| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
US$51 BIllion Winter Games: Symbol of Olympic Extravagance and Waste
Critics claim the $51bn cost of the Sochi Games, the most expensive Winter Olympics in history, and alleged corruption are evidence of endemic problems. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Stephen: The Winter Olympic Games begin in Sochi, Russia tomorrow, just as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is accused of allowing the cost of staging Winter Games in Russia to spiral out of control. Bit late to do much about that – or the ‘Olympic gravy train’… and besides, i can’t remember any Games that really turned into a financial bonus for the host city or country. As a comparison, the Sydney Olympics which I worked on (albeit nearly 14 years ago) cost around US$5.9 billion. Separately, I feel much of the criticism of Vladimir Putin in these sorts of stories is simply maintaining the ‘western agenda’.
By Owen Gibson in Sochi, The Guardian, February 5, 2014 19.44 GMT
http://tinyurl.com/qhrzxb9
High above the subtropical Black Sea resort in which President Vladimir Putin has constructed his glittering Olympic Park, the Sochi ski jump stands in the cooler mountain air as a symbol of the extravagance and alleged waste that has characterised the buildup to these Games.
Putin, whose personal plea to International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in 2007 helped to win the Games for Sochi, has long wanted the event to showcase his vision of a “new Russia”.
But, amid teething troubles at venues and hotels built virtually from scratch at a claimed cost of $51bn and the arrival of 6,000 athletes and team members, critics claim that the huge cost of the Games, the most expensive in history, and alleged corruption are evidence of endemic problems. Up to a third of the budget is said to have been swallowed up by kickbacks and bribes, although Putin denies this.
The RusSki Gorki Jumping Centre complex cost $265m (£162m) – more than six times the original estimate of $40m – as flaws in the construction and ballooning costs became an embarrassment and resulted in the official responsible being summarily dismissed and fleeing for the UK.
Putin’s critics cite the escalating cost, including $8.7bn spent on a road and rail link to connect the coastal cluster of venues to the mountains, as evidence that the IOC has allowed its prize asset to spiral out of control.
It argues that it is not fair to conflate the operational budget of the Games with infrastructure investment, arguing that the latter is outside their control and leaves a lasting legacy.
On Wednesday the new IOC president, Thomas Bach, oversaw a debate of its members over the future of the Olympics before the start of the Sochi Games.
One of his manifesto promises was to reduce the cost and extravagance of bidding for the Games, but his first task as president has been to oversee the most opulent Olympics in history.
Others agreed it was time to check the rapid growth of “mega events” and the circus that surrounded bidding for them.
“Are we not asking too much too soon? Should the bidding procedure be more an invitation of potential bidders rather than a tender for a franchise? The cost of the bids concerns us all,” said IOC Vice President John Coates.
Amid a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere given the presence of 40,000 soldiers, police and security personnel in a “ring of steel” around the region, there were also ongoing concerns for members of the media that hotel rooms remained unfinished.
“I think it’s very premature at this stage to say it’s a failure. Every Games have different teething problems. They have delivered 24,000 rooms now. There are clearly still some issues. Barely a moment goes by when we are not pushing on this,” said an IOC spokesman.
Another unexpected issue has arisen around the packs of stray dogs roaming the Olympic Park. An IOC spokesman said they were being “taken into custody and assessed”. As in other countries, any sick or dying dogs would be put down, he said. “It is absolutely wrong to say that any healthy dog will be destroyed.”
Security concerns had been heightened by recent suicide bombings in Volgograd but organisers appeared to be keeping to their promise that the security presence would remain low-key unless called upon.
IOC members, staying in the relative luxury of the “Olympic family” hotel, said they were confident that the Games would be a success.
They reassured themselves that every Olympics experienced pre-Games jitters: in London there was the last-minute panic over security guards that resulted in the army being called in; in Vancouver there were street protests and a fatality on the luge course; and the runup to Beijing was clouded by human-rights protests during the torch relay.
A spokesman for the British Olympic Association said that the problems that had afflicted the media – in some cases billeted into dirty rooms or facilities without heating, hot water or internet access – had not affected the athletes.
Around 80% of Team GB’s 56-strong team – expected to deliver their best performance since 1936 and win at least three medals – will have arrived in time to take part in Friday’s extravagant opening ceremony in a 40,000-capacity stadium that cost $780m.
But not everyone is impressed with the Russian organising committee’s plans to try to outdo Danny Boyle’s £27m London 2012 opening ceremony.
Despite her mother being one of the surprise stars of the London event, IOC member and British Olympic Association president Princess Anne said they had become too vast, with athletes becoming an afterthought.
“I am old enough that I remember when the opening ceremony was only with the athletes,” said the Princess Royal, who competed in the three-day equestrian event at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. “To me, the balance has gone too far the other way.”
]]>
< 
Related Stories
- Canada Charges Senators with Fraud
- Corruption Costing European Union $164 Billion a Year as Wealthy Nations Preserve Bribery Loophole
- Zimbabweans Put Pressure on ‘Fat Cat’ State Executives
Source: http://goldenageofgaia.com/2014/02/us51-billion-winter-games-symbol-of-olympic-extravagance-and-waste/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=us51-billion-winter-games-symbol-of-olympic-extravagance-and-waste
