What American audiences have yet to learn is that one of the joys of following important sporting events taking place in distant lands is having to watch them at the oddest and most inconvenient hours. It not only proves devotion beyond doubt, but in a perverse way adds to the satisfaction. Interestingly, although hardly anybody in America has watched the present Games, everybody has come away with a clear impression that Australia is a beautiful, friendly, modern, cringe-free country with a great deal more to it than kangaroos and Crocodile Dundee. The decision, according to the Australian Financial Review, follows a surge of interest in the US about the latest Crocodile Dundee sequel , surely the first and last time that the words surge of interest and Crocodile Dundee have enjoyed such happy proximity in print. Lifting Australia s profile and boosting tourism were of course among the main justifications for staging the Games in the first place.
Tourism is now the biggest foreign exchange earner in the Australian economy.
Although the number of overseas visitors has doubled in a decade, to more than 4.5 million last year, it remains modest by world standards. Much less quantifiable are the other economic benefits that may accrue more generally from the Games. On the face of it, the numbers seem enchantingly huge, but in the context of the overall economy the benefits of the Games are actually pretty marginal. Considering all the costs and risks, Sydney can consider itself very lucky if, as forecast, it manages to come away with a small profit. Montreal, as is often noted, is still paying for its Games almost a quarter of a century after they finished.