The Olympics cost how much!?
When Athens hosted the Olympics back in 2004, it was hoped the event would help improve infrastructure as well as the city for a brighter future. Greece may have won gold, but unfortunately it was in their very own event – the overspending event. The crippling cost of the Olympics has been highlighted as one catalyst towards the country’s current financial ruin, so should us Brit’s be worried?
The numbers…
It’s estimated the cost of the Olympics currently stands around the £9bn mark; £6.2bn from Central governement, £2.1bn from Lottery funding and £900m from the London Development Agency. Although the cost is a quarter of what China spent (£45bn), it’s worth mentioning their development included an underground and airport.
There are the figures, but what do they actually mean? Well Lloyds Banking Group suggests, “the games will provide a £16.6bn boost in the economy”, that’s £7bn profit – hooray! But let’s not get carried away just yet, Howard Archer believes, “overall, we expect the impact for the UK economy from the Olympics in the third quarter will be modestly positive. Although once the games are over, the problems’ facing the UK economy is still there!”
So I’ve bored you with figures and arguments, but £7bn profit is a huge margin to predict – surely there’s profit to be made if these kinds of figures are being thrown around?
Are the Olympics great for brand Britain?
Where you’ll always get the naysayers who claim that it’s another worthless dent in our already struggling economy, my feeling is that it’s not about a direct income. The benefits are layered – we’ll get a cash return this year, maybe small, but what about the brand benefits for tourism to Britain in years to come, the UK looking like a great place for businesses to invest and buy from and let’s not forget the feel-good factor. What is that worth in times like these?
Hosting the Olympics during financial difficulties is all-good, if we’re hoping to gain some monetary advantage. So let’s just hope issues surrounding ticket allocations and security are the only hiccups we’ll experience.
What do you reckon?
Comments
I'm with Mozza on this one....Jingoistic bullshit!
It's not a sporting event, it's a political event, and that's all i have to say
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Like9 is a fifth of 45, not a quarter
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LikeI personally think any monetary profit from these games is a bonus, In terms of our National debt what has been spent on the Olympics is very little. And if it makes us a nation that is more active, unified and brings back a more competitive clinical edge to our sport and also our nation in the future.Then the Games is massive success in my eyes. It could be argued it is a success just from the Paralympics, which have been fantastic to watch despite channel 4s poor coverage in my eyes, vanishing all small stigmas to do with disabled sport I have had (whether stigma is the right word) and making me hope it will receive much more broadcasting time. I'd rather see that than crap like Homes under the Hammer and Bargain Hunt any day.
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Likechappie1992 You say that if the games increases participation in sport and makes us more active then it's a success - all the evidence is that participation in cities that have hosted recent olympics shows no discernable increase.
What is worrying is that the focus on 2012 diverted funding from the last few years towards gold medal hopes (clearly this was successful). The negative consequence is that the money was diverted from grass roots sport. In other words, chasing gold medals actually reduced opportunities for increased participation in sport.
And with respect, bringing back 'a more competitive clinical edge' is not a priority at this moment in time - it certainly doesn't warrant the money spent.
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Likeit's funny isn't it how during the Olympics the economic crisis hardly featured on the news but the next day we're back to being on the edge of financial disaster. Personally I don't care what it cost I loved every minute. In the scheme of this nations debts whats another £9 Billion? At least all those poor sods on the dole through no fault of their own (excluding Bankers) got 2 weeks of feeling good about their country. And when was the last time we had that?
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LikeWould like to see a follow up article from Joey about his thoughts after the Games. Think you can only really comment on the economic effects of the Games when we know what the effects are (if you know what I mean).
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LikeIt's not about the cost, it's about the long term benefits of the investment. The world saw the very best of Britain during the Olympics. A friendly and vibrant capital city with the great achievements of our Olympians hopefully reflecting what the British people can offer. A priceless advert for us as a whole. We won't find out for some years whether it was worth it but I'd like to think so.
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LikeWho cares what it costs..Football spead's a forture it hasnt got.. And we are see REAL SPORTSMEN & WOMEN. NOT OVER PAID UNDER PREFORMING WHINGERS. We are see REAL SPORTMEN AND WOMEN, crying because they have ACHIEVED something NOT because they missed a deal OR GOT SENT OFF! PRO: FOOTBALLERS you can put along side BANKERS, ESTATE AGENTS, and POLITICIANS!
UK Football at a new low LOSING to South Korea say no more, UNDER ACHIEVEING.
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LikeIts always good to host Olympics. Though this time there are less spectators then Beijing.
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LikeA £7bn profit sounds like an excellent return but you have to consider where that profit comes to rest. I don't think it's cynical to expect that it will not end up back in the public purse, but rather it will end up adding to the private wealth of the companies, corperations and people who have already benefited tremendously, in financial terms, from these games. Seb Coe and associates, the official sponsors (many who aren't paying tax on profits made from the games) and a plethora of the rich and wealthly who excel in turning public money into private capital.Central Government will not make back the £6.2bn that we the tax payers contributed, so we don't really benefit financailly as the pubic. Even the Olympic Village, built by public money, will be partially sold off for private financial gain.
But hey, that's just the way the world runs nowadays, it's not just the Olympics, and the obvious corperate gang bang aside, it has so far been great to watch these games and to see dreams, realised and shattered, by athletes from all over the world. Sport in it's proper form, away from the corperate nonsense which sullys most sports, is a powerful, positive and unifying force, and there are some fantastic role models being borne from these few weeks.
You'd surely rather your son or daughter look up to Jessica Ennis or Bradley Wiggins than Katie Price or the cast of Geordie Shore.
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LikeWorth it cos at least olympic athletes are proud well rounded noble human beings, not vacuous souless pernicious cash cows like rio, jt cashley--
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LikeWould of rather had the world cup. Not a waste of money though and a fantastic advert for GB
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LikeLook at the Tottenham and Wham bids for the olympic stadium already, and the fact that a boost in Womens football is inevitable after the tournament. Think about the bonus both of these could have already. Guranteed rent from established clubs (Or if they sell the stadium, an instant return) . More fans watching womens football, more sponsorship going into womens football, more merchandising etc etc etc.
After events like this every tom, dick and harry wants to get involved in some kind of event, so think of all the small businesses (Judo Clubs, Boxing Clubs, Track teams, Swimming clubs) who could benefit from this.
Considering the estimates, i would say in the long run it will be beneficial, maybe not 7billion any time soon, but surely a profit must be made.
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LikeI think it works out around about 50 pence each so i dont think its a waste of money. The ticket situation however is a different matter!
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LikeBack to school... £9Bn divided by 60MM (approx UK population), a mere 30,000% difference.
Even still £150 a head is not a waste of money given the publicity, feel good factor and future income the event locations can generate andn we still have the Paralympics to go and they will surely contribute further to the can-do attitude that sprots clubs are benefitting from.
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LikeI don't think we need to be worried about the Olympic legacy particularly. So much deliberation has gone into the purposes the facilities will serve post-2012 that preparation seems decent. Its a lot better consideration than seems to go into the future uses of stadia following international football competitions- various stadia in Angola still sit unused following the CAN a couple of years ago, and some attract half a crowd in Portugal following Euro 2004. Brazil will probably be even worse; the Arena Amazonia, whilst brilliantly named, sits in an area without a great footballing history. Whilst many Olympic facilities can be reused in a financially efficient way, this may not be true of stadia designed for football.
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