On February 22, 2003 the population of Vancouver voted on Vancouver’s participation in hosting the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The results were somewhat low, with 64% of the population in favour of the Olympic bid. On July 2, 2003, the International Olympic Committee decided to chose Vancouver as the host city for the 2010 Olympic and Winter Games. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will take place in Vancouver and Whistler between February 12-28th.
For a city, hosting the Olympics can have serious economic impacts, whether negative or positive. An economic impact is defined as being a measure of the spending and employment associated with a sector of the economy or a specific project such as the construction of new facilities for the 2010 Winter Olympics. As mentioned by InterVistas Consulting, the economic impact of the 2010 Olympics Games is generated by:
Capital costs such as spending on construction and upgrades of the Olympics facilities and transport infrastructure.
Operating costs such as policing and broadcasting.
Spending by tourists visiting the province, and any impact on in-bound investment or trade.
For any city hosting the Olympics there can be various economic advantages and disadvantages depending on where the population stands. In order to have a better idea of the Olympics advantages and disadvantages the next sections have shown few examples.