The Olympics have been sold to the public as a panacea for all problems. They’ll bring new riches to the host city! They’ll create thousands of great jobs! They won’t hurt the environment! They’ll bring needed resources to imporvished neighborhoods! Don’t believe it! Here are stories and reports from other cities who have hosted or are hosting the games.
Host of 2012 Summer Games || Opposing the games = Games Monitor
London games wildly over budget
Read report on true cost from the House of Commons – house_commons-budget_2012_games (pdf)
Bid books lie – London games cost soared from Pounds 4.9 to 9.3 billion
London Olympics could cost $9 billion pounds
The Surveillance Olympics
“Intensifiication of policing, surveillance implications”
Host of 2010 Winter Games || Opposing the games = 2010 Watch || Impact on Community Coalition
“Vancouver credit rating downgraded as Olympic debt grows” It’s worth it, right?
“Olympic Village may cost Vancouver taxpayers $875M: Mayor” But they were PROMISED it wouldn’t!
“Vancouver games will make no profit” No kidding.
“Calculating the true cost of the Olympics – Vancouver’s security bill goes from $175 million to $1 billion”
“Olympic land grab”
“Ottawa orders close scrutiny of Olympic Spending”
“Critic crunches Vancouver Olympics security members”
“2010 Games in crisis”
Host of 2008 Summer Games || Opposing the games = no official – Human Rights Watch
Beijing – One year later – from Sports Illustrated. Venues sit unused.
COHRE: One World, Whose Dream? Housing Rights Violations and the Beijing Olympic Games
The 2008 Olympics: Subterranean Rot
China’s All-Seeing Eye
ATHENS – Host of 2004 Summer Games || Opposing the games = Olympic dreams turn to dust
Host of 2000 Summer Games || Opposing the games = PISSOFF
Report on the cost of the 2000 games.
Host of the 1996 Summer Games || Opposing the games = homelessness case study
Atlanta’s Olympic Legacy: More Poverty, Less Freedom
Paying a high price for the Games
Olympic Games Research
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), faced with the challenge implicit in Barcelona’s nomination as host city of the 25th Olympic Games, promoted the creation of the Centre d’Estudis Olímpics in 1989 for the purposes of research, documentation, training and dissemination of information on Olympism and sport.
Games Bid News – The purpose of our publication is to keep readers independently informed and up-to-date with information about the Olympic Bid process and candidate city bids from around the world. Bids have a major impact on the future of the bid cities and it is important that everyone be informed and involved. We will be presenting different ideas and viewpoints and encourage you to let us know how you feel.
CAN YOU SEND US REPORTS OR LINKS TO RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATIONS WITH DOCUMENTATION ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF THE OLYMPICS ON HOST CITIES? Email us at nogameschicago@gmail.com.