Fool's gold: British taxpayer is Olympics' biggest loser?

by ~ The Rebel ~ Posted 2012/07/30 19:09:48

Related Topics: Debt, Olympics, New York, Budget, Financial, Public Transportation, British, London, Sports, UK, Relief, Network, Audit

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American taxpayers should breathe a retrospective sigh of relief that seven years ago New York was not chosen from among five finalists to host this summer’s Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s selection of London as the 2012 host city ensured British taxpayers are picking up the exorbitant tab for the world’s most economically dubious sporting event.

Sadly for the British taxpayer, such pro-Olympics economic propaganda represents the triumph of hope over experience, as both London 2012 and past Olympics perfectly illustrate.

For the 2012 Games, London originally estimated total costs at $4.7 billion. Within two years, the official estimate had risen to $15 billion, more than triple the cost at the time of the 2005 bid. As significant private funding never materialized, $15 billion in British taxpayer money was hurriedly allocated to pay for these Olympics.

With the UK National Audit Office revealing that private-sector funding now constitutes less than two percent of the Olympic budget, the UK parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has predicted total costs around $18 billion. Worse still, an analysis by the Sky Sports TV network, which included the costs of upgrading public transportation, now puts the cost of the Olympics at a staggering $38.5 billion!

This financial calamity should not come as a surprise. Ballooning budgets and debt burdens are always the most likely Olympic outcome.