Bring The Olympic Games Home Permanently

Even before the noise and lights of the opening spectacle of the summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have died down many people are questioning whether the spiralling costs and ever expanding size of the games have dimmed their once lustrous reputation. The conclusion that more and more people seem to be reaching is that the once-fabled Olympic Games are no longer worth the cost and disruption. It is way past time for the International Olympic Committee to re-think the direction of the games.

 There is a simple, admittedly radical, solution to the increasing problem of finding a city willing and able to host the sports spectacular. Stop the ridiculous, very expensive competition among cities that can hardly afford a decent water system let alone the Olympic Games. Return the games to their original location and make Athens the permanent site for future summer Olympic Games. Why not? The venues are already there from the 2004 games. The Greeks have demonstrated they know how to run a big event. The money has already been spent. The infrastructure is in place. And Greece could use the guaranteed injection of significant funds every four years. Think about it.

 

Was it worth the cost?

Rio may have seemed like a brilliant, well deserved choice when awarded the games back in 2009. But in recent years Brazil has not only been in a downward economic and political trend, but is beset with the dangerous zika virus. In short, Brazil currently has many higher priorities than the Olympic Games that are irrelevant to the vast majority of Brazilians.

            Just look at the growth of the modern games. In the 1964 Tokyo summer games there were 163 events in 19 sports with 5,151 athletes. This year in Rio there are 306 events in 42 sports with 11,192 athletes competing. And as for the costs … the Saïd Business School at Oxford University analysed 30 summer and winter games and concluded that none of the games came within initial budget. The study, contested as one might expect by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), also concluded nearly half the games exceeded their cost estimates by more than 100%.

            The study also noted that sports-related costs (venues and the athletes’ village) amounted to $6.8 billion for the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing, $15 billion for the 2012 games in London, and dropping back to around $5 billion for the 2016 games. The sports-related costs for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia came in at an eye-popping $21.9 billion. That number ballooned to about $50 billion, when related infrastructure costs are included.

 

Skiers and costs hit new highs in Sochi

What is clear is that by any measure the sky-rocketing costs of the games are deterring many cities from even placing a bid. Boston, for example, pulled out of the bidding for the 2024 summer games when it became clear that the taxpayers of the city would be responsible for the inevitable cost overruns. Hamburg also pulled out following a referendum showing that the population did not want the games. The new mayor of Rome said that city, already €13 billion in debt, simply cannot afford the spectacle. That leaves Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest as the remaining possibilities.

 Four of the six cities that bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games later withdrew those bids, leaving the IOC with the choice of Beijing or Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. Beijing was the ‘lucky’ winner.

Oslo, Norway was the preferred choice for the 2022 winter games but withdrew because of lack of public support and annoyance at some of the IOC’s ludicrous demands such as free liquor for IOC members and a cocktail party with the King of Norway. This was too much for the sensible, egalitarian Norwegians. Furthermore, with historically low unemployment and excellent existing infrastructure Oslo didn’t need the games to improve things.

                              The time has come to rein in the games and stop them from becoming the athletic equivalent of the over-the-top Eurovision contest. The athletes have trained very hard for several years. Their sacrifices and nobility of effort should not be overshadowed by the circus atmosphere of organizers' problems with financing, construction, idiotic demands by for special privileges by IOC members, doping scandals, or variable international politics. And the people of the host city should not be left with very expensive white elephants that only deteriorate over time.

Time to return the Games to their roots

            I say again, bring the games home – permanently. There are plenty of international athletic competitions – World Cup of football, World Cup of rugby, tennis tournaments, world championships in almost all sports – that can be moved around to satisfy the egos of various host countries. But there is only one summer Olympic Games. And those games and the athletes should have the dignity of a permanent home -- where it all started and where all the preparations are in place.

Try Something Different. Go North -- Very Far North -- For A Winter Break.

Forget the Caribbean! For a real break from the urban winter blues of damp cold, slush, and a transport system that fails with the merest hint of a snow flake do something completely different. Head even further north, above the Arctic Circle. 

OK, I have to admit that my wife’s initial enthusiasm for a trip to northern Norway in February was a bit muted – especially as we had been talking about Florence. But she began to warm to the idea – as it were -  after studying the attractions of Oslo and learning that Tromso –north of the Arctic Circle – offered more than igloos and dog sleds.

