Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.08.2008, Síða 12

12 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 12—2008
ARTICLE BY JAMeS cRugnALe
While the idea may seem absurd at face value,
Icelandic political representatives believe such
an event could be potentially feasible if a spirited
campaign for it would ever get underway. Other
international cities with half the resources as Ice-
land are considering bids, including the longest of
long shots, USA’s Birmingham, Alabama (!).
Additionally, the benefits that such an event
would provide to the nation would be more than
worth the cost. The UK is expecting a £2.1 billion
boost in tourism from London hosting the games
in 2012. With money like that and a worldwide
spotlight shone upon it, the games could trans-
form Iceland forever. Ministry of Culture advisor,
Óskar Þór Ármannsson, would strongly support
an Olympic hosting proposal if it were brought
up. While he does acknowledge the quixotic na-
ture of such a bid, Ármannsson says that with the
right amount of grassroots support, “it could be
possible.”
OLYMPIC REquIREMENTS
When starting a potential – and expensive – Olym-
pic bid, it needs to be a comprehensive and strate-
gic mix including stadiums, accommodations and
other resources. Olympic officials consider a city’s
elaborate vision for the games including its copious
blueprints on the construction of an Olympic Vil-
lage and even the mascots representing the cities
are weighted in on the final decision.
“You have to draw up everything so the
Olympic Committee can evaluate each city,” says
Ármannsson. “I think the way the city can be pre-
sented will play a major role in deciding whether
Reykjavik has a feasible chance.”
There are several rigid prerequisites that an
Olympic host city must fulfil. They must have at
least 40,000 hotel rooms in the 3-star, 4-star, and
5-star categories. They also must have appropriate-
ly sized venues for all 35 Summer Olympic sports. A
candidate city also must show wide public support
in a poll commissioned by the bid committee and
then guarantee the financial success of the games.
HOW DOES REYKjAvíK STACK uP?
Accommodations
Reykjavík would begin its bid with a huge disad-
vantage, coming up way short of 40,000 required
hotel rooms with only 3,382 total hotel rooms and
guesthouses in the capital region and 8,874 within
the rest of the country, according to 2007 data
from Statistics Iceland.
This could be perhaps the most significant
hurdle, as many additional hotels would need to
be built. In addition, a suitable location for the
Olympic village would need to be established.
Laugardalur would appear to be an ideal fit with
nearby proximity to World Class gym (one of Eu-
rope’s largest at 18,000 square meters) and other
premiere sporting facilities close by.
Travel infrastructure
In the whole year of 2007, there were 294,279 to-
tal international overnight visitors to the country,
meaning that on average, 25,000 typically visit per
month. The Summer Olympics attract approxi-
mately 2 million people for a few weeks. Currently,
a massive influx of people that size would certain-
ly bring Keflavik International Airport to its knees
in a colossal standstill. An enormous incursion
of people would also require light rail to be built
between the international airport and Reykjavik.
Fortunately, proposals are currently underway
as twelve MPs earlier this year proposed feasibil-
ity studies of bringing trains to Iceland. Addition-
ally, the currently underutilized Strætó bus system
would be a beacon for visitor access.
Sports Experience
While Iceland has had limited experience holding
international sporting events, it has a few under
its belt, including: the 1995 World Men’s Hand-
ball Championship (which hosted 24 teams from
around the world); the annual Landsmót Horse
Show attracting 6–7,000 people yearly; and the
globally acclaimed Reykjavik Marathon, annually
held in August. With 11,500 participants expected
this year, roughly the same number as Olympic
competiors in Beijing this year, the Marathon at-
tracts around 1,080 athletes from abroad, with ad-
ditionally a few thousand international spectators
attending.
Venues
Reykjavík currently has 7 stadiums (6 football and
1 hockey) including its largest, the national arena,
Laugardalsvöllur. Many of these can be renovated
to handle different sports, but there would be a
lot of catching up to do in terms of building fur-
ther adequate facilities (for 28 sports) including a
large, required velodrome. Splurging millions of
dollars on these may be risky as there’s the peril
of white elephant stadiums sitting around unused
for years after the fact.
Cost
The cost to hold the Olympics varies widely. For
this year’s Olympics, Beijing spent an astronomi-
cal $58.5 billion. In comparison, in 2004, Athens
spent a mere $11.6 billion. It should be noted that
Iceland’s entire GDP, as of 2007, is $16.9 billion. In-
tricate planning is crucial to whether games are
a financial disaster or a success. Many host cities
continue to pay off their debt for years. Worst case
scenario: Montreal, which held the games in 1976,
spent 30 years paying off the debt from its Olym-
pics. Best case scenario: the 1984 games in LA
scored a net profit of $200 million. “The financial
resources could be a weak link,” said Ármanns-
son. “But it is very likely that other Scandinavian
countries could help.” If Reykjavík could manage
to be relatively thrifty, especially in comparison to
China, money might not be a huge liability.
