Where Have All the People Gone?

It seems that the excuse for the empty Olympic stadiums, namely that people are away on holiday, doesn't ring true.

Reports indicate that the citizens of Athens are neither in the city, nor vacationing on their favourite holiday islands.

They instead seem to be taking short breaks at nearby destinations.

The reason? Lack of spare cash it seems.

Since joining the Euro, the Greek economy has been gripped by inflation; as shopkeepers use confusion over the new currency to hike their prices.

Additionally, the Olympics has been used as an excuse by many groups of "entrepreneurs" to raise their prices.

The high prices, reported here some time ago, have deterred foreign visitors from coming to Greece. Oddly enough people don't like being "ripped off".

It seems that in hosting the Olympic Games, the Greeks have killed the goose that lays the golden egg; ie tourism, which normally brings in around 14 million visitors each year.

Add on to this the debt overhang from the $12BN Games, that the Greek citizens will be paying for over the next decade, and I wonder if the average Greek feels that it was all worth it?