Oslo turned out to a real treat - full of great museums like the Viking ship museum, good restaurants, good public transportation, and a stunning opera house where we went to see the ballet Giselle. Ticket prices were moderate, and the opera house is intelligently organized for a relaxed meal before the performance. Furthermore, the temperature in Oslo was not bad at all – nowhere near as cold as my home town in New England where the thermostat dropped to -20◦C. I know it’s a cliché, but everyone we encountered in Norway spoke beautiful English. That’s useful because nothing you studied in school even remotely resembles Norwegian. Maybe the Swedes and Danes can understand it, but I seriously doubt that anyone else will have a clue what they’re talking about.

Royal palace in Oslo

The Gokstad ship in the Viking Ship Museum

 

The Oslo opera house

The 1 ½ hour flight from Oslo to Tromso, a small city at 69◦N latitude on an island in one of Norway’s innumerable fiords, was uneventful. However, as we descended over frozen, snow covered mountains and a frigid fiord instead of the graceful domes and Arno River of the long-promised Florence my wife’s face took on a certain ‘You owe me – big time’ expression. However, things began to look up as soon as we landed.

 

"This doesn't look like Florence!"

The first surprise after a short bus trip from the airport to our hotel was the number of tourists – including large groups of Chinese -- in town. Locals said that tourism was up at least 50% this year and they were having trouble finding staff to deal with the crush of visitors. When you consider that Norway has a population of only five million people – less than half the population of the city of Istanbul alone – it is not surprising that much of the staff in hotels and restaurants comes from nearby Sweden. Maybe tourists have decided to forgo the ‘charms’ of the current political climate in the Mediterranean region and flock to a place where the most frightening event might be a couple of reindeer ambling down the street.

In addition to tourism, Tromso’s economy benefits from the presence of a university, a polar research center, and good fishing throughout the surrounding fiords. Tromso also has become somewhat of a conference center. Several of the hotels were hosting conferences of companies and non-profit groups from all over Norway. While the conference attractions may not rival Las Vegas, there is plenty for the attendees to do outside the meetings.

 Like Oslo, this surprisingly sophisticated arctic town has very good restaurants, fascinating museums, and at least one good modern art gallery. As you might imagine the restaurants feature a lot of fish – cod in all possible permutations, haddock, halibut, multiple varieties of herring, and enormous crabs. Meat is mostly local lamb and reindeer. Decent wine lists are supplemented with good whiskeys from relatively nearby Scotland.

Daytime activities include whale-watching, snow mobile journeys, cross-country skiing, dog sleds, visiting the native Sami people and feeding reindeer, or hiring a car to see the dramatic scenery that dominates the region. During the night you can also choose to drive to a distant base camp where the Northern Lights are more visible. This requires a bit of patience because the lights seldom appear before 10:30 – 11 pm.

The Sami reindeer herders

Mariella opted for feeding the reindeer, meeting the Sami, and sampling some of their reindeer stew. I chose the more sedentary whale watching, and after a couple of hours of a beautiful boat trip along the fiords we arrived near the picturesque island of Sommaroy where numerous humpback and fin whales were lazily searching for food. Occasionally they would reward us with a flourish of their huge tails and dive beneath the surface. Other times I was conscious of being in a fairly small boat as they circled us sometimes blowing geysers high into the frozen air.

Whale diving for food near Sommaroy

Northern Lights brighten the night sky

On the way back to Tromso we passed a Norwegian submarine slipping out to sea, and I was reminded of the life-and-death struggles on these icy waters during World War II as allied convoys struggled to bring vital supplies around the northern tip of Norway to beleaguered Russian ports. As if the natural elements of violent storms, wild seas and ice weren’t bad enough the convoys faced constant threats of German U-boat attacks and bombers flying from fields in occupied Norway. Standing on the slippery deck of our small boat early in February even in the calm water of the fiord, it didn’t take a great deal of imagination to appreciate the bravery and endurance of the mariners who made that perilous trip.

Ice forming on WW II convoys around northern Norway

The austere beauty of the arctic may not initially appeal to everyone whose idea of a winter holiday is a Caribbean beach and drinks with umbrellas. But those willing to leave flip-flops and bikinis at home and venture north of the 66^th parallel will – to borrow a phrase from Gertrude Stein – find that there is a there there, some place special, some place you won’t quickly forget as soon as the plane brings you home.