When Athens won the right in 1997 to host the 2004 Summer Games, government officials did not expect the cost of the Games to exceed two billon euros. And less than three months ago Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis told a parliamentary committee that the cost would increase from 4.6 billion to six billion euros.
But now, the cost has been revised upwards to at least 7.5 billion, Kathimerini quotes Finance Ministry sources.
According to ministry officials the previous government had presented a fictitious budget and had stuck with the unrealistic total of 4.6 billion euros until it was defeated last March.
Several key factors which caused Athens’ Olympic budget to spiral includes the one billion euros the organizing committee spent on security alone – more than three times what was spent on the 2000 Sydney Games.
Also, the government was forced to pay contractors premiums to ensure everything was completed on time. And officials had to content with demands from civil servants, police and others to be paid an Olympic bonus worth 2,500 euros each.
