Guardian: As London awaits the Olympic inspectors, Athens offersa bleak vision of the future

As London awaits the Olympic inspectors, Athens offers a bleak vision of the
future

Helena Smith in Athens
Friday February 4, 2005

Guardian

Everything about the Agios Kosmas Olympic sailing centre speaks of money:
pavilions, state-of-the-art mooring space, shiny clinics and computers.
Behind the marina's impressive wave breaker, rows of high-tech inflatable
boats line its polished paving stones.

But little moves in this gleaming facility that conjured so much of
Britain's glory at the Olympics. A tatty Greek flag, whipped by the winter
winds, flies over the marina and a lone guard sits shivering in his car as
sad indicators of the venue's moribund state.

Up the road, world-class basketball, fencing, hockey, softball, kayak and
canoeing facilities stand eerily empty. And across town the ultra-modern
housing complex, widely acknowledged as the best-ever Olympic village, has
the same ghost-like feel. Sheep roam amid the rubbish.

As the International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission flew into
Madrid yesterday to start an inspection tour that will take it to London, on
February 19, and other candidate cities for the 2012 games, Greece's Olympic
experience offers a cautionary tale.

The 2004 Olympiad may have been the IOC president Jacques Rogge's "dream
games", the bonanza that defied the doomsayers. But nearly six months after
opening in spectacular style, Greeks have been left wondering whether their
only legacy is the ¿9bn (£6.25bn) bill they ran up.

They are likely to be paying for decades for the most costly Olympics ever.
"It's like we built a brand new house, held a great party, then closed it
and, now, have no guests," lamented Serafim Kotrotsos, who headed
communications in the Athens 2004 organising committee. "It's hard to tell
that this city even staged the Olympics. The last thing you can say is that
the atmosphere, after the games, has been good."

Officials in Greece's centre-right government, which took power barely five
months before the games, do not disagree.

Although the event boosted local self-confidence, they face the question of
how to use the 36 purpose-built or upgraded installations.

The prime minister Costas Karamanlis has said the main goal of his
government's post-Olympic strategy will be to "further boost Greece's image
abroad". But as civil servants ponder the future of the sites, many say the
previous administration's lack of forward thinking becomes ever more
apparent. In the rush to complete on time, critics contend that the
erstwhile government lost sight of their eventual use. "Large sums were
spent on the venues' construction but no economic viability studies were
drawn up for them," said Greece's alternate culture minister, Fani
Palli-Petralia, who headed day-to-day preparations for the games. "It's
unbelievable."

The dilemma might not be so serious if the cost of operating and maintaining
the installations were not so high. Officials estimate that the basic
upkeep, whether used or not, will come to a tidy ¿60m a year. With Greece's
budget stretched to breaking point, finding lucrative uses has become a
national priority.

Much of this task has fallen to Christos Hadjiemmanuil, a 41-year-old
finance lawyer who was beseeched by the Conservatives to take leave from his
teaching job at the London School of Economics to solve the conundrum. As a
non-political official who is highly respected in his field, Hadjiemmanuil
does not mince his words. Some of the venues, he said, were "deeply
problematic". Without spectator-sports value - "nobody watches fencing or
ping-pong in Greece" - they came dangerously close to resembling "Pharaonic
projects".

Although grandiose in size there were a few, such as the weightlifting
centre in the run-down district of Nikea, which did not have a proper access
road. In the central Greek town of Volos things were even worse: a
23,000-seat stadium had been built for a city with only 80,000 inhabitants
and no top-flight football team.

"Financially the Olympics were a disaster. They overshot their original
budget five-fold," said the academic, who now heads Olympic Properties, the
state company controlling the venues. "The games could have happened with a
lot fewer permanent venues. Instead the state acted like a profligate man,
ill-spending money as if there were no tomorrow."

Among the venues' potential uses being considered by the government is the
creation of a water park, conference centre and massive leisure and
entertainment complex.

"We will have a much clearer idea when a new bill finalising the facilities'
land permits, and specifying uses, is brought before parliament in the
coming weeks," said Hadjiemmanuil. "Our hope is that by attracting foreign
investment [through the leasing of the facilities] we can open up Greece and
its economy."


http://sport.guardian.co.uk/london20...405799,00.html

"sufaud" wrote in message
...
As London awaits the Olympic inspectors, Athens offers a bleak vision of
the
future

Helena Smith in Athens
Friday February 4, 2005

Guardian

Everything about the Agios Kosmas Olympic sailing centre speaks of money:
pavilions, state-of-the-art mooring space, shiny clinics and computers.
Behind the marina's impressive wave breaker, rows of high-tech inflatable
boats line its polished paving stones.

But little moves in this gleaming facility that conjured so much of
Britain's glory at the Olympics. A tatty Greek flag, whipped by the winter
winds, flies over the marina and a lone guard sits shivering in his car as
sad indicators of the venue's moribund state.

Up the road, world-class basketball, fencing, hockey, softball, kayak and
canoeing facilities stand eerily empty. And across town the ultra-modern
housing complex, widely acknowledged as the best-ever Olympic village, has
the same ghost-like feel. Sheep roam amid the rubbish.

As the International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission flew into
Madrid yesterday to start an inspection tour that will take it to London,
on
February 19, and other candidate cities for the 2012 games, Greece's
Olympic
experience offers a cautionary tale.

The 2004 Olympiad may have been the IOC president Jacques Rogge's "dream
games", the bonanza that defied the doomsayers. But nearly six months
after
opening in spectacular style, Greeks have been left wondering whether
their
only legacy is the ¿9bn (£6.25bn) bill they ran up.

