2023-07-03 07:52:53
As Eastern Europe is rocked by inflation and war in Ukraine, the 2023 European Games in Krakow failed to draw crowds, drawing criticism.
These are “The Burned Money Games” according to Tomasz Urynowicz, council member of the Kraovia region. “They haveattracted about 20,000 people to Krakow, which is no better than on an average weekend“he criticizes.
“In the sport” he continues, “the results are not enough, there is also the affluence, the crowd, the enthusiasm, but there, there are no fans, nor enthusiasm” he berates.
“So many funds have been spent that will not be reimbursed, so many events are taking place here that have turned out to be a fiasco,” he criticizes.
For its part, the town hall of Krakow sees the glass half full, estimating that the benefits amounted to around 400 million zlotys for the territory.
“The city received 350 million zlotys for investments in infrastructure, for construction, road repairs, and 150 million zlotys for investments in sports infrastructure,” explains Monika Chylaszek, spokesperson for the municipality.
“The city’s contribution to the organization was 100 million, a quick calculation shows that Krakow therefore earned 400 million thanks to this event” she says.
As for the organizers of the Games, satisfaction remains de rigueur, even if they point out that the calendar of the event has been upset by external factors.
“We have been preparing events for a year and a half, when in Poland there was a lot of talk about the war situation, inflation, the post-pandemic situation, but we have remained here in full possession of our means.“says Dawid Glen, spokesperson for the European Games 2023.
“Of course, the stands were not full every day, but in the last matches they were full” he concludes.
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