Norwegian Olympic bid for 2014 Winter Games has some detractors

Norwegian Olympic bid for 2014 Winter Games has some detractors{mosimage}Norway’s effort to capture the 2014 Winter Olympics is already in hot water with local residents and some politicians saying the effort is doomed to failure and will be a waste of money.

Norwegian officials recently picked Tromsoe over Lillehammer, host of the 1994 Games, because promoters felt the International Olympic Committee would be hesitant to award the Games to the same venue within 20 years. Detractors say Tromsoe’s northern location and lack of existing infrastructure make it certain the bid will be shot down.

“Now we’ll see a feeding frenzy by consultants at the Parliament,” said Jens Ingvald Olsen of the radical party RV to the Norwegian daily Aftenposten. “Shall Tromsoe really pay 75 million kroner (more than $10 million) to apply for an Olympics we won’t get? This is corrupt and embarrassing.”

Tromsoe fans, however, dream of hosting opening ceremonies on the site of what’s now a garbage dump. Mayor Herman Kristoffersen said local residents “mustn’t be afraid of new thinking.”