Infrastructure is Athens’s legacy
Judging by the experience of other countries that have hosted the Olympic Games, it is difficult to evaluate the benefits that flow from the Games, says a recent report by financial consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. Dozens of studies are made in advance of each Games, most of which exaggerate the benefits, for obvious reasons. Nobody bothers to assess the accuracy of the predictions after the event, probably because it is extremely difficult to document the direct effects on the economy. That is why most analysts refer instead to the «legacy» of the Games, on which the country that held them can build its future plans. «In the case of Athens,» says the report, those involved in organizing the Games say that «the ‘legacy’ is considerable in terms of infrastructure projects.»
