This summer's London Games have been "lauded as a status symbol," but U.K. government officials “are touting the Olympics as something more important: a savior of Britain's battered economy,” according to a front-page piece by Traci Watson of USA TODAY. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron in January said the Games will bring in $1.6B for British business and are “vital” for the country's "return to sustainable growth." Yet evidence is “mounting that the Olympics are a boon for some but a potential bust for others.” London theater owners “worry that many of their seats will be empty at Games time, as ordinary tourists bypass the city.” Organizers have “canceled Britain's biggest outdoor arts festivals because of competition from the Olympics.” Economists said that “though some host cities do see an economic jolt, the effect tends to be modest -- and probably smaller than the boost from spending the same pot of money on a better cause.” In a January poll for broadcaster ITV, only 30% of Britons surveyed said that they “thought the economic benefits of the Games would outweigh the costs.” Watson writes for every L.A. and Salt Lake City Games that made a profit, there “is a Montreal, which needed three decades to pay off the bills after hosting the 1976 Games, or an Athens, which had to pay billions of dollars more for the 2004 Games than the roughly $5 billion it had expected and where many Olympic venues languish unused and neglected.” Economists said that the problem is that “though Olympic cities might gain tourists and trade, much of the gain is offset by the costs of bringing the world's biggest sporting competition to town.” Economists also “aren't optimistic” about the “hopes that the rejuvenation and new sports facilities in east London will spur additional growth.” College of the Holy Cross economics professor Victor Matheson said that the record suggests that “growth in one area just means less economic activity in another,” and building a collection of giant sports stadiums “isn't the best way to nudge growth anyway” (USA TODAY, 3/2).
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE: BBC NEWS’ James Pearce noted some of the “most sought-after London 2012 Olympics tickets are to be sold at special ticket booths in the weeks leading up to the Games.” Tickets for events such as the men's 100 meters final “are likely to be made available.” LOCOG officials are “expecting that the booths will lead to lengthy Wimbledon-style queues.” There are “predictions some sports fans will camp out for days in order to get their hands on the very best tickets.” It had “always been planned that London 2012 would set up booths for any remaining tickets for the less popular events.” Pearce noted it is “now clear that when the booths open in June or July there will be opportunities for members of the public to acquire tickets for some of the most popular events” (BBC NEWS, 2/29).
