John Gorman

Blue
3/30/14

Hosting the Olympic games results in long-term negative outcomes for host
cities, including the depletion of economic, capital, and natural resources. In order
to avoid such depletions the IOC, International Olympic Committee, should set up
permanent Olympic sites with all necessary structures for use in future Olympic
games. The Olympic games are a celebration of peace, however after the Olympics
are over lasting unrest is often the end result for these host cities. Montreal, which
hosted the 1976 Olympics, found itself in a one and a half billion-dollar debt, which
took 31 years for the city to pay off. Athens, which hosted the Olympics in 2004, was
left with many abandon venues, which continue to rot to this day, as well as another
hefty debt. The debt from the Athens Olympics was one important factor in Greeces
economical downturn. In 2014 Sochi, Russia, hosted the most expensive Olympic
games ever known at a cost of fifty one billion dollars, and the consequences for
Sochi have yet to unfold.

Perhaps one of the greatest losses of resources comes in the economical
factor. Just to bid for the Olympics can cost a city a large amount of money, for
example Chicago spent a reported $100 million in its losing campaign to host the
2016 summer games(Why Hosting the Olympics Is Bad for Cities). When a city wins
the bid to host the Olympics, its economic breakdown begins almost immediately.
During 2008, shortly after Sochi won the 2014 Winter Olympics the pains of hosting
the Olympics started to show, unfortunately just as they entered a global recession.
The Russian government had to not only to stimulate the failing economy but also
John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

pay for the upcoming Olympics. If however Russian did not have the burden of
preparing for the Olympics then they might have been financially able to pull
themselves out of the rescission (RUSSIAS FINANCIAL CRISIS: ECONOMIC
SETBACKS AND POLICY RESPONSES). In Russia oil prices have more than halved
(Storm clouds hang over Sochi Olympics) only four months after Russia won the big
to host the games, and stock markets are down by nearly 80 percent (Storm clouds
hang over Sochi Olympics). At the same time that they prepared for the Olympics,
the Russian economy was so bad that the Kremlin pledged upward of $200 billion
to bail out troubled banks and corporations (Storm clouds hang over Sochi
Olympics). Due to the economic catastrophe in 2008 the central bank of Russia has
been struggling to defend the national currency from inflation due to Olympic
financial problems. The money lost by the country and city was much more than just
the budget of the Olympic games; in just three weeks forty five billion additional
dollars had been stripped from Russian reserves to not only support the Olympics
but also to fix the problems that came along with it (Storm clouds hang over Sochi
Olympics). The Olympics make the host city and country unable to pursue other
projects, which need economic support.
Similar to the difficulties of Russia, other hosts of the Olympic games have
also experienced economic losses due to the games. In Greece, after the Olympics, a
countrywide recession took place, Shortly after the Athens Games, Greece plunged
into a deep economic recession(What happens to Olympic venues after the torch
goes out). Another city that suffered similar difficulties was Montreal. Is perhaps is
John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

one of the most famous calamities in Olympic history. After the Olympics the
economy of Montreal went into decline, unemployment doubled between 1975
and 1982, and property taxes collapsed (Bringing the World to Canada: The
Periphery of the Centre) as well. The stories of these cities illustrate how the
economies of cities and countries are extremely hindered by the Olympic games.
Hosting them has been economically damaging to many cities rather than providing
the economic growth that is expected.

Capital resources, such as labor and machinery, are a major requirement for
any city hoping to host the Olympics. When preparations for the Olympics are
underway the cities capital resources are suspended from being used to grow other
parts of the city. A DC/Baltimore coalition has shown interest in bidding for the
2024 Summer Olympics. When Mayor Vincent Grey was questioned on the subject
he said what we would have to do is weigh that opportunity against all the other
economic development opportunities in the city(D.C. 2024 Announces Plan to Bid
on 2024 Summer Olympic Games). A choice to develop for the Olympics leaves the
rest of the citys development at a stand still. The potential development that is lost
can lead to a loss of ongoing economic growth that subsequently comes with
development. Regarding preparation for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, many
government officials have expressed concern about the tolls the Olympics will take
on their country. Mitropoulos an executive director at PwC in Athens said that the
John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

problem for Sochi and many other Olympic host cities is notcost but the waste of
capital resources. (Enormous Cost of Russian Olympics Will Continue to Grow).
Loss of available capital resources is a very significant toll brought on by the
Olympics. While during the Olympics the venues provide massive economic benefit
for the host city, the production of stadiums leaves the host city unable to develop
the rest of the city which then only leaves useless abandon stadiums, with no raise
in infrastructure.

