2023-08-21 20:52:15
When only ruins remain from the games
Once they were in the spotlight of world sport, today they are just useless prestige buildings: many Olympic sports venues are deserted, as the following examples show.
Athens 2004 – Play at the beginning of the national bankruptcy
This volleyball arena once held 9,600 spectators. After the games, the temporary opposite grandstand was removed – nature is now reclaiming its territory.
Photo: Orestis Panagiotou (Keystone)
A total of 23 sports facilities were built for these summer games. The predicted costs amounted to around 5 billion, the actual over 12 billion Swiss francs. The total amount corresponds to around seven percent of the Greek gross domestic product at the time.
Later there was no money to ensure the maintenance of the sports facilities. The beach volleyball arena, which probably cost more than 15 million francs, quickly developed into a relic from another time, as did the aquatic center. At most, lovers of Lost Places would later enjoy it. Other arenas, including the roof of the Olympic Stadium, were built without a building permit due to the time pressure and were therefore no longer allowed to be used shortly following the games.
The exact cost of the systems has never been made public. The population only benefited marginally from the new buildings. One of the few lasting improvements was the upgrading of Athens’ railway infrastructure.
Turin 2006 – the festival is followed by the closure
The ski jumping facility in Pragelato – there were also ideas to hold the ski jumping competitions in nearby France. However, these were discarded – now this plant has been idle for years.
Foto: Alamy Stock Photo
The bobsled run in Cesana, built for Turin in 2006, is said to have cost almost 100 million Swiss francs. Due to the high operating costs, the facility was shut down five years following the Games. The same happened to the ski jumping facility in Pragelato, at a cost of more than 50 million Swiss francs. In addition, there was an annual maintenance of almost 2 million – for an orphaned ski jump. The biathlon shooting range, which was built for around 40 million Swiss francs, was also no longer in operation following the games. Only the associated trail, created for around 32 million Swiss francs, can be used by recreational athletes. But there was no longer any competitive sport worth mentioning.
Sochi 2014 – what remains are debts in the billions
It was the superlative Olympics. New ski areas were built especially for the games and billions in loans were granted.
Photo: Yuri Kozyrev (Noor/Life)
The superlative Winter Games were held in Sochi, Russia, in 2014 – at least as far as investments are concerned. The infrastructure cost $50 billion. A study by the University of Zurich published shortly following the games estimated the annual costs for the operation and maintenance of the facilities at over 400 million Swiss francs.
Krasnodar Krai, where Sochi is located, was almost debt-free before the Games. Almost two years later, the debt burden was several billion francs, also because of the maintenance payments. Attempts were made to upgrade the Olympic Park with prestigious sporting events such as the annual Formula 1 race. It remains to be seen what will happen to him following the war and the absence of international sporting events.
Rio de Janeiro 2016 – from hotspot to ghost town
Apocalyptic states in the Aquatic Park in Rio. Still the site of swimming competitions in 2016 – today closed due to safety concerns.
Foto: Buda Mendes (Getty Images)
In Rio, too, the actual expenditure was somewhat higher than planned. A year following the event, it became known that the summer games cost around 13 billion francs instead of 8.5 billion. However, the organizing committee put the deficit at only around CHF 33 million.
Vague plans for continued use of the sports facilities were presented in advance, but little might be implemented later. Three and a half years following the Summer Games, all facilities in the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca were closed by order of the Brazilian federal court. Security is no longer guaranteed and the necessary permits from the city administration are missing. The tennis center and the swimming arena were located in the Olympic Park. As in Athens, the population primarily benefited from the expansion of the local railway network beyond the games.
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