Everyone enjoy the thrill of winning medals at the 2012 London Olympics which are underway at this time.  The host country expects that the games will bring an economic boom as well as tourism dollars.  But the history may prove otherwise.

Greece entered the European Union in 2001.  The 2004 Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece.  At the time the event cost €9 billion making it the most expensive games at the time.  Greece paid €7 billion just for the games excluding the cost of the new subway system and the new airport.

In 2004, the Greece’s deficit came in at 6.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the public debt reached to 110.6 percent of the GDP.  The public debt in 2004 was €168 billion.  These levels were unacceptable to the European Union (EU) since it exceeded the limits.  As a result the European Commission placed Greece under fiscal monitoring.  Since that time Greece’s debt risen to 165.3 percent of the GDP.

Many of the sites built for the games are in decay.  Greece’s fiscal problems cannot be blamed solely on Olympics but to a certain extent it contributed to the current fiscal chaos in the country.