Point of reference
There is no doubt that the organization of the Olympic Games was a massive and extremely risky undertaking, both on the operational and on the economic level given the huge investment made and the subsequent sacrifices we will be obliged to make as a society to redress the balance. This reality is the reason behind the many objections to Greece undertaking the organization of the Olympics in the first place, with skeptics querying whether our country had the economic and structural capacity to rise to such a challenge which stronger nations had struggled with. In any case, it is a risk which we took. And, eventually, we succeeded – certainly on an organizational level, with the full impact of the Games on our economy not yet entirely clear. What is certain, however, is that the Athens Games will serve as a point of reference for us over the next few years. In debates about our economy, public spending, infrastructure, organization, public works and medium-to-long-term planning, we will refer to pre- and post-Olympic scenarios. Let us hope that, in future projects and decision making, we will make constructive use of this critical landmark which should act as a reminder of what we are capable of achieving when we work together in an organized fashion and with a clear goal.
