Business and the Olympics: Greece's post-Olympic challenges and opportunities

• Are you looking for post Olympics business and investment opportunities in Greece?

• Business and the Olympics: Athens Business Club 2004

• "Business Initiative Greece"

• The effect of the Olympic Games on Greece's tourism industry in general, and upscale (e.g. golf, spa/health, conference) tourism in specific:
  "Greece needs to build on the positive impact from the Olympic Games and rebrand itself from a sea and beach resort. Promotion strategies need to be developed in order to showcase Greece's comparative advantages as a tourist destination, inter alia, targeting the crucial US market as well as fast-growing China... However, in order for Greek tourism to achieve a sustainable growth over the long run, several important challenges need to be addressed, as price competitiveness continues to deteriorate faster than the upgrade in the quality of offered services, a fact that even a 'marketing revolution' cannot overturn for long." -- National Bank of Greece SA (NBG) research report, June 2005. The NBG report sees arrivals in Greece rising by 7.5 percent year-on-year, topping 13.5 million in 2005 and 14 million in 2006. Spurring the sector's long