The last depleted major resource is natural resources, especially land.
To host the Olmypics, host cities need large quanties of land to place stadium,
olmypic villages, and other olympic related structures. Athens is infamous for
misusing land for its Olympics, today a large majority the 2004 Olympic venues are
rotting. Gary Hustwit, a documentarian says, the abandon stadiums have chain-
linked fence around them and theyre covered with graffiti (What happens to
Olympic venues after the torch goes out). These abandon rotting venues are also a
waste of billions of dollars (What happens to Olympic venues after the torch goes
out). In preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the government cleared miles of
residential land for new complexes and infrastructure in preparation for the critical
eyes of the international community (Trading the People's Homes for the People's
Olympics: The Property Regime in China). The evictions lead to massive reactions
from citizens, in Beijing hundreds of thousands of displaced residents participated
in protests against forced evictions (Trading the People's Homes for the People's
John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

Olympics: The Property Regime in China). The 2008 Olympics caused collateral
damage, which is sadly a recurring theme in Olympic history. The very same venues
that led to the destruction of homes today lay dormant. Venues for kayaking, beach
volleyball, BMX, and baseball sit untouched since 2008 ( Beijing's Olympic Ruins) .
The abandoned venues are also losing money as well; the Water Cube, the
swimming complex of the 2008 Olympics, lost about $1 million last year(Beijing's
Olympic Ruins). Chinese officials have tried to turn a profit in the water cube ever
since 2008 with such features as a waterpark, however the venues of Olympics are
simply just to expensive to ever gain money on .In Sochi six new venues were
constructed for the 2014 Olympics. Sochi is just a city of less than four hundred
thousand inhabitants, a city much to small for six world-class stadiums. Costas
Mitropoulos, former Greek Olympic fund commissioner, says, Post-game use
options must be factored into the Olympic organizers planning very early on (What
Happens to Olympic Venues after the Torch Goes out). Sochi officials admit, that in
the rush to get Sochi ready, the post-Olympic plans werent thought through(What
Happens to Olympic Venues after the Torch Goes out). The main Olympic stadium in
Sochi cost seven hundred and seventy nine million dollars, and only has three
scheduled events in its lifetime, a grand prix and two world cup matches. The
venues of the 2014 Olympics stand a good chance of being abandoned just like the
venues of Athens have been abandoned. Instead a resort city like Sochi could
enormously benefit from increased tourism infrastructure. However this
John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

infrastructure could never be constructed due to massive efforts to complete
Olympic venues.

Natural resources are a necessity in any city. By misusing land a host city can
lose vital development land and money from attempting to maintain the abandoned
venues of Olympic games.

The negative impacts of the Olympics deeply affect the host city and having a
new city go into debt every two years, and take a long time to recover, is not
practical for the worlds economy. However there are solutions, in order to avoid
future city debts, the IOC needs to set permanent Olympic venues that will be used
for every Olympics from then on. The permanent venues could be on an Olympic
Island controlled by the IOC, protected by the United Nations, and subsidized by the
international community. Every four years one or two venues and the Olympic
theme could be redone. Therefore every Olympics billions of dollars are not spent
on dozens of new stadiums while the Olympic venues are still new and hip. Another
option would to rotate the Olympics from a couple of recent Olympic sites. These
two options would allow for very little resource depletion in the future. Therefore
national and local economies around the world will cease to be demolished by the
world largest celebration of peace.
The Olympics are harmful to a host city. Host cities expect that the Olympics
will bring business and tourism to the hosts country and city, and likely they do,
John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

however not to the extent needed to offset the immense costs. Host cities hope to
make a profit from the Olympics as some rare cities like los Angles have. However
Los Angeles didnt have financially successful Olympics due to good planning but
rather private funding, a luxury that is not the norm for most Olympic host cities.