They are likely to be paying for decades for the most costly Olympics
ever.
"It's like we built a brand new house, held a great party, then closed it
and, now, have no guests," lamented Serafim Kotrotsos, who headed
communications in the Athens 2004 organising committee. "It's hard to tell
that this city even staged the Olympics. The last thing you can say is
that
the atmosphere, after the games, has been good."

Officials in Greece's centre-right government, which took power barely
five
months before the games, do not disagree.

Although the event boosted local self-confidence, they face the question
of
how to use the 36 purpose-built or upgraded installations.

The prime minister Costas Karamanlis has said the main goal of his
government's post-Olympic strategy will be to "further boost Greece's
image
abroad". But as civil servants ponder the future of the sites, many say
the
previous administration's lack of forward thinking becomes ever more
apparent. In the rush to complete on time, critics contend that the
erstwhile government lost sight of their eventual use. "Large sums were
spent on the venues' construction but no economic viability studies were
drawn up for them," said Greece's alternate culture minister, Fani
Palli-Petralia, who headed day-to-day preparations for the games. "It's
unbelievable."

The dilemma might not be so serious if the cost of operating and
maintaining
the installations were not so high. Officials estimate that the basic
upkeep, whether used or not, will come to a tidy ¿60m a year. With
Greece's
budget stretched to breaking point, finding lucrative uses has become a
national priority.

Much of this task has fallen to Christos Hadjiemmanuil, a 41-year-old
finance lawyer who was beseeched by the Conservatives to take leave from
his
teaching job at the London School of Economics to solve the conundrum. As
a
non-political official who is highly respected in his field, Hadjiemmanuil
does not mince his words. Some of the venues, he said, were "deeply
problematic". Without spectator-sports value - "nobody watches fencing or
ping-pong in Greece" - they came dangerously close to resembling
"Pharaonic
projects".

Although grandiose in size there were a few, such as the weightlifting
centre in the run-down district of Nikea, which did not have a proper
access
road. In the central Greek town of Volos things were even worse: a
23,000-seat stadium had been built for a city with only 80,000 inhabitants
and no top-flight football team.

"Financially the Olympics were a disaster. They overshot their original
budget five-fold," said the academic, who now heads Olympic Properties,
the
state company controlling the venues. "The games could have happened with
a
lot fewer permanent venues. Instead the state acted like a profligate man,
ill-spending money as if there were no tomorrow."

Among the venues' potential uses being considered by the government is the
creation of a water park, conference centre and massive leisure and
entertainment complex.

"We will have a much clearer idea when a new bill finalising the
facilities'
land permits, and specifying uses, is brought before parliament in the
coming weeks," said Hadjiemmanuil. "Our hope is that by attracting foreign
investment [through the leasing of the facilities] we can open up Greece
and
its economy."


http://sport.guardian.co.uk/london20...405799,00.html

Big deal. These buildings will last a long time and can be used by people
for other than sporting events - conferences come to mind. All over the
western world we have excesses like these.

Don't be such a miserable idiot. When the Eifel tower was built all
poor *******s like you complained. Money was well spend in Olympic '04.
Even if the debt was twice the current they would have been worth it.

Following up to sufaud

to start an inspection tour that will take it to London, on
February 19, and other candidate cities for the 2012 games, Greece's Olympic
experience offers a cautionary tale.

with any luck we wont get it and will have only wasted the bid
money.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

The Reids wrote:

Following up to sufaud

to start an inspection tour that will take it to London, on
February 19, and other candidate cities for the 2012 games, Greece's Olympic
experience offers a cautionary tale.

with any luck we wont get it and will have only wasted the bid
money.

I don't think London will get it, unless enough of the committee can be
bought. (I'm serious- this is what has happened in the past.) Paris
seems like the favourite. However, I actually think the London bid is a
good one, and could revitalise an area that really needs it. I don't
think the government is behind it enough however, as they don't like
losing things...

As for the story on Athens, I suspect that this view may change in time.
At the moment they have a bit of a financial hangover. They may yet come
to appreciate the investment in buildings and infrastructure.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

"chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn"
wrote in message
As for the story on Athens, I suspect that this view may change in time.
At the moment they have a bit of a financial hangover. They may yet come
to appreciate the investment in buildings and infrastructure.

In the UK it would help various areas of London. However that's not
currently where the infrastructure investment needs to be put.

Following up to chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn

with any luck we wont get it and will have only wasted the bid
money.

I don't think London will get it, unless enough of the committee can be
bought. (I'm serious- this is what has happened in the past.) Paris
seems like the favourite. However, I actually think the London bid is a
good one, and could revitalise an area that really needs it.

Why not just revitalise with useful things?

I don't
think the government is behind it enough however, as they don't like
losing things...

Hardly anybody seems keen, most say the bid is a waste of
money.Maybe a few projects in the sports arena going smoothly
first might build a track record.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Following up to nitram

Why not just revitalise with useful things?

Why not shut down UK completely?

eh?
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

On Fri, 04 Feb 2005 14:48:12 +0000, The Reids
wrote:

Following up to chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn

with any luck we wont get it and will have only wasted the bid
money.

I don't think London will get it, unless enough of the committee can be
bought. (I'm serious- this is what has happened in the past.) Paris
seems like the favourite. However, I actually think the London bid is a
good one, and could revitalise an area that really needs it.

Why not just revitalise with useful things?

Because that does not cause the sensation needed to attract foreign
investment. Do you want a functional economy, or a vibrant one?
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

On Fri, 4 Feb 2005 07:31:47 -0000, "Dorian West"
wrote:


Big deal. These buildings will last a long time and can be used by people
for other than sporting events - conferences come to mind. All over the
western world we have excesses like these.

Greece is not in good location for this type of thing though. If your
are going to hold a successful conference, you do it much further
west, so people don't have to travel so far.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--