2010 Olympics good for economy, bad for environment

Report outlines impact of games on economy and ecosystem

By Stephen F. Power

A report written for the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) on the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games has detailed the immediate benefits and costs that the Winter Olympics brought to Vancouver. According to the 152-page report, the games created jobs and increased revenues and funding for the city, but also resulted in massive increases in greenhouse gases and solid wastes.

Workers, businesses, and the public sector benefited the most from the games. Jobs, tax revenue, and businesses were all created as a result of Olympic activity. Vancouver also received a massive cash injection provided by tourists and other sources.

According to the report, Vancouver’s housing market likely received a boost in part due to Olympic activity. It hypothesizes that price increases in the Vancouver housing and real estate market could have been spurred on by “greater public exposure of the region surrounding the Olympic Games,” which contributed in turn to an increased “attractiveness” of Vancouver and the surrounding metro region.

Whether or not the metro region received a net gain of residential housing could not be calculated, as the report states that data was “not [available] for housing areas destructed for Olympic venues and context activities.”

Concerns that construction related to the Olympics would displace people in need of low-income housing were a focal point for public criticism of government Olympic strategy in the run-up to the games.

Along with the public cost of the event, the deep environmental impacts of the event have been cited many times by anti-Olympic activists in other cities.

The report lists “a predictably large increase in [carbon dioxide] emissions” from August 2009 through to April 2010, in addition to “staggering" increases in energy consumption in Vancouver and Whistler.

VANOC data shows an eight-fold increase in gases during the games themselves. The report also describes a ten-fold increase in the production of solid waste due to Olympic activity.

Other quality-of-life indicators, such as water and air quality, were not addressed by the report due to a lack of collected data.

The Games-time Report is the third in a series of four Olympic Games Impact (OGI) reports. All host cities are required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to carry out OGI reports, which gauge the effect the Olympics have on their host cities and countries.

Two previously released reports surveyed Vancouver in the run-up to the games. A final report detailing the game’s long-term impact is due for 2013.

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