[wagglebee]

With the exception of figure skating, women's gymnastics, basketball, men's hockey, and on occasion boxing, track, and skiing, the Olympics are a huge financial bust. Just about every city that's ever hosted has lost money, sometimes (places like L.A. and Atlanta) make money on later use of the facilities. The only real winners have been places like Lake Placid and Squaw Valley. Greece will never be able to make back the money this costs them, and that's if everything goes well. If there is a terrorist attack it will spell financial ruin for Greece.

[pragmatic_asian]

IIRC, Los Angeles Games actually made $200 million from the games themselves. This then caused all sorts of cities to start bidding for the games and helped to foster all the corruption that followed. Most of that money went to the US Olympic Committee. The city of Los Angeles made money because most of the facilities already existed. They did make more on the facilities that were built.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Rhythmic Gymnastics was the first venue to sell out at the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992. It is HUGELY popular in Europe. The girls are "stars" and rightly so - they're drop-dead gorgeous, not to mention Cirque du Soliel material when they retire from competitive life.

[happygrl]

If there is a terrorist attack it will spell financial ruin for Greece.

Well maybe.

But if they've been able to get insurance, a terrorist attack might mean that they would actually profit.

Sick, huh ?

[Guillermo]

LA and Atlanta made money on the Olympics itself.