THE vERDICT
Today, imagining Reykjavík hosting an Olympics
the scale of Beijing would be an incredible logisti-
cal nightmare never before seen by man and there
remain scores of obstacles before the city can
even think about hosting an event anywhere close
to that scale. However, in due time, perhaps the
city, with the right positive attitude and panache,
can seriously approach this task and be able to
compete up there with the formidable big dogs.
Ármannsson, at least, remains optimistic about
the future potential of hosting the games and says
to never count out the little guy. “I think for Reykja-
vik, it would not be an unsolvable problem.”
proposed reykjAvík 2024 loGo: At leAst it's better thAn london's.
REYKJAVÍK 2024?
Could Iceland’s fledgling capital city have what it takes to host the Summer Olympic
games? The Grapevine investigates the odds
With serious concerns over Bei-
jing’s smoggy skies, human rights
records and oppressive policies
regarding free speech and Internet
access, is it time to bring the Olym-
pics to an environmentally clean,
politically benign city? Like say,
Reykjavík?
ToDAY, IMAgInIng ReYkJAvík HoST-
Ing An oLYMpIcS THe ScALe of BeI-
JIng wouLD Be An IncReDIBLe Lo-
gISTIcAL nIgHTMARe neveR BefoRe
Seen BY MAn
CHEAP REYKjAvíK
Welcome to yet another instalment of Cheap Reyk-
javík, where the Grapevine’s resident misers share
some of their patented money saving tricks and
tips. If you’ve got some miserly penny-pinching
advice you’d like to share with Grapevine readers,
drop a line to haukur@grapevine.is. and he will
pass it along.
CHEAP BATHING + READER TIP
Everyone loves Iceland’s swimming pools. They
offer excellent facilities for all of your bathing and/
or swimming needs for a fair price. They are also
great for socialising; bringing a group of friends
together in a Laugardalslaug hot tub is certainly
a lot cheaper than doing so at a bar (you tour-
ists should also note that the pool is an excellent
place to get to know the locals).
While swimming and hot-tubbing in Iceland
is relatively cheap at 360 ISK per go (less if you’re
a kid or a senior), there is a way to make it cheaper
still. By buying admission in bulk, you get 30% off
each go – a ten-trip pool card can be bought at
any pool’s front desk for only 2500 ISK. During the
school season, university students can get their
passes for even less through the Student Union, so
keep that in mind.
Here is an extra pool trick, courtesy of read-
er Stephan: “If you want to work out for cheap in
Reykjavík, you can go to Sundhöll Reykjavíkur on
Barónsstígur. They have weights and other work-
out stuff that you can use for free, before relaxing
in the hot tub or on the sun terrace.”
CHEAP BuRGERS
Some days, your system starts screaming for ham-
burger, and it won’t let up until you satisfy your
savage craving for the bloody ground meat of in-
nocent mammals topped with delicious melted
cheese, sandwiched in a moist bun. Unfortu-
nately, your health and conscience aren’t the only
things you need to sacrifice to quell that craving
here in Iceland – hamburgers are a luxury item on
this island and are priced accordingly.
Lucky for us, the good people at Njálsgata
corner store Drekinn have been supplying Reyk-
javík’s downtown dwellers with fairly priced burg-
ers for a long time now, and although the bastards
just raised their prices, they’re still pretty cheap.
A cheeseburger, fries, soda and cocktail sauce go
for ISK 790 at Drekinn these days, and if you feel
like splurging you can add bacon to the mix for
an additional 100. Groups and family types can
make good of their value pack that gives you four
cheesy ones, fries, etc. for ISK 2.380. Now, if you’re
having a particularly bad fiscal month, you can al-
ways opt for Drekinn’s surprisingly decent micro-
wave burger combo, which is a steal at ISK 550
CHEAP BEER
Belly’s of Hafnarstræti may not be Reykjavík’s nic-
est bar, but they do serve Reykjavík’s cheapest
beer. Besides, who needs nice when you’re drunk
and poor? Where most clubs and bars dispense
pints of the yellow stuff at an offensive 750 ISK,
Belly’s proves itself the poor drunkard’s friend
with 450 ISK beers that get you just as wasted
as you like. This is why Belly’s is the underpaid
Grapevine staff’s favourite place for passing out
on weekdays. Go Belly’s!
Eat Burgers,
Bathe and be
Merry
BY HAukuR S MAgnúSSon
REY
20 24
KJA VÍK