Olympics brought big benefits: poll

Francis2004

Subjective Poster
Nov 18, 2008
2,846
34
48
Lower Mainland, BC
Olympics brought big benefits: poll


A new poll suggests that Canadians see substantial benefits from the 2010 Olympic Games for Canada, for B.C. and for the city of Vancouver.

But British Columbians and Vancouverites were less likely to see great benefits from the Games, according to the Environics poll conducted after the conclusion of the Games.

Environics conducted three polls for CBC News — one before the Games began, the second midway through the Games and the most recent poll in the week after the closing ceremonies.

The new poll showed that 86 per cent of Canadians thought the Olympics had led to great (51 per cent ) or some (35 per cent) benefits for Canada as a whole. Those results represented an increase of 11 points overall from the 75 per cent who expected benefits in the first pre-Games poll.
CBC News - British Columbia - Olympics brought big benefits: poll

OK polls are polls and depending on the question it can skew the numbers..

How do you feel about the Olympics as far as value for the money.. Was it worth it ?

Or did we blow a lot of money away on snow, bringing in new equipment rush, policing and we just have not seen the total bill yet so reality has not set in..

Your Opinion ?
 

wulfie68

Council Member
Mar 29, 2009
2,014
24
38
Calgary, AB
This makes me shake my head: how the hell does Joe Average have any idea what benefits the games brought, aside from some national pride over the showing Canadian athletes made or the (mostly positive) opinions of the journalists covering the games? If we want to quantify the benefits, we need to see a bunch of economic numbers (most of which haven't been tallied yet) and calculate if the return was worth the money invested... which most of us couldn't be bothered with. This type of poll is utter garbage IMO.
 

Curiosity

Senate Member
Jul 30, 2005
7,326
138
63
California
B.C. is running one of their old ads from years gone by.....on California stations... [/b}

I think it was "Super. Cool?.......... British Columbia."

They might want to wait and include summer vacationing people who are waiting for the warmer weather to visit.
 

AnnaG

Hall of Fame Member
Jul 5, 2009
17,507
117
63
Well, tourists haven't flocked to the Kootenays, not many from the Kootenays get much of a chance to take advantage of all the nifty stuff that Vancouver and area has, there's been no noticeable increase in employment around here, the homeless are still homeless, no new buses or increases in public transportation, etc. but we have more pride in our athletes and a $2 billion bill to chip in for. It's awesome!
 

Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
8,252
19
38
Edmonton
The Olympics are a relatively cheap way for the government to stir up a bit of Canadian nationalism. The games were well received even in Quebec. I am surprised that the federal government hasn't figured out that investing in Canadian athletes goes farther to instilling a sense of Canadian unity than any other program yet devised; and for less dollars.
 

Francis2004

Subjective Poster
Nov 18, 2008
2,846
34
48
Lower Mainland, BC
While I believe it is good for our pride I also believe reality will set in when the final bills come in.. The total tally if low will give the government an added boost it requires so watch out for false numbers from Campbell and company on this one.. A poor number will only validate what people believed was going to be the true cost of these games and with helicopters flying in snow and budget overruns one can only wonder..

In all, it's a shame as I believe a properly run organization should have made this a profitable show.. Although the Government can't be blamed for the weather we had it can be blamed for budget overruns..

When I look at the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals I feel pride in the Olympians we have.. I was also very proud of our country and how we "Canadians" showed the world how we can party, cheer and be great hosts. But let us not confuse the all those items with the games management of funds.. They are separate things..

OK now let us see the true bill before we pass judgment..
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,466
138
63
Location, Location
The thing that people sometimes overlook is that now there are all these great 'Olympic class' facilities...which need to be used and maintained, mostly out of the public purse.

For example, I doubt the luge/bobsled track will ever be a breakeven proposition.
 

countryboy

Traditionally Progressive
Nov 30, 2009
3,686
39
48
BC
It's hard to come up with a meaningful opinion when the price tag is unknown. At least, it's unknown to me. Does anyone have a total cost for the Olympics? I haven't found one yet.

The benefits are mostly "soft"...they can't be measured with stats and numbers, unless you can measure "patriotism." That one is pretty much a judgement call, and I'm sure we'll all have an opinion on that.

Still, it would be nice to know what we're "opinionating" against ($$$)...