A GREEK TRAGEDY - Πανεπιστήμιο...

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THIS WEEK A secret history of Jarvis Plus Keith Miller the romantic, Colin Harding's Chinese adventure, Nick Raynsford on development taxes ... and Alan Titchmarsh's wonder and blunder A GREEK TRAGEDY THE LESSONS OF THE ATHENS OLYMPICS

Transcript of A GREEK TRAGEDY - Πανεπιστήμιο...

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THIS WEEKA secret history of Jarvis

Plus Keith Miller the romantic, Colin Harding'sChinese adventure, Nick Raynsford on developmenttaxes ... and Alan Titchmarsh's wonder and blunder

A GREEK TRAGEDYTHE LESSONS OF THE ATHENS OLYMPICS

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THEINSANE DRIVINGDIMENSIONCLUBISholding its weekly meeting in Faliro, the coastalport in south-west Athens. About 40 rich kids intheir late teens and early 20s stamp on theaccelerators of their souped-up cars, making sharpturns and performing even sharper tricks. Therubber of the wheels melts, the engines sendplumes of smoke 10 feet in the air. The ubiquitousCrazy Frog anthem Axel F blasts out of the £4000car stereo owned by Mario, one of the club'sfounders. "We come here because there is nobodyto complain about the noise:' he explains,pointing out the boats docked for the eveningand the two dimly lit buildings behind him.

This is part of the legacy of the 2004 OlympicGames in Athens, described by manycommentators as "the best ever': Those buildingsbehind Mario were crammed during the 17 daysof the Games last August. They were speciallybuilt for the purpose, and acted as kiosks forcorporate sponsors.Today, one of the buildings iscompletely unused, bar a community meetingabout once a month. The other plays host to twosecurity guards, who this evening are playingfootball, ignoring the 10 or so skateboardersthat gather outside their gates every night.They are also guarding the empty beachvolleyball stadium, located just a few hundredyards away. It is an easyjob: "There are no majorproblems:' explains one of the guards. "Kids keeptrying to go into the [secure areas] to misbehave,but that is aiL"

Unsurprisingly, Athenians are seething that theconstructions of the most expensive games inhistory - €13bn (£8.8bn) - are being maintainedat a conservative estimate of €40m (£26.9m) ayear, but very few have yet to be awarded anafter-use, some 15 months after the gamesended. The beach volleyball stadium is a fineexample - there have been hardly any exhibitionsor events at the stadium to repay the public purse,yet it is spruced up by cleaners every two or threedays.The closest the public ever get to it are thelovers parked in the few cars scattered in therough heathland nearby.

This is a city that got its dream of the Games,but it has witnessed little of the boon it expectedafterwards. Political stand-offs have created whiteelephants and ghost towns. They are a warning toLondon about what could happen after the 2012Olympics if the government, its political rivals andsporting organisations do not agree on acomprehensive post-Games plan.

Change of government, change of planThe problem for Athens was that there was amajor political upheaval in March 2004, with thegoverning socialist party, PASOK,being replacedby the right-leaning New Democracy Party. Withpolitics still ideologically driven in Greece,themove from PASOKto New Democracy was aparadigm shift that is no longer seen in UKgovernance. The shift was fundamental for theafter-use of the Olympics, as the two parties hadcontrasting ideas of what should follow.

CostasCartalis was the secretary general for theOlympic Games in 2000-04, and is now thepresident of strategy for the Institute of theSocialist Party. Unsurprisingly, he blames the NewDemocracy group for the problems: "There aretwo fundamental ways of looking at the Games.First, the Games are there for the needs of the city- they are a catalyst to really develop the hostcity, gaining momentum for businessanddevelopment. Second, the city ;s used for theneeds of the Games - you invest for 17 days andhope that from the reputation of the Gameseconomic gains are then made as a result. Thesecond is a catastrophic procedure."

