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February
27, 2006: the olympics are over.
Organizers and prolympic magazines and media say it was "an extraordinary
success". The city won. The dream has become true. Bla bla bla. This could
be true for those who benefited from the games, not for the taxpayers who
are paying a 3 billion eurose cheque (costs have escalated 6 times since
the bid period in 1998). This is not true for the environment, which suffered
permanent injuries from the olympic impact. The I.O.C. president himself
was not shocked by Turin, and defined them as "truly magnificent Games
",
not for sure the "best ever" as Castellani and Christillin hoped.
Why? There are several reasons. One could be the criminal
investigation which is going on about Toroc
expenditures. We will let you know. But let's remain on the sporting elements:
these are the games which have sold least
in terms of tickets in the last 18 years and
the past 5 winter editions. 880.000 tickets sold by 22 of February (see
Repubblica 23.2.2006) is less than 1988 Calgary:
1.6
millions;
1992
Albertville:
0.9
millions;
1994
Lillehammer:
1.2
millions;
1998
Nagano:
1.275
millions;
2002
Salt Lake City:
1.525
millions.
(see
http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/facts/programme/ticketing_uk.asp).
Furthermore, they can claim another "olympic record", the forecast
error: they sold only 60% of the overall estimate
(880.000 out of a 1,5 million), which is considerably less than other editions
did: 78% (Calgary), 75% (Albertville), 87,2% (Lillehammer), 89,4% (Nagano)
and 95% (Salt Lake City), per IOC website, same page). We could, and want
to, attack them even more: Innsbruck ’76
sold 730.000 tickets, but it was 30 years
ago, with organization costs 50
times lower, 30% of athletes and 50% of sportng
disciplines less (see J.L. Chappelet, A tale of 2 olympic cities, What
Torino can learn from previous Games in the Alps? 24 February
2005). Finally, should we really believe that
the closing ceremony - as our RAI reporters
repeated yesterday and as Turin 2006 claimed (http://www.torino2006.org/ITA/OlympicGames/news/news_ita150562.html)
was
followed by 2 billion spctators in the whole world? We
doubt. The Italian public gave a poor 29%share
to Turin 2006 yesterday night, just 2.5% more than the entertainement show
"Amici". In France the opening ceremony ranked only fifth in the 6-12 February
week (see http://www.mediametrie.fr/resultats.php?rubrique=tv&resultat_id=237).
Why
Canadian
CBC stated that estimates of the overall TV spectators of the closing
ceremony were 500 millions, that is 1/4 of the Toroc forecast? Can
we trust them when they claim that these games will have a positive impact
on the city?
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February
6 2006: Newsweek: "Torino's
2006 Winter Olympics could truly be remembered as the Forgotten Games".
Passion
lives here? No, you're in the wrong place.
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February
4, 2006: "The
black book of the Turin 2006 olympics", written
by two members of the Antiolympics" Committee and published by Fratelli
Frilli Editori, is now available on bookshops. If you wish to buy it
online, please
go here.
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February
3, 2006. another trick of Toroc,
the Turin organizing committee, is unveiled: we explain how they reduced
their forecast on tickets sale of about half a million people. In
February 2005 their forecast was one
million and a half spectators (see brochure) and such remained until
September 2005 (see www.torino2006.org/ITA/OlympicGames/news/news_ita144220.html).
But at the end of 2005, and first weeks of 2006, they downsized these figures
to only one million
(see brochure and their website http://www.torino2006.org/ITA/OlympicGames/news/news_ita150070.html).
Is this due to 9/11? To economic recession? It is 500.000
paying spectators disappearing! And what about
their thought on October, 2005? See their monthly magazine "Monitor": 850.000
tickets forecast. Now, with only 4 days to begin, they declare
700.000 tickets sold, which is less than a half lower than their original
forecast. Wow!
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January
2006: hundreds
of international media reporters arriving in Turin for the so-called "olympics".
The Turin Antiolympics! Committee welcomes independent media and media
reporters who do their job looking for (and publishing) true informations.
We are preparing media conferences
for the incoming weeks. Documents,
reports
and a
press kit will
be distributed. Stay tuned for updates or contact us at nolimpiadi2006@iname.com.
"Antiolympic passion lives here". (*Nbc
reporters please do not
contact us, as we won't respond).
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October
2005: IOC and Toroc member Mario Pescante
asks for an exemption of strict Italian laws governing doping in sport
which could lead to arrests of doped athletes. Is this sport? No.
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Winter
2004-2005: private Turin Organizing CommitteToroc
drowning
in its >200 million US $ debt. The Italian
Government guarantees: public finances will cover the debt. Antiolympics!
Committee asks criminal prosecutors to open
an investigation to ascertain who benefited
from the olympic business, to understand which companies, firms, persons
got works and money from Toroc. An investigation starts. Documents are
repeatedly seized in Toroc's offices by Guardia di Finanza (financial police).
We are unveiling another dark face.
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Antiolympics
2004 in Athens.
Click below to have all the updates of the Anti-athens 2004 campaign.
