“We gained great national self-confidence, which is never lost. We won Olympic infrastructure. Thousands of people were trained. With the latest technology in all areas. All this is here”, noted Ms. Angelopoulou.
About the importance of the 2004 Olympic Games, their contribution to the international image of the country, as well as the data on their costs, she spoke to ERT and Giorgos Kouvaras Gianna Angelopoulou-Daskalaki. “”I was there too” is the phrase I heard most of the time in the last 3-4 years on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution”, he said at the start of the debate.
“I went to 83 cities: everyone had a story from the Games to tell me. Everyone who participated, everyone who watched them”he characteristically said and added that “if society had not made the Games its own, nothing would have happened”. “The world was with the purpose, it was the society that was inspired and decided to do everything. We are not only talking about workers, volunteers, security forces. Athens had become a construction site, 37 test events were held, millions were wasted”he added.
To the question “what did we win” the lady Angelopoulou he said, among other things, that “projects were done that changed the lives of all of us. Infrastructures were made that would not be made in 60 years” and he added that “Greece, with the 2004 Olympic Games, put itself back on the map”. “This country did everything perfectly. We gained international prestige. We gained great national self-confidence, which is never lost. We won Olympic infrastructure. Amazing public infrastructure. Thousands of people were trained. With the latest technology in all areas. It’s all here,” he noted and emphasized that it is still not too late to pick up the thread again, to make use of the legacy of the Games.
“We organized the Games, we gave back the balance and we were also cheap. And we heard sorry Athens, Greece you were amazing” said the lady at another point in the conversation Angelopoulou-Daskalaki and in this context, among others, he referred to the Oxford study on the occasion of the London Games which cost 16 billion, while in Greece the corresponding total cost (with Olympic projects and infrastructure) was only 6.5 billion. , with a study of IOVE for the Olympic Games, the Greek government gave 6.5 billion for the period 2000-2010 for necessary infrastructure projects -stadiums, roads, hospitals, etc.-, an amount that corresponds to 1% of the public expenditures of the respective years.
“That the Games bankrupted Greece is a myth invented by those who hate the achievements of the Greeks” emphasized and added: “Those who like unfair criticism should learn elementary arithmetic, read the data, what we got, what we would get if we used the tangible and intangible heritage and let’s all say now let’s bring the abandoned projects back to life.”
Asked if there is another big mission for her, the lady Angelopoulou – Daskalaki he said: “I have applied to be elected to the municipal council of Athens and the people chose me, I have been elected twice as a member of parliament in Athens A’. Since then I have never claimed anything. The State always came to me and asked me for things. First to claim the Games, we did it. I was called in 2000 to take over the completion of the preparation as 3 years had been lost, we succeeded and got the credit of the whole world.
Three years ago I was asked to assume the honorary presidency of the Commission for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution. We toured all over Greece, over 750 actions took place and without burdening the state. What we collected we gave back to society: ICU, army cars, social actions etc. So if you ask me if I am claiming anything, I answer you no, I am not claiming anything. If you are asking me if I would agree to help my country if asked again, of course yes. With all my heart and with all my strength.”
Tags: Angelopoulou Greece put map Olympics
