Amsterdam spent half a million on 2028 Games

An investigation by Dutch broadcaster RTL has revealed that the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam have already spent almost 1.5 million euros in a bid to bring the 2028 Olympic Games to their fair cities. The money has been spent on foreign trips, promotional material and dedicated 2028 Olympic civil servants.
RTL says the Dutch capital spend just over €590,000 between 2008 and 2011 in a bid to bring the Olympics to the city. Rotterdam spent almost 679,000 between 2009 and 2011 in its attempt to secure the games.
Civil servants working for Amsterdam have made eight overseas trips and travelled to Beijing, Vancouver and Rio de Janeiro. Rotterdam's civil servants only managed six foreign trips.
Both cities want the distinction of Olympic capital if the Netherlands wins the right to stage the 2028 Olympics; if the Netherlands does win, it will be exactly 100 years since Amsterdam hosted the event. However, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the Netherlands will even put itself forward as a candidate.
In April, the Dutch Olympic committee (NOC*NSF) called on politicians to shelve plans to host the games. The NOC said the government was much too busy with the economic crisis to plan and host such a major event. The cabinet doesn't have to decide until 2016 if the country will enter the Olympic bidding competition.

Source: RTL News
(jric)
©Radio Netherlands Worldwide