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Financial tug of war to burden Games
SINGAPORE (AP) -- War and uncertainty have caused security costs to soar for organizers of the Olympics and other sporting events, sport officials said Thursday. President of the General Association of International Sports Federations, Kim Un-yong, said the additional costs would be a burden but that the games must go on. "We realize that all the elements that surround events have undergone a spectacular evolution," said Kim at the opening ceremony of the General Association of International Sports Federations congress in Singapore. "Salt Lake City, for example, has to spend $240 million for security out of $1.3 billion of total budget," Kim said, referring to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. In April, Salt Lake organizers said they were planning to spend around $83 million on security, so the budget has increased almost threefold. Major sporting events have been canceled in the wake of the terror attacks -- particularly in Asia as athletes refrain from traveling to or near perceived danger zones. Kim and others said it was imperative that athletes and spectators are safe at major events. They said security costs had increased substantially since suicidal hijackers attacked the United States on Sept. 11, killing thousands of people. The heads of 95 international sports federations -- including a tug of war federation and a sled dog federation -- met at the Singapore forum to discuss the future of the Olympics, international sports law, anti-doping measures and other issues. Adolf Ogi, special sporting adviser to the United Nations, said "the money must be found" to cover additional security costs. Ogi, who gave a passionate speech about how athletes are often better than politicians at promoting peace and bridging divides, did not say where the money might be found. The United Nations wants to promote sporting events as a tool for peace and development, Ogi said. His comments came hours after Norwegian IOC member Gerhard Heiberg apologized for casting doubt over the staging of the Winter Games in Salt Lake City, saying he believes the games should go ahead as planned. Heiberg stunned Olympic officials Tuesday when he was quoted in a Norwegian newspaper as saying, "A country at war can't organize the Olympic Games." The last time the Olympics were held in a country that was waging war was in 1980 in Moscow. A year earlier, the former Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan, which may now be a target of American strikes against terrorists.
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