Top: The rich kids of the Insane Driving Dimension Club perform a "doughnut" outside Olympicbuildings in Faliro that have been virtually unused for 15 monthsMiddle: The manoeuvre leaves melted rubber from the tyres, in which one of the drivers writeswith his finger the club's acronym "12DClub"Above left: Nearby, skateboarder Pavlos shows off tricks in front of two security men guardingthe empty Olympic beach volleyball stadiumAbove right: A hungry dog wanders by the Peace & Friendship stadium, outside of which theprevious evening four men were smoking dopeOpposite page: Costas Cartalis was the secretary general for the Olympic Games from 2000 toMarch 2004, when the governing party, PA50K, lost power

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Cartalis insists that PASOKhad designed the:::amesto overcome the problems of the city - aegacy that the New Democracy party has w,asted.-.::the aforementioned Faliro area, PASOK;:cognised that it was an underdeveloped area,rith new schemes tending to be just restaurants

small offices. PASOKmoved a racecourse from~Iiro to the east of Athens, replacing it with a:;Ir park for the new venues.The existing PeaceEt=riendship Stadium was renovated to host theI{)lIeyball,with the beach volleyball and tae kwon::0 stadiums built further along Faliro's coast.

The tae kwon do stadium, which also hosted the1andball tournament, was due to be converted

o a convention centre under PASOK'splans.'Jle party estimates that it would have beenwpened after minor refurbishment work after)51: six months. Today it is used only sporadically,,,!though from this week it will host a one-month'Un of an ice-ballet version of the Nutcracker -1ardly the basisfor a long-term revenue stream."We are already 15 months after the Games:'dgues Cartalis, "and no Olympic facilities areopen to the public."

Although this is not quite true - Panathanaikos

In London you will beable to have moretemporary venues asthere are alreadyplenty of facilities

are temporarily using the main Olympic stadiumfor football matches until they get a new stadiumin 2008-09 - most lay dormant. Cartalis says thatthere were three options for stadiums after theGames: give the ownership to the ministry ofsport to manage and operate the facilities aspublic venues; give everything to the privatesector, and only give broad guidelines on whatthey can and cannot do with them; or develop apublic company that would be run under privatelaw, and which would then sign deals withprivate companies to operate and manage the

facilities together.PASOKchose the final option. Setting up

Hellenic Olympic Properties - of which Cartaliswas president until just after last year's election -the plan was that it would run a facility duringthe week, asking for minimal payments fromuniversities, local clubs and the public to usethem for sports training. The token charge wouldcover running costs, but keep it cheap for apublic that had paid so much for the Games.Atthe weekend, the private sector would use thevenues for commercial events, such as concertsand theatre, with both sides reaping a share ofthe profits. Cartalis calls this "specified time/spaceexploitation':

PASOK'sright-leaning successor looked at amore profit-generating model - handing it overto the private sector for leasesof up to 30 years.Olympic Properties has essentially changed toa company that runs the tender process.Theformation of these new plans has been atime-consuming process- invitations to tenderhave only recently come out for the first fivevenues. A quick glance at the documents suggeststhat Cartalis is right and they have handed theprivate sector a lot of freedom to do as they wish.For example, at the 36,000 m' Galatsi Indoor Hallthere is an option for 8000 m' extra development,and the overall site is permitted to be used forretail, restaurant, cultural, sports andentertainment facilities.

Cartalis says: "There was a complete philosophychange. Whatever we prepared was cancelled.There have been lots of complaints because thevenues have naturally deteriorated, as they areempty. The vast majority of Athenians are veryunhappy with the exploitation of venues - theycould have at least assigned a temporary agent,like the ministry of sport, to take over andoperate the venues while New Democracydeveloped its own plans."

NassosAlevras, an Athens MP and the formerdeputy minister for Olympic projects underPASOK,is equally adamant that the post-Olympicproblems are the fault of his party's successor:"It is very sad that Olympic Properties has notyet implemented any plans for areas like Faliro:'he says."Look at Nikaia. We located theweightlifting there at a cost higher than otherplaces because it was a difficult area - there are agreat lack of sports facilities there. The questionis, why are we 20 months after an election andthere are no new clear plans for the area?There is confusion and a lack of a businessplan. I think New Democracy is afraid of usingour plans - they want the fame of using theirown plans."

