In this Business English News lesson: we take a look at the economic aspects of the Olympic Games.
The Olympic motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ will be in full force this year as London hosts the 30th Olympic Games. However, it won’t be just the athletes trying to go ‘higher, faster, stronger’, but also companies poised to rake in the dough in what many hope will be a financial windfall.
The Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius” will be in full force this year as London hosts the 30th Olympic Games. However, it won’t be just the athletes trying to go “higher, faster, stronger”, but also companies poised to rake in the dough in what many hope will be a financial windfall. From the Guardian:
“The UK economy will get a £16bn boost from the London Olympic Games, a new report claimed today. Banking group Lloyds said that the event is driving activity across the key sectors of construction and tourism, leading to jobs, expenditure and opportunities for businesses across the UK.”
Reported at an eye-watering cost of more than £13 billion, and by some calculations, nearly £24 billion with all the associated costs, the London games are on track to be one of the most expensive in history. Sky News had this to say:
“The additional cash includes spending on more anti-doping control officers, money for local councils for their Olympic torch relay programmes, cash spent on legacy schemes, paying tube workers not to strike, and governmental operational costs.”
By comparison, Athens spent nearly $16 billion in what amounted to 5% of Greece’s GDP on the 2004 Summer Games. The city was plunged into massive debt and the facilities were left to waste away, with 21 of the 22 venues currently sitting unused. Greek gymnast Christos Libanovnos shared his opinion with TIME magazine:
“It felt good at the time because we were the centre of the world, and we got to show off our country. But what did it cost? So much money – billions of Euros. And now we are bankrupt and everything just gets worse every day. It’s hard not to see a connection and think that maybe it wasn’t worth it.”
China is on record as the most expensive Olympics of all. After spending $43 billion, many of Beijing’s state-of-the-art facilities proved too big, too expensive and more photogenic than practical and have since found little commercial use. As the New York Times noted in 2010:
“In the year after the Olympics, the iconic 90,000-seat Bird’s Nest hosted a Jackie Chan concert, an Italian soccer match, an opera and a presentation of Chinese singing standards. But the local soccer team declined a deal to make it their home field, and the only tenants now are tourists who fork out $7 to visit the souvenir shop.”
Many are unhappy with the immense amounts that the British government is spending, but as British sports minister Hugh Robertson stated, the goal is not just to flaunt some fancy new buildings for 16 days, but to encourage long-term business:
“We’re not coming out as a world superpower,” he said, in contrast to Beijing four years ago. “In a sense, we want to bring the thing down to size and make sure everyone walks away with a fantastic impression of this country and wants to come back and spend money here.”
Many believe that the Olympics are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity just too good to pass up. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Forbes magazine that although times are tough it’s still important to make the most of the situation:
“You can take two attitudes to the Olympics. You can say, these are times of austerity, and therefore we should pare them down as much as possible. Or you can say, because these are times of austerity, we need to do everything we possibly can to harness the opportunity.”
Since winning the bid in 2005, London hasn’t pulled any punches to make these Olympics one for the ages. While the numbers are essential, in the end it will be the athletes who will undoubtedly be the true focus for millions of spectators around the world. The Olympic Creed sums up the true mission of any Games:
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”