Games cost Athens over $8.5 billion

Security, construction overruns cause city's bill to balloon

updated 5:41 p.m. ET Aug. 19, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - Costs for the Athens Olympics are climbing again, expected to top $8.5 billion because of the massive security and overruns in the last-minute scramble to get venues ready.

Deputy Finance Minister Petros Doukas said the latest figure — up from the original $5.6 billion projection and the $7.2 billion revision prior to the games — was driven by a desire to put on a first-class event.

“We did not cut corners — not for security, not for equipment, not for the quality of venues and not for the comfort of our guests,” Doukas said at the Athens Business Club, a forum created to attract post-Olympic investment.

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Doukas said the costs were inflated by the unprecedented, $1.5 billion security for the first Summer Games since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a spurt in construction to ensure venues and transport systems were ready in time for the Aug. 13 opening ceremony.

Slide show
Visions of gold: Aug. 29
Demark throws for handball gold, Argentina takes it to the net and Britain's Mark Lewis-Francis jumps for joy.
Some analysts predict the final price tag could climb to $12.5 billion and burden Greek taxpayers for at least a decade.

Poor tourist bookings and the construction overruns have put pressure on Greece’s economy. And despite a late surge in interest, Athens organizers have sold 3.1 million Olympic tickets from a total of 5.3 million, according to figures released earlier this week.

Greece’s public deficit is already over the 3 percent ceiling set by the European Union.

Doukas promised to try to push the 2005 deficit under that limit.

“This year is going to be tough, with rates of over 4 percent of our Gross Domestic Product,” he said.

To defray Olympic costs, Doukas said the government will start a campaign to sell or lease some of the 40 venues. He did not elaborate.