Whatever the pull to host the Olympics; the negative effects of hosting the
Olympics far out weights any good that comes from the Olympics. The loss of
capital, economical, and natural resources leads to a mass loss of resources. By
hosting the Olympics, the host city losses valuable money, and opportunities of
growth for their residents. Its depressing that the world largest celebration of peace
causes so much pain, however sadly the Olympics destroy the recourses of cities
around the world.










John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

Works Cited
Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 7, Going Global: The Promises and Pitfalls
of Hosting Global Games (2004), pp. 1215-1232
Zimbalist, Andrew. "Why Hosting the Olympics Is Bad for Cities." Why Hosting
the Olympics Is Bad for Cities. The Atlantic Cities, 24 July 2012. Web. 25 Mar.
2014.
Stewart, C., & Wilson, S. (2008, Oct 26). Storm clouds hang over Sochi
Olympics. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/422244875?accountid=1095
Desai, P. (2010). RUSSIA'S FINANCIAL CRISIS: ECONOMIC SETBACKS AND
POLICY RESPONSES. Journal of International Affairs, 63(2), 141-IX. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/276291995?accountid=1095
"D.C. 2024 Announces Plan to Bid on 2024 Summer Olympic Games." NBC4
Washington. NBC, 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Pismennaya, Evgenia. "Enormous Cost of Russian Olympics Will Continue to
Grow." Canada.com. Postmedia News, 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Stump, Scott, and Eun Kyung Kim. "What Happens to Olympic Venues after the
Torch Goes out." TODAY Sochi. Today, 22 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Wang, T. H. (2006). TRADING THE PEOPLE'S HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE'S OLYMPICS:
THE PROPERTY REGIME IN CHINA. Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal, 15(2), 599-626.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194918490?accountid=1095
Byrnes, Mark. "Beijing's Olympic Ruins." The Atlantic Cities, 6 July 2012. Web.
27 Mar. 2014.





















John Gorman
Blue
3/30/14

Annotated Bibliography

The Promises and Pitfalls of Hosting Global Games: An paper on the negative
impacts of the Olympics especially on the city of Montreal
Why Hosting the Olympics Is Bad for Cities: An article describing the numerous
affects of the Olympics and why they are overall bad for the city, even in cases of
economically successful Olympics like London.
Storm clouds hang over Sochi Olympics: The horrors occurring in Sochi and
Russia due to the Sochi Olympics even before the games. It also looks into
what could be in store for Sochi after the games.
Russia's Financial Crisis: Economic Setbacks And Policy Responses: Another
paper on the situations in Russia due to the upcoming Olympics and its long
range of problems that even come six years prior.
D.C. 2024 Announces Plan to Bid on 2024 Summer Olympic Games: A news
video on the Washington/Baltimore commission to host the Olympics, especially
Mayor Vincent Greys views on hosting the Olympics.
Enormous Cost of Russian Olympics Will Continue to Grow:Yet another story
on the costs of the Sochi Olmypics and how it will affect Russia, it also
compares the possible upcoming costs of the Sochi Olmypics to other
Oympics.
What Happens to Olympic Venues after the Torch Goes out: An article on the
horrible conditions of past Olympics, and how they waste large sums of money
for the state without having a more proper use. The article focused on the venues
of the most infamous financial Olympics, Athens. The article also includes vast
amounts of pictures.
Trading The People's Homes For The People's Olympics: The Property
Regime In China: A paper on how the Chinese government stole their citizens
and for the Olympics and how the citizens negatively reacted. Stating another
negative impact of the Olympics.
Beijing's Olympic Ruins: Another account of Olympic venues in ruins however
this time focusing on Beijing, which is not as famous for having abandon venues.