Musings - 2012 Olympics

It’s a good thing I am not involved in planning and organizing the Olympics because I would be worried about the $15-billion plus price tag, given the original $3.9-billion estimate and the recession. Have we lost sight of the earlier purpose of the Olympics with the pomp and circumstance of today’s ceremonies? Even the Cannes Film Festival has been substituting wine for champagne and pissaladière for fois gras. . . . An excellent article by Michael Joseph Gross in the June 2012 Vanity Fair retraces London’s campaign for the bid to host the Olympics. Findings of studies that opposed the bid pointed out with the exception of Barcelona, Olympic cities have not enjoyed post-game economic returns. And London would have to renounce social works projects to focus on game preparations. Not to mention the quirks in agreements—Heineken paid for exclusive rights to sell beer (hence no beer from the UK). But the dealings and controversies surrounding the Olympics shouldn’t detract from recognition of participants who devoted years of their lives to training. . . . 1948 – 4,104 athletes from 59 nations (~$1.17 million) 2012 – more than 10,000 athletes from ~ 205 countries ($15-billion+) And pissaladière is a good alternative anyway. . . . Here's an update on training costs: