We can’t wind back the clock and do a control here, we really don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t had the Games. But I suspect we’ve done better by having them. It’s just that we forget that Sydney, the most international city in Oz, copped a massive downturn in 2000. The Olympics may have saved us, who knows? Governments got obsessed with balanced budgets for too long and stopped building other infrastructure as well. We could have done both and really benefited – but we were scared off by what may be next. And it did get scary in the IT world, that I can vouch for. Blame the practitioners of low-risk, low-ambition politics in Australia if you like, something that’s only gotten worse, or blame ourselves for lack of vision.

That aside, I reckon that almost all of the people directly involved for the 5 years prior as well as during the Sydney Games made a personal “profit”. it wasn’t just a great party – it was hard work. Yes, I had a small role on the IT infrastructure side, and the impact on team morale was immense. The intellectual capital – the new skills and processes developed – invaluable. Many process and procedures, tools and skills – whilst updated – are still being used. That possibly uncalculated “return” is still being multiplied across all sponsors, the builders, the volunteers, the organisers, the government, grassroots sporting groups – everyone who felt the pressure of the deadlines and the relief when it all worked. And it really did work.

From my personal sporting perspective it almost ruined road-based cycle racing in NSW – yet it also saved it in a way and brought it kicking and screaming into the next century. It’s another unmeasurable yet real effect of Sydney 2000. Prior to the Games it was a relatively simple affair to design a road course, get police consent and start a race. But the security and safety procedures that grew up from the Games made the whole task more onerous – indeed virtually impossible for a while. It forced administrators to adapt and it probably took 5 years to sort it all out. But when I look back the Games forced a change for the better. It may have happened anyway but it brought this change on years earlier. It made sports administration more professional, more responsible if you like. And I suspect it had similar knock-on effects in all sports and even in the wider community.

And it wasn’t just about Homebush. It was Fairfield, Penrith, Bass Hill, you-name-it. There are facilities out there built for the Olympics that may have shrunk a bit since but have also grown and adapted. Again the Olympics brought about significant, long-term grass-roots improvement. It does matter.

Add up all of these more intangible things – even the buzz and glow of a successful Games – and factor in the economic pressures that hit us in 2000. And maybe it wasn’t such a bad deal after all.

In most cases these events are a waste of money however, if they are planned properly and form part of a bigger strategy.

Where I disagree with Matthew is the examples where a major sport event has done well for the host city’s long term development are few and far between, most have been a colossal waste of money.

The Sydney Olympics is probably the biggest tragedy, we had a heap of momentum running coming out of it but a combination of business indifference, public complacency and a lack of vision in both the Carr and Howard governments meant it was all wasted.

Overall Neerav’s right – most of these sports events are a scam on the taxpayer, particularly when you see governments paying for Tiger Woods and David Beckham celebrity visits.

The real sadness is that these funds could be better spent on addressing childhood obesity and promoting junior sport rather than giving them to the corrupt cronies of the professional sport organisations.

EDITOR: thats an excellent point, I forgot to mention the lack of funds for grassroots community level sports because so much is spent on professional sports people and winning big events.