The Beijing 2008 Summer Games should break even but probably won’t make a lot of money, according to Chinese Olympic Committee vice president Tu Mingde.
The Associated Press Tu said organizers are avoiding waste, but will spend what is necessary to stage a first-rate Olympics.
Tu added that the 2008 Games won’t compete for funding with the government’s goal of aiding the rural poor, following comments from a member of the legislature urging that Olympic spending take into account the country’s widespread rural poverty.
Tu said sentiments such as expressed by Zhang showed Olympic organizers needed to do a better job of conveying the message that sponsors will pick up much of the tab for the Games. “People have the impression that the government will provide all the money, and that’s just not true”.
He said organizers are considering post-Olympic uses for facilities, including turning some venues into exhibition halls, offices or spaces for VIP hospitality venues.
He dismissed accusations that organizers shifted the equestrian events to Hong Kong for political reasons, saying concern over animal diseases in the Beijing area was the only reasons.
“Politics had nothing to do with it. We tried our best to have them in Beijing, but it simply wasn’t possible given the chance of disease”, he said.
There were some that said Beijing shifted the venue to Hong Kong to shore up its image among Hong Kong citizens that were increasingly critical of China’s rule over the former British colony, reports the Associated Press.