Perhaps,but it could be argued that in such aclose-running political situation, PASOKand NewDemocracy should have worked together on the

.legacy to ensure that either party could pressahead after the election. Alevras smiles:"Discussion is not part of our political history."

The view from the Olympic Mini Super MarketThe deputy mayor of Athens, TheodorosSkylakakis, is from New Democracy. Predictably,he blames PASOKfor the lack of legacy, insistingthat there was little businessdemand for itsplans: ''The public works planned for the after-usewere not market-tested properly. It is a difficultquestion for the previous government."

His remit is the city centre, where €120m(£81m) was spent. A densely constructed city, nomajor venues were built here, although there wassome renovation work on facades, pavements androads.There was also spending on securityupgrades as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks -largely a waste of Athens' taxpayers' money, ~

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This picture: A headless mannequin is used bykids as a makeshift ramp for bike andskateboard jumps just by the Olympic stadiumBelow left: Architect Santiago Calatrava'svision that the Olympic complex would becomea major tourist attraction has not been realisedBelow right: Athens' deputy mayor, TheodorosSkylakakis, insists the Games has increasedtourism 13%Opposite page: The Olympic Mini Super Market(top) is located in Omonia, the poor immigrantarea of central Athens, where localbusinessman Hussein (below) says that tradehas actually been worse since the Gamesbecause of increases in VAT

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N _. - " ~:,¥

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~ according to Skylakakis, as "Athens is one ofthe safest cities in Europe':

To have constructed new venues in the citycentre, where they would have been of greatesteconomic benefit, would have been difficult.There would almost certainly have beenprotracted legal battles to buy the land - securingthe purchase of land from owners topedestrianise the archaeological sites, forexample, has taken a decade. However, Skylakakisinsists, there has still been a boon to tourism as aresult of the games, with a 13% increase invisitors this year. "You can spend three days in thecity as a tourist now," saysSkylakakis. "But youcouldn't have done beforehand:'

Walking around the central area of Omonia it isdifficult to be sympathetic to Skylakakis'economic assessment.A poor immigrant area,groups of young men hang around street corners.Anowar owns the Olympic Mini Super Market.He says: "There has been no benefit." Hussein,acustomer and local businessman, adds: "There isactually lessbusiness than before becauseVAT hasincreased from 18% to 19%:'

Hussein does concede that there have beenimprovements to the roads, which have helpedwith deliveries. Certainly, transport is an area thateveryone seems to agree has improved. As a resultof the Olympics, one Metro underground line

became four, a tram line was built, as well as asuburban railway connecting the new airport tothe east of Athens with the city centre, withfurther planned expansion to the north and westof Athens.

The suburban railway takes visitors from theairport to Athens in 40 minutes. The airport wasbuilt for the Games, replacing one to the south ofthe city. Despite being closer, the inadequatetransport links meant that the journey time usedto be two hou rs.

Even this new railway has problems, though:the trains run at just 40-45% capacity.Konstantinos Labrinopulos and Miltiadis Farmakisrun KLMF Architects, the Athenian practice thatco-designed the railway - it did the preliminarydesign with French designer Arep and the detailedwork with another Greek practice, Meas. Even theKLMF duo admit that the railway is loss-making,although they point out that it is important as itwill ensure that there is the infrastructureavailable to help Athens grow to the east - theexisting boundaries simply cannot cope withmuch more population growth.

Upbeat, Labrinopulos adds that the Olympicshas taught the Greek construction fraternity howto build major projects, and they can now exportthis expertise into money-spinning schemesbeyond their borders - into the Balkans, Polandand the Middle East."The Greeks were very, veryproud of the Olympics," he concludes.

From stadium to ghost townA walk around the Santiago Calatrava-designedOlympic complex, which includes the mainstadium, the aquatic centre and velodrome, doesnot give the impression that this pride remains.It is a fairly warm late Wednesday afternoon, yetthere appear to be no more than a dozen peopleenjoying the architectural spectacular. There areloose wires, broken glass and there is even graffition the statue that celebrates the 1896 games, thefirst Olympics of the modern era, which was alsoheld in Athens.

