Olympic Games

[Scylax]

Last year the cost of the forthcoming London Olympic Games was estimated as �3.4 billions.
This year it has reached �8 billions.
By 2012 the estimate is �10 billions - that is �1 million
repeated 10,000 times.
Meanwhile the British government is seeking ways to reduce the debts of the NHS .
Am I really alone with my vitriolic thoughts of New Labour ?

[vehelpfulguy]

It will be OK.

We have a history of successful projects - the millenium dome, wembley stadium, child support agency, NHS computer system, etc.

Put John Presscot in charge.

[Bazile]

How is the rising costs of the games a fault of the government - are you saying that if the tories were in power , the costs would have remained at the estimated 3.4 billions ?

Surely the cost of materials - which accounts for a major
%tage of the increase - is outside the controll of the government , along with other factors eg , labour etc .

By the way I have no particular allegiance to any political party .

Criticise if you will , but surely any criticism should be based on sound argument .

[Carakeel]

In all honesty, I have never understood why on earth anyone wanted the Olympics here in the first place.
History shows us that, out of all the Olympic Games held so far, only one (I repeat 1!!!) ever made a profit. The rest cost the governements huge losses! This is a country that spends exorbitant amounts of money on wars, foreign aid etc etc, and yet is UNABLE to cover the costs of running its hospitals and schools properly! What on earth is going on??? Of course the increase in the costs for the Olympics is partly the government's fault, i.e. the government has hired a company to produce a report on how to "reduce the costs of the games" and have agreed to pay out �400 mil (that is 400 x �1,000,000!!!) for the report!!! This is insane! While we are letting patients die because NICE says we cannot afford medicines that are available in most European countries, we can't aford to save the lives of our own people - we are happy to throw away billions on Olympic Games that are going to throw us into yet more debt than ever before and have no hope in hell of actually benefitting the population of this country! This is simply wrong!!!

[johnizere]

Couldn't agree more, Carakeel, the consultation fee alone is obscene. I regularly visit Greece on holiday, and I was warned for a few years before the Games went to Athens that costs would go up, by way of taxes to pay for the games...and boy did they go up!. And what have they got out of it?....unused crumbling stadia, deserted swimming pool...etc..etc..and a debt that will take ages to clear, if at all.
I'm no lover of New Labour, but they must be held to account over this, and more so the newt lover....'walnut whip' my @rse,
But there again, there are some fat cats who are going to get VERY fat over these games.

[NH]

Sounds right. Don't quite know what you're getting at with the "�1 million repeated 10,000 times" stat; was the alternative plan to Olympics to make everyone in a small town a millionaire?

Fact is, these things are always behind schedule, over budget, and are **** value for money.

By the way, no alleigance to anyone. Not even myself.

[jake-the-peg]

The 1976 Olympic games in Montreal were a financial disaster - it took the Canadian government years to pay it all off.

After that nobody wanted to know - the Russians did 1980 because they wanted a properganda excercise but then in 1984 the Los Angeles Olymics showed that hosting the olympics could be profitable (Provided you got coco-cola and friends to cough up for plastering their name everywhere)

All of a sudden the Olympics were a business opportunity again - they are a huge outlay but can still be profitable if run right.

However I don't quite see how you're pinning this on the Labour party - Isn't the bid Chairman of the organising comittee Lord Coe an ex Conservative MP?

Surely you should be aiming any vitriolic thoughts at him?

[Scylax]

Oh, I'd be just as vitriolic if the Conservatives were the perpetrators of this absurdity.
The Olympic Games appear to be what the Romans called
'Panem et Circenses', food and games, dogs and the dole,
football and the National Lottery. They didn't do the Romans
much good.
Meanwhile the NHS becomes moribund for political expediency; its demise is expected shortly.

[Catso]

See here - he's very good!

[jake-the-peg]

If you we're bemoaning the much larger ridiculous waste of money that's about to be blown on renewing a bunch of nuclear white elephants I'd be right with you.

I just think you're a bit quick off the mark getting cynical with the Olympics. South Koreas economy grew 12% off the back of the Soeul games, the Australian economy by $3.3 Billion.

It's quite possible for the games to make money

Trident never will

[dyli795]

If it was 3.4 last year, 8 this year, in 2012, six years time, I think we can all draw a big sigh of relief if it isn't over the mid thirty point. I could be way off the mark however ;>( Frightening ! ! ! Just think how many golds we'll have to win! - Oh no! even more frightening ! ! !

[willowman]

Reading this thread two points struck me.
1. Why does every Government project go over budget? After hundreds of years of practice why can't civil servants still get things right first time? Or are they afraid to put out the true figures to start with because they know they are too high?
2. Nice to see that at least one person (johnizere) knows the correct plural for stadium, something even national news broadcasters get wrong