Four months from today, the Vancouver & Whistler Winter Olympics begin – or the 19th Winter Olympiad. Whichever name you prefer probably means how you look at the ownership of the event: It either belongs to the Host City, or the International Olympic Committee that runs it. This statement has been the major argument point of the whole event. Whenever demonstrations have taken place against hosting the Winter Olympics, or ‘official’ statements from the IOC have been sent by winged-ankled messengers from Mount Olympus, the same refrain is heard, with slightly different emphasis, depending on which side of the argument you sit – namely: “But, this is our city – aren’t they our games?
It has been 6 years since we were awarded the games (That’s a giveaway already, to me. Someone, somewhere decided we were good enough to host their games), and that has always been the refrain: “But this is our city.” What on earth and snow did we think were going to happen? Which Olympics have you peered at through the static on your TV have appeared to be anything but what the previous ones were? I think the more important question is why do we want to do it? I was asked that on my Facebook page yesterday: “I can’t think of anything negative about hosting the Olympics”, she said. Now, I am a Sports fan, and I’m close to a few people working for the organising committee in the city, so I am a Pro-games guy, bit even then, if you don’t look at a lot of money spent, and upheaval in your life to do this, as a negative, then you aren’t from this city or this country. Just for the record, the cost of this award is $1.76 Billion (Canadian, sure, but today we are at 96 cents US), and the cost to the tax payer (published) is almost 600 Million.
Since the award, there have been lots of negatives broadcast and published, and thanks to my sources, I can add some inside ‘juice’, so I decided to hijack the blog for the next four months, and let you know what it’s like living in an Olympic city – for better and for worse. First, though, here is the main question:” What does it mean to host the Olympics?”– or why would you want it?
It is something that only a comparative handful of cities that has ever done this – that’s why. Four 2 weeks in 2010, scenes of our city will be broadcast around the World. That kind of marketing would cost way more than the amount we have effectively paid for this, and when were you moved to visit a place because it was on TV? We will get lots of spanking new sporting venues, but I can’t see me busting a gut to try out that new ski-jump, just because it‘s there. No, it’s because we think we are good enough to be counted among the World’s cities that have done this, and this us sticking out chests out and saying: “We are good enough.” The cost of this Hubris is almost $2 Billion, and may make us the target of a horrendous terrorist attack. Let’s keep a running total of the pros and cons as we get closer to the end of this, but for the moment, It’s like buying those killer shoes, when you aren’t working. The Pride is still pretty high – if you ignore the cost for now.
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