Give Olympics a permanent home in Greece

SIR – The Japanese government’s decision to scrap plans for its Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium (report, July 18) amid spiralling labour costs is yet another example of a host nation struggling to cope with the burden of staging this spectacle.

Why not solve the problem by establishing a permanent home for the Olympic Games in its country of origin? Greece has a suitable climate and venues, and a regular Games there would give the economy a muchneeded boost. It would also do away with the horse-trading that surrounds the choosing of the host. A method could be devised to allow participating countries to take it in turns to organise and pay for the opening and closing ceremonies, thus adding a different national flavour to each Games.

David Cameron could kick-start the process by offering a sizeable chunk of the British overseas aid budget towards the infrastructure costs, and British engineers and construction companies could compete for the work.

Sandra Jones

Old Cleeve, Somerset