Olympics 2016

Quote: Pacomartin

Does it seem crazy that Budapest is a finalist for the Olympic Games?

I favor a budget Olympics.

I recall seeing on TV that the Olympic villa in Lake Placid would serve as a prison after the winter games. Should Budapest need a new prison, why not get Olympic sponsors to pay for it?

Quote: Nareed

I favor a budget Olympics.

The 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics
The first Summer Olympics since 1932 to make a profit
Final Operating Budget US$320 million
Total Costs US$413 million
Taxpayer Contribution $75 million
Profit/Loss Year US$250 million

But compare that number to the reported costs of recent Olympics
2008 China Beijing Summer Olympics US$44 billion
2010 Canada Vancouver Winter Olympics US$6.4 billion
2012 United Kingdom London Summer Olympics US$14.6 billion
2014 Russia Sochi Winter Olympics US$51 billion

I don't know if it is possible to have a budget Olympics

This wikipedia article lists the cost of Olympic Games
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_the_Olympic_Games

Quote: Nareed

I favor a budget Olympics.

I recall seeing on TV that the Olympic villa in Lake Placid would serve as a prison after the winter games. Should Budapest need a new prison, why not get Olympic sponsors to pay for it?

I saw an interesting documentary the other night about the 1932 games as the foundation of the modern olympics as a huge national spectacle. According to the historians in the documentary, Adolph Hitler and the Nazi's get the credit for turning the games into an "Our country is bigger and better than any before" spectacle due to the huge venue construction projects, and first use of cutting edge technology (zeppelins to carry newsreels overseas, shortwave radio to live broadcast around the world, and the first television broadcast).

They were also the first to introduce the torch relay of a flame from Greece. Whodda thunk it?

Quote: Pacomartin

But compare that number to the reported costs of recent Olympics
2008 China Beijing Summer Olympics US$44 billion
2010 Canada Vancouver Winter Olympics US$6.4 billion
2012 United Kingdom London Summer Olympics US$14.6 billion
2014 Russia Sochi Winter Olympics US$51 billion

Funny that the Communist countries spend way more than the Capitalists.

Quote:

I don't know if it is possible to have a budget Olympics

I recall reading that until 1984, interest by cities to host the Olympics had declined sharply due to financial losses, and that Seoul got the 88 games largely because no one else wanted them.

After 1984, which made a profit, interest roared back up. Did Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney Athens, Beijing and London make any money at all? Will Rio?

Quote: Nareed

Funny that the Communist countries spend way more than the Capitalists. Did Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney Athens, Beijing and London make any money at all? Will Rio?

I suppose that depends on who is doing the accounting. Pravda reports that "development of the city infrastructure, the transport system and the ecology from 2001 to 2008"should be included in the accounting, in which case the Olympics in Beijing have no chance of breaking even.

Quote: China Daily 6/19/2009

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2009-06/19/content_8302950.htm
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) reported income of 20.5 billion yuan and expenses of 19.34 billion yuan for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to an NAO tracking audit of Games' finances and construction costs of venues.

19.34 yuans ~$3 billion USD

Quote: Pravda 6/8/2008

The pre-Olympic development of Beijing cost over 40 billion dollars. The total cost of the Beijing Olympics may exceed $44 billion, an official spokesman for the city authorities said, RIA Novosti reports.
The total cost of the Beijing Olympics 2008, which promises to become the most expensive Olympic event in history, constitutes of three parts.
The total amount of the Games will be exposed afterwards. Beijing authorities have invested 280 billion yuans ($40.9 billion) in the development of the city infrastructure, the transport system and the ecology from 2001 to 2008.
In addition to the development of the city, the total budget of the Beijing Olympics includes the cost of operations conducted by the Olympic Committee (over $2 billion) and the construction and reconstruction of sports facilities (about $1.9 billion).
http://www.pravdareport.com/sports/games/06-08-2008/106003-beijing_olympics-0/#sthash.4LG6AKyR.dpuf

The United States won the race to the moon . The final price tag was $195 billion in 2011 dollars.
http://gizmodo.com/5805457/kennedys-crazy-moon-speech-and-how-we-could-have-landed-on-the-moon-with-the-soviets

Quote: Pacomartin

I suppose that depends on who is doing the accounting.

Oh, sure.

I've no doubt many local merchants earn crazy amounts of money during the Olympics. Hotels and restaurants near the venues, Olympic souvenir sellers, pin traffickers, etc. But the city might not recoup its investment in taxes, fees, etc.

Quote:

Pravda reports that "development of the city infrastructure, the transport system and the ecology from 2001 to 2008"should be included in the accounting, in which case the Olympics in Beijing have no chance of breaking even.

NO, but if they took care of necessary infrastructure projects and overhauls, then the citizenry scores a rare win.

Quote: Nareed

Oh, sure.

I've no doubt many local merchants earn crazy amounts of money during the Olympics. .

The hookers in Rio have doubled their
rates for the next two weeks. Pickpockets
and hotel room thieves with fatten their
wallets, with help from the police and
hotel staffs, of course. Rio is a 3rd world
city, after all.

Quote: Ayecarumba

I saw an interesting documentary the other night about the 1932 games as the foundation of the modern olympics as a huge national spectacle. According to the historians in the documentary, Adolph Hitler and the Nazi's get the credit for turning the games into an "Our country is bigger and better than any before" spectacle due to the huge venue construction projects, and first use of cutting edge technology (zeppelins to carry newsreels overseas, shortwave radio to live broadcast around the world, and the first television broadcast).

They were also the first to introduce the torch relay of a flame from Greece. Whodda thunk it?

I believe it totally. Hitler was a pretty good motivator and understood that for Germany to rule the world the Germans had to believe that was possible. On their back 15 years before to hosting a world-class games would do wonders for that. Same as it would in Tokyo the same short time after Japan was on their back. Totalitarian regimes generally put on awesome shows. Compare a 4th of July parade in the USA to the May Day parade in the FUSSR.

Quote: Pacomartin

Hungary's population has returned to what it was at the "Hungarian Revolution of 1956". They have been below replacement fertility level for over 3 decades. It has a GDP per capita similar to Poland and Greece. It's nominal GDP of the country is $138 billion or $118 billion if you are looking at stats from World Bank or IMF.

The Hungarian forint is circulating some €12.2 billions, or €1,232 per capita.

The official cost of the Rio Olympics remains at $12 billion, but could actually end up costing $20 billion.

Does it seem crazy that Budapest is a finalist for the Olympic Games?

How do you define "crazy?" For a smaller country the Olympics are a bigger deal. The average American probably can't name 10 current athletes on the team and how many can you really remember from all-time. Compare that to the other celebrity in the USA. Same for other big nations. But those smaller places with 2-6 athletes, those guys are the local stars of the first order. They can and do finish last and it does not matter. For some the trip is an actual hard expense for the host nation.

Hungary is not that small, but having the games would be an all-time thing to remember. We remember in the USA but not in a huge way. In an LA they host so much stuff it is just one thing of many. But in Budapest it would feel way different for the locals. Financially it would be a senseless disaster. But poor folks make senseless disasters on all kinds of scales. Think of the broke guy with the fancy car. Think the poor guy who uses his tax refund to go to a very fancy place then lives broke the rest of the year (I saw that one!) Small town raises money for a huge clock tower or some other fancy building that will be there for a century but its biggest utility is appearance.

It is part of why I cheer when the USA gets turned down for the games. Waste for show.

The robberies are even happening in the
Olympic Village, touted as the safest place
on earth for the athletes. The Danish team
is also saying cell phones were stolen.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/01/sport/fire-thefts-olympic-village/