Even ignoring security costs for the moment all the last minute construction costs, infrastructure delays and much lower than predicted ticket sales beg the question; can Greece really afford to pay for all this? Not really.

If you look closely you'll see that there are more similarities than differences between the disastrous summer games held in Montreal in 1976 and this year's games in Athens. The roof for Montreal's Olympic Stadium, or the Big "Owe" as Canadians passionately call it, wasn't even completed on time for the opening and closing ceremonies. It was only a couple of years ago that we learned that bits and pieces of the roof were falling apart and were crashing down on the stadium floor. Thankfully, no one was hurt as the stadium was empty as it usually is for most sporting and entertainment events held there. In comparison, the roof for the building that is holding the swimming competitions in Athens was not completed in time and now spectators have to cheer on their respective countries as they wilt in 40-degree heat. Does that sound like fun?

At its peak though Montreal incurred a 1 billion dollar debt and to this day is still paying it off after their mayor at the time infamously declared that, "the Montreal Olympics can no more have a deficit than a man have a baby." For his sake I hope the late mayor was never pregnant.

Greece's very own government has joined the fracas and stated that costs were grossly understated and that the government's finances continue to drown in red ink as a result of the Olympics. As recently as last week a Finance Department's spokesman was pressed for a precise figure on the Olympics and stated, "we will know when the Olympics are over what they will cost." I'm by far no accountant but shouldn't you have some kind of ballpark figure as to how much something like this is going to cost before it actually happens?

Kevin Wamsley director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies stated it correctly that "the hangover starts before we're even finished with the party." But how can future host countries avoid this massive fiscal hangover?

	Much of the construction continued until the last minute and some plans were even scrapped. (Source: AFP Photo)

Keep things relatively simple and don't promise the sky and deliver the moon. Yes, extravagance is nice but if you can't deliver the goods then you're left with egg on your face. Case in point… the pinnacle of the 1976 Olympics was supposed to be the retractable roof of the Olympic Stadium. It took 12 years for it to be completed after the Olympics were held in '76 and even since then it has had problems. Athens has built an elaborate transportation system to take athletes and their spectators from venue to venue. But sadly athletes have complained that the transportation infrastructure has failed because many athletes have been late for their events. There were even scenes of athletes fighting amongst one another to get onto the one bus or packed train that was available to them.

Get an early start. In true Chinese fashion construction of the Olympic Stadium and its associated venues are all ahead of schedule for the 2008 games. The Chinese predict that everything will be completed a year ahead of schedule so that they have time to test everything thoroughly. One senior IOC official was quoted as saying that the Chinese should slow down its preparation, as they should at least wait until the current games are over!

Get your financial house in order. No one can predict unforeseen costs that may arise, but you should have at your disposal a good idea as to how much it will cost to host the biggest sporting event in the world. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Chinese not only finish their preparations ahead of time but also come under budget as well. They have the majority of their financing and sponsorship already in place.

Regardless, even 3 years after personally visiting Greece and its beautiful islands I must admit that I had my doubts and still do about choosing the birthplace of the Olympics as the host city. But you know what…. in true Greek tradition why worry…. is it really worth it? I don't know about you but I'm going to enjoy some ouzo, wave my flag, and cheer on my country and the leave the problems of the Olympics in the hands of the gods.