£1 billion black hole for London Olympics
Lib-Dems and Conservatives to oppose more money
Why does it not surprise me that the costs for the London Olympics in 2012 threaten to explode beyond imagination? Latest news today shows that Britain faces a £1 billion black hole after the 2012 Olympics because of “ludicrous” property price projections backed by ministers. It should come as no surprise at all that Conservatives and Lib-Dems will refuse to sanction the release of extra tax payer’s cash to fill the gap.
Part of the problem was in allowing so many politicians to run the show, I wonder how things might have went if the whole of the organisation for the games was put solely in the hands of private enterprise?
Remember Los Angeles in 1984 was the most successful Olympic Games to date, turning a profit of $228 million (Atlanta in 1996 turned a profit of $600 million but was not considered such a success because too many corners were cut and it was an organisational mess).
When the bid for London was accepted we were promised all sorts of spin offs and legacies for the regions, that prospect is looking evr more bleak as the months go by.
Is it just me, or do you think that plans always seem to go awry when you put a bunch of politicians (any politicians) in charge?
So your only criterion for a successful olympic games is that they should make a profit! Sad
Westy
January 15, 2008 at 8:31 pm
No it is not, they should be well organised too, for participants and spectators, that is why I highlighted the Atlanta games as being profitable but an organisational mess. From what i have read, transport links for the Atlanta games were virtually non existent, and competitors were housed in local university dorms without decent practice facilities!
The L.A. games have been universally accepted as a model for others to follow, a pity that some cities thought they had better ideas.
curly
January 15, 2008 at 8:53 pm
the public -private sector interaction in this country is almost always a disaster, because the public sector always seem to have price rather than quality as a prime criteria. The Millenium fiasco is probably a fair template for the upcoming Olympics, though I hope not!
And yes a profit motive is always necessary, unless you want the taxpayer to continually subsidise government grandiose stunts.
frank
January 31, 2008 at 9:01 am