ECONOMIC CRISES AND SPORTS MEGA-EVENTS: LEARNING FROM PAST EXAMPLES FOR FUTURE ANALYSES

Abstract

İntroduction. The Athens Olympic Games of 2004 contributed to the subsequent Greek economic crisis due to irresponsible spending. The aim of our study was to show how the policies and spending of the Greek government for infrastructural and other Olympic related projects links with a pattern of financial irresponsibility that led to the collapse of the Greek economy. Material and methods. Our methods were to examine governmental policies and financial indicators surrounding sport mega events (SMEs) and specifically the Greek case surrounding the 2004 Olympics. Results. Our results show that the current analysis of SMEs do not adequately examine financial indicators and realities and that both economic and financial analyses are necessary when determining both costs and return on investment.