albrecht said – Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:14:16 -0000 ( Link )
Beijing 2008 was a truly amazing spectacle that really set the bar for future olympic games.
My worry is that we really didn’t need to set the bar so high for the extravagance and just plain enormity of the games. The hundreds of millions of dollars spent is pretty mind boggling for a two week festival of athletics. I think the Olympics could get pared down a bit in size and extravagance (and cost) and it would still be a good show with the same good message.
You look at what happens to most of these million dollar facilities after the games (Athen from 2004 has something like 90% of their structures not in use and boarded up) and the financial burden it often puts on host cities and countries (Montreal is still paying off debts from the 1976 Summer Games!) and wonder if we aren’t getting carried away…
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