The outside swimming facilities, despite beingwarmed up, seem underused with only oneswimmer in the training pool and a handful inthe synchronised swimming venue. Admittedly,later that evening they do fill up for training, and

Why are we 20 monthsafter an election andthere are no new clearplans for he area?Nassos Alevras, PASOK MP

the main pool in the aquatic centre is full ofschoolchildren. But the site itself remains eerie -as it darkens, all the site's lights go on, bar a fewpanels on an entrance road that no longer work,illuminating a lone motorcyclist circling the site.Calatrava's idea was that an open park wouldencourage people to stay and walk around thevenue, enjoying picnics and the open air. PASOK'sCartalis was one of those impressed by Calatrava'sidea, but even he admits: "So far it hasn't worked.It is a ghost town:'

The velodrome is playing host to an event thisevening, a celebration of a 19th-centuryOrthodox saint. "We have pictures fromschoolchildren around the world," enthusesFather Socratis, before inadvertently getting tothe nub of the issue: "But no, we do not pay touse the venue:' Even the most splendid of ~

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~ constructions may not be sustainable if arevenue stream is not found soon.

A clue to why graffiti has been sprayed over thecomplex, which presumably should be one of themost heavily protected sites in Greece, is givenby PanosAssimakopoulos' story. A 26-year-oldAthenian, he drove up to the complex at about2am one morning. He saysthat the guardsinitially refused to allow him past, but he saidthat he just wanted to show his girlfriend aroundit by night. They let him in.

Too big for Athens?The real problem here could be that Greecetook the decision to have 90% of its venuespermanently built. The cost therefore skyrocketedin absolute terms, but the theory was that itprovided better long-term value for money. Onevenue, for example, was estimated to cost either€20m (£13.5m) for a three-month period aroundthe Games or €35m (£23.6m) as a permanentconstruction with a 30-year lifespan. A sourceclose to the decision says: "We agreed that ifeverything is locked up and uselessafter theGames we should build temporary venues; if itcould be used afterwards then it could be builtpermanently. In London you will be able to havemore temporary venues as there are alreadyplenty of facilities there."

Setting aside the change of post-Games

philosophy, a major problem of this view is thatsome of the facilities are simply too big forAthens. The International Olympic Committeedemands a minimum-size stadium for each sport."The Olympics is a major festival of sport:' saysone source. "But it is only for two weeks. Howmany other major events are there? If smallercountries are to host the Games, the IOC - whichwants developing countries to bid - needs toaccept that there will be smaller venues so that itcan cope with maintaining them afterwards."

A seemingly successful after-use has beenfound for the Olympic Village. Converted into2300 apartments, a ballot has taken place by theOrganisation of Labour Residency.This hasallotted apartments to registered workers. It isunderstood that they pay about €400 (£269.4)!m'to buy the apartments, whereas the constructioncost was nearly double that. With air-conditioning, high levels of earthquakeprotection, its own hospital and three schools,this could cost as much as €3000 (£2020.3)!m'on the open market.

On the face of it then, this has benefitedordinary Athenians. But Nickos Marcellos, the civilengineer who conducted quality control on theproject, says: "In my opinion they shouldhave sold the 2300 homes normally, then withthe profits they could have built 5000 morehomes. Why should there be over-design forthese 2000-3000 families when we could havemore homes?"

Marcellos' friend Vagelis Papadakis,a buildingdurability specialist, adds that some facilitiesmight have found an after-use, but the rushednature of the construction programme meansthat some small problems are starting to emerge.In his home city of Patra, a football stadium wasbuilt that is now home to the local team,Panahaiki. Built quickly, the cement coveringaround the steel is not always as thick as it shouldbe, and some rust has started to emerge.

This is an appropriate symbol for the wholeGames: a wonderful memory is now decaying asa result of some major oversights. Eventhepoliticians agree that they are to blame. "Ifpolitics had not been involved:' saysPASOK'sCartalis, "it would have worked out much better."