Beijing Olympics: the Most Expensive in History

Beijing Olympics: The Most Expensive in History

Abstract:

According to the relevant authorities, RMB 28 billion has been invested so far in the construction of Beijing stadiums which, at the current exchange rate, corresponds to about USD 3.8 billion. Taking into account of investments in other related infrastructure construction, the total invested amount for the Beijing Olympics may surpass that of the previous Games, which in turn broke the “Economical Olympics” control promise made by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

The total capital invested in venue construction in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games amounted to about USD 2.4 billion, compared to USD 1.5 billion for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The total investment amount in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was even as little as less than 0.5 billion.

According to the official Olympic economists, the reason for the record-breaking investment in the Beijing Olympic is mainly due to the “advanced design” and “technology” used during the construction of the stadiums and related infrastructure. As such, the Beijing Olympics slogan has changed from “hosting the best ever Olympics” to an “Economical Olympics”. The number of stadiums has also gone down from 37 to 35 and the main stadium “Bird’s Nest” managed to save more than RMB 0.6 billion by altering the original design. However, starting from last year, the government had kept its mouth shut on the amount used in the construction of the Olympic competition venues.

The mainland media has revealed that, according to the “2008 Olympic Games Action Plan” set by the government, the total investment from 2002 to 2008 was RMB 280 billion (about USD 38.3 billions), of which 102.5 billions was spent in transportation, 58.2 billion in environment protection, 28 billion in the construction of stadiums and other related facilities. Such a huge sum of money spells Beijing Olympics the most expensive Olympic Games ever held in history.

The reason why people are drawn to these Beijing Olympics iconic stadiums is due to the use of green technologies. The glass wall panel of the Basketball Gymnasium for instance, has heat preserving and self-cleaning functions. Apart from that, the rainwater recycle system can collect approximately 8654 m3 of rainwater each year. The “Water Cube”, considered being among the world’s top 100 outstanding technological innovations in 2006. It is the first structure in the world that is built with a steel membrane structure. Not only is the idea original and creative, the stadium has reflected the three Beijing Olympics concepts - Green Olympics, High- tech Olympics and People’s Olympics.

Source: “Ming Pao”, 21 January 2008