Olympics Can Turn Out to be Boom or Bust Experience for Cities Chosen to Host
DALTON TANONAKA, CNN ANCHOR: The International Olympic Committee will decide in Moscow who will host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Now the global event can turn out to be a boom or bust experience for cities chosen to host. CNN's Geoff Hiscock examines how previous venues have impacted economies.</s>GEOFF HISCOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whichever city wins the right to host the Olympics in 2008, Friday's announcement is just one step along a difficult road. The Olympic experience can be fantastically successful for a country's global profile. Seoul in '88 and Barcelona in '92 did wonders for South Korea and Spain. Likewise, Australia's tourist industry continues to reap the benefits from Sydney 2000, with visitor numbers from the U.S. up 15 percent. But playing host can also be financially crippling. Montreal's overspending in 1976 left citizens paying off its debts for years. The reality of staging the modern Olympics means investing billions of dollars. New sports facilities and athlete villages have to be built; transport links put in place or upgraded. Sponsors and VIPs expect the best treatment, and journalists want high-speed, trouble-free communications. And the paying public? They want great atmosphere, easy access, good facilities, and the chance to get home without too much hassle. If Olympic organizers can meet these goals, they are halfway to success. And the long-term payoff can be very rewarding. Apart from a city's new stadiums and transport, there is the boost to jobs, to the tourism and construction industries, and spin-off benefits to education, health and medicine. Australia spent about $1.5 billion on the 2000 Games in Sydney. Greece will spend about the same on Athens in 2004. Already, a new report estimates that the Sydney Games will create 100,000 new jobs over a 12-year period and will add more than $4 billion to the Australian economy. That's the business challenge facing Friday's winner: delivering the 2008 Games without breaking the bank. Geoff Hiscock, CNN, Sydney.