review the instructions and complete the assigned task.

Discussion Topic ( A Follow Discuss the case "London 2012 Olympics: Avoiding White Elephant Curse" on page 150 from Chapter 5. What are "White Elephant" projects? Cite other examples of "White Elephant" projects. Why such projects occur? What Organizations can do to avoid such a curse? What would be your recommendations to the organizations? Please see the syllabus for details about discussion forum post requirements. SNAPSHOT FROM PRACTICE 5.6 London 2012 Olympics: Avoiding White Elephant Curse* Once hosting the Olympics was consid ered the crown prize and a tremendous source of national and local pride. Seven cities competed to host the 1992 Winter Olympics. For the 2022 Winter Olympics only Beijing and Almaty (Kazakhstan) submit- ted bids. Oslo (Norway), the favorite, withdrew applica- tion due to a lack of public support. Likewise, Boston withdrew application for the 2024 Summer Olympics in the face of public outcry. Why the outcry? Because of the legacy of exorbitant cost overruns and draining mainte- nance costs. The Olympics has a long history of expen- Sophie Vigneault /123RF sive white elephants. For example, the Beijing National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird's Nest, built at cost of $480 million for the 2008 Olympic games, requires over materials recycled. The 12,000-seat basketball arena $10 million each year to maintain, and has no regular was designed to be portable so it could be used in future tenant. Some have attributed the Greek economic melt- Olympics. Scalability was another key consideration. For down to exorbitant debt accrued from hosting the 2004 example, during the Olympics over 17,000 people summer games (Flyvbjerg, 2014). Perhaps the most infa- watched swimming events in the newly constructed mous example is the "Big Owe," Montreal's Olympic aquatic center. The aquatic center was downsized to a Stadium, which took Canadian taxpayers over thirty 2,500-person capacity after the Olympics and is now years to pay off and was not even finished in time for the open to the public. 1976 Olympics! In recognition of its achievements, London 2012 The London 2012 organizers were committed to Olympics won Gold in the Environmental and Sustain- turning this around. In particular, they were well aware of ability category of the 6th International Sports Events hidden post-Olympic maintenance costs of buildings that awards. "We set out with a huge promise to the world, were no longer in demand. One advantage they had to deliver the most sustainable Olympic Games of mod- over less developed countries is that the infrastructure ern times," says David Stubbs, London 2012's Head of and many of the arenas were already in place and the Sustainability. "Seven years, nine million visitors, and Olympics provided a necessary upgrade. They built tem- 2,484 medals later, that's exactly what we achieved." porary arenas for less popular sports. For example, after . "London 2012's Sustainability Legacy Lives On," Olympic the games the water polo arena was deconstructed and .org, accessed October 10, 2015