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Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

economist.com

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Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#41

Post by fsniper »

[deleted] wrote: post #24
fsniper wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even though I'm very anti Erdoğan I would not be happy If we got the Olympics with or without Erdoğan. Our Economy is projected as a heaven and Turkey as in growth but on the contrary it's way too bad and currently sky diving. Putting one more economic burden as big as the Olympic games would be catastrophic. We are nearly paying taxes just to breath. (exaggeration yes but not too well off.) Getting the games would m…

[deleted]

Taking "Ministry Numbers" into account is the most vulnerable thing to do in Turkey right now. According to them Turkish Lira was rock solid but it just sank 15% in a day a few days ago.

Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#42

Post by rayiner »

andy_ppp wrote: post #26
mafribe wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The transformation of East London which I believe to have been the main reason for choosing to host the Olympics in London, has been fairly spectacular. The Stratford area where the Olympic park was built, used to be a wasteland. Although I don't know this, I conjecture that the Olympics were used as a mechanism to force through a substantial number of planning permissions that would not have been granted otherwise.

Problem with Straford is that a) new builds in the UK are made as cheaply as possible. b) new builds go down in value as soon as you buy them c) we in Europe hate soulless man planned cities - a lot of the area around the olympic park feels this way. I think the government could have just paid for the cleanup of the area and done something like subsidise housing for the poor there with the money, rather than pay the…

> I think the government could have just paid for the cleanup of the area and done something like subsidise housing for the poor there with the money

The whole point of development, especially development pursuant to the Olympics, is to push the poor out of the area. When any mayor says "we will clean up and develop this area," none ever mean "... in order to make a nice place to live for poor people." Indeed, if poor people still live there, the public won't even perceive the area as being nice.

E.g., this is one of the "bad neighborhoods" of Chicago: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=south+halsted+and+west+77+chi...

Like most of the city, it's actually quite well-maintained and pleasant. If lower-income people didn't live there, it wouldn't be considered a bad neighborhood at all.

Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#43

Post by dingaling »

arethuza wrote: post #18
visakanv wrote: post #14

Same reason you'd host any sort of expensive party. To look cool and feel cool. A lot of international politics make a lot more sense when you remember we're all in high school.

Actually, I was very skeptical about the London Olympics before the event. However, I thought the whole thing went splendidly and arguably did give the whole of the UK a bit of a lift in national morale just when we really needed it. Compared to other megaprojects that we seem to be happy to splurge taxpayers money on (e.g. silly aircraft carriers) it actually seemed pretty good value for money.

Current estimate for the QE Carrier project is £5.5 billion, or about 60% of what the Olympics cost.

In comparison to a few weeks of enabling professional athletes 'perform' , the carriers should give at least 45 years of service life. A tangible contribution to UK security, rather than just a TV event.

I'm not a fan of how the carrier project has been managed but to say it's worse value than the Olympics surprises me.

Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#44

Post by 3825 »

netrus wrote: post #30
randallsquared wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you suggesting that hosting the Olympics is a terminal goal, like having children is?

Being entertained is, as feeling a global spirit of humanity, as being proud to be a good host to the world. That are a lot of positive emotions I connect with the Olympic Games. It's quite expensive, but you only do it all 20-odd years (considering also Winter Olympics and Soccer Worldcup). Some modesty is in place, but it would be such a shame if we did not have these events anymore.

I understand that as a community we need children but personally I don't see myself having kids.

>Some modesty is in place, but it would be such a shame if we did not have these events anymore.

This might be another reason to do such events (haven't read the article yet). To make people think the city is "happening", to retain people and dissuade them from leaving for seemingly more fertile pastures.

Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#45

Post by mathattack »

nemesisj wrote: post #6

I think there's an important psychological dimension that's often missed from these calculations, particularly for countries that have a chip on their shoulder. It's a way for the entire world to be focused on something that you're doing well (hopefully) for a few weeks. Before the Beijing olympics many Chinese would ask you how you liked China, and when you replied, "yes" they would say China is "luo hou", which mea…

I agree with you that it's part psychological. I think another piece is an Agency problem. It may not be in the best interest of the people paying the bill (taxpayers) but it may still be in the interest of the organizer.

When Chicago tried to get the Olympics, it was to be the capstone of the legacy of Richard Daley. That's an agency problem, because ultimately the people of the city would need to foot the bills.

I view this similar to corporate M&A. It rarely ever suits the shareholders of the buyers. So why do companies do it? Either there is a psychological reason (overconfidence?) or their stock is overvalued or it might just be in the best interest of the CEO. CEOs of medium companies like to become CEOs of bigger companies. By extension, city officials like to wine and dine with the global elite.

Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#46

Post by PeterisP »

RougeFemme wrote: post #31
codeulike wrote: post #29

Its a bit like saying why would anyone want to host a huge dinner party.

Except that etiquette would dictate that the individual host foot the bill for a huge dinner party, whereas the taxpayers foot the bill for the Olympics.

Anyway, UK taxpayers don't foot the bill for Beijing Olympics - so it's their (UK as a whole) choice to offer to throw the huge dinner party, or just visit someone else's party.

Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#48

Post by [deleted] »

zenyfish wrote: post #35
[deleted] wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

"As of today" Turkey is the "most vulnerable" country to a stop in capital inflow.This means Turkey is on a very fragile balance.Just google "capital-freeze index" and check out the economist.com graph.Maybe Erdogan controlled media is lying to you.

[deleted]

Re: Why Would Anyone Want To Host The Olympics?

#49

Post by dombili »

fsniper wrote: post #41
[deleted] wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

Taking "Ministry Numbers" into account is the most vulnerable thing to do in Turkey right now. According to them Turkish Lira was rock solid but it just sank 15% in a day a few days ago.

It seems like you're implying that Ministry of Finance's numbers are wrong. In that case, what numbers I should take into account?
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