsleigh rinks, athletic facilities - all it needs is just repair and proper maintenance.

The empire is long gone mate. Infrastructure that's been built since the end of empire are crumbling, let alone stuff built before then. UK stadiums were bloody awful until various disasters (Valley Park, Hillsborough) forced rebuilds.

[rory_20_uk]

The concept isn't bad - but the ability of those involved to earn loads of money overseeing it all has gotten out of hand - as is the case in many international sporting events.

Countries debasing themselves and promising to spend billions on borderline vanity projects means it'll probably continue.

[Gilrandir]

The idea is that Greece already has the main infrastructure in place - stadiums, bobsleigh rinks, athletic facilities - all it needs is just repair and proper maintenance.

And I guess the latter two will appear unaffordable for Greece.

[edyzmedieval]

And I guess the latter two will appear unaffordable for Greece.

That might be the case unfortunately, but if possible, it would be a viable idea (IMHO) to have the Olympics kept every other 8 years in Greece. The Olympic spirit counts the most here.

The empire is long gone mate. Infrastructure that's been built since the end of empire are crumbling, let alone stuff built before then.

Long gone, indeed, but look at a lot of stadiums that are around for quite a long period of time. (Anfield, Highbury before it was replaced, Boleyn Ground...)

Along with the extensive security improvements that were made after those horrific tragedies (Hillsborough, Valley Park Fire...), they withstood the test of time as buildings without any real damage or danger (the danger being the layout of the stadiums, the exits... rather than the stability and strength of the construction in itself - with exceptions of course) hence why my proposal of repairing and maintaining the current Athenian stadiums should be looked at by the Olympic Committee. They are modern stadiums, built in 2002-2003-2004.