Everything has changed since ’88 Games

Security was cheaper, and the bid was run by volunteers, Colin Craig writes.

As the City of Calgary continues to investigate hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics, many comparisons have been made with the 1988 Olympics that were held in Calgary.

Without a doubt, some readers will have some fond memories from that event.

But what all Calgarians should note is that the 1988 Olympics was a very different event, held in a different era and driven by different forces.

For starters, a group of dedicated volunteers, including several successful businesspeople, was the driving force behind efforts to persuade the International Olympic Committee to hold the 1988 Olympics in Calgary.

A short video documentary on YouTube describes how the volunteers fundraised by selling pins and asked local businesses for donations. In one part of the short video, a committee member described how volunteers on the organizing committee would make salads and other dishes for their Olympic meetings.

Conversely, city council and City of Calgary staff have been driving the current Olympic bid process … and we doubt they’ve been whipping up salads and other dishes for the meetings.

Back in 1979, the bill to persuade the International Olympic Committee to hold the Olympics in Calgary came to about $1 million ($3.3 million 2018 dollars) and a Calgary Herald story noted “most” of the money came from “corporate and private donors.”

The bill for Calgary’s current Olympic bid was originally $30 million, with all of the money coming from taxpayers. Since that original estimate was made public, city hall has announced it has had to set aside another $5 million for bills related to the bid.

That’s $35 million for consultants, paperwork and other bid costs. If Calgary doesn’t “win” the right to host the 2026 Olympics, all of that money is gone; not a dime will actually help Canadian athletes or repair existing facilities.

While Calgary’s 1988 bid team were humble people who rolled up their sleeves to make a difference, a sense of entitlement has gripped the Olympic movement on many occasions.

In 2016, the CBC ran a story that exposed how the Canadian Olympic Committee spent $1 million just to celebrate the opening of its new office in Montreal — a building that featured a $3 million boardroom.

If the Olympics are held in Calgary in 2026, the host city agreement requires Calgary’s organizing committee to ensure dozens of Olympic “dignitaries” are provided personal assistants.

Security costs are, of course, another big difference between now and 1988. The last time Calgary hosted the Olympics, the tragic events of 9/11 had not yet happened. Considering security costs were nearly $1 billion for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, one can expect a large bill for taxpayers if Calgary hosts the 2026 Olympics.

Finally, as the size of the Games has grown immensely over the years, so has the risk. Cost overruns have now become the norm — a 2016 University of Oxford study found that the last 19 Olympics have come in over budget.

All these factors bring us to claims of economic benefits from hosting the Games.

University of Calgary professor Trevor Tombe has noted there was no apparent increase in employment when Vancouver hosted the Olympics (relative to the rest of the country).

Why should Calgarians expect otherwise?

Tombe has also noted that, contrary to popular belief, the 1988 Olympics did not produce a profit once taxpayer subsidies are excluded.

Indeed, if the Olympics were the great economic stimulant that some proponents suggest, why are only a few cities thinking about putting in a bid?

Considering Calgary’s economy is still struggling, and our governments are swimming in debt, it should be clear that an Olympic bid doesn’t make sense.

But if Calgarians do vote Yes to bid on the 2026 Olympics, don’t expect it to be like 1988.