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February,
2004: Italian Government admits European laws
for public procurement violated twice. Inside an infringement
procedure ruled by the European Commission
and started by us, Italy has admitted a double breach of the EU Directive
on the public procurement of services (92/50/EEC). Click
here to know more.
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December,
2003: another worker dies inside an "olympic"
venue in Turin (Torino Esposizioni). Now that's 2 in 2 months, while organizers
and politicians keep on lying about the workers' safety protection.
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October,
2003: one man dies in a work-related accident while working (Cesana
and Claviere works for a new chairlift Serra Granet- Colle Bercia) in a
dockyard for the 2006 winter olympics.
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April,
2003: the European Commission, following a
2002 Nolympics! complaint, sends formal initial
to the Italian Government for supposed violation
of the public procurement European law regarding contracts for projecting
and design of ski jump and bobsleigh venues.
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March
2003: U.S. military giant corporations
General Dynamics & Honeywell
win
with german Siemens and Israelian Elbit Systems the Athens
2004 Olympic Games security package contract
(which comprises all means of electronic surveillance and identification.
(www.sportserver.com, March, 2003); but please, don't mind about it: there's
always the "Olympic Truce" that can intervene when bombs will fall on the
Iraqi people!
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December
7, 2002 Salt
Lake City Olympic facilities budget in the red... First chapter of the
true story of sport venues post-olympic use, gently
taken from Deseret News (Lisa Riley) "Speed-skating oval not
drawing as many patrons as expected BEAR HOLLOW — The budget to run
the state's Olympic facilities is falling nearly $200,000 short, in part
because fewer people than expected are using the speed-skating oval.
Friday, the Utah Athletic Foundation board approved boosting the annual
budget to make up the difference. The cost of operating the oval in Kearns,
and the bobsled track and ski jumps near Park City already was projected
to be almost $4 million in the red. Plus
the foundation — funded from a commitment of more than $75 million from
the 2002 Winter Games profits — has also taken on responsibility for the
Olympic cross-country and biathlon facility at Soldier Hollow in Wasatch
Mountain State Park near Midway[...]". It''s amazing how many
people can still believe in what olympic organizers say...
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November
2002, Turin antiracist, Turin racist: while
tens of thousands of citizens run in the streets to close the inhuman lager
(prison) for extra-European Union people without visa - mainly northafrican
ones -, Turin's mayor (and Turin 2006 CEO) Sergio Chiamparino, from the
main "left" italian political party, declares that it has to remain "..until
someone will tell me there is no more a problem of socially dangerous clandestines...".
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Salt
Lake City 2002: ARE UTAH'S WINTER OLYMPICS
AS GREEN AS ORGANIZERS CLAIM? OR ARE THEIR CLAIMS GREENWASH? Learn plans
and figures from SaveourCanyons, people who
lived them
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August
2002, legalized
environmental destruction begins in Pragelato: for the renowned green "Olympic
Games" hundreds of trees of a protected EU forest are knocked down to make
space for the ski jumping venue...the proof of how
sustainable development is intended according to the IOC and Torino
2006... click
here for their masterpieces: exclusive pictures!
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July
2002: FIAT Group/Torino 2006 Olympic Winter
Games relationships strenghten as Toroc vicepresident Evelina Christillin's
husband, Gabriele Galateri di Genola, is appointed as new Fiat CEO and
Sanpaolo IMI Bank is rumoured by newspapers to sign as olympic sponsor.
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May 2002:
Turin city government (headed by Mr. Chiamparino, Turin 2006 officer) evicts
squats seeking "public spaces restitution
to the town" but in the mean time prepares itself to defintively occupy
or let occupy land for huge, unuseful horrible buildings for the 2006 "games"!
http://tutto.squat.net/
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April
2002: new corruption
scandals flood in Turin, from hospital to
green and garden manteinance to road works contracts ...
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February
25 th 2002, the militarized so-called "games"
end in Salt Lake City and slowly move towards Turin: will they ever arrive
here? Will the IOC survive the recent mass of critics for the "bought"
ice skating medals? Will Turin 2006 survive the referendumwe're aiming
to organize? Will the Turin citizens accept huge expenditures for a bunch
of frivolous sports? Will they obey the big multinationals' orders? Well,
one thing is for sure: we'll be more and more every single day shouting
"stop dirty games!".
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Nolympics!,
the Antiolympic Committee in Turin, will denounce
to public Prosecutors whoever will propose movement and free speach freedom
limits before and during the olympics, we
do not accept things like those happened in SLC: the Turin-IOC contract
is largely void and uncostitutional!
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February
2002: asbestos
in the olympic mountains? YES!
(But someone is trying to keep this silent...).
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November
2001: Nolympics wins trial
against "Agenzia Torino 2006"; judges confirm: we have right to know who
is working at the 100% state controlled agency!
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July
2001 The IOC headed by former
fascist Samaranch gives 2008 olympic games to repressive
chinese regime: let's stop dirty games!!!
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June
2001 Agenzia Torino 2006, the public
institution created to spend the public
money for the olympic venues, asks the parliament for changes in the law
which should bring to avoiding some legal, public
controls over it!
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Penal
judges and Parliament Commission confirm Mafia
risk in Bardonecchia (2006 winter games host
city) click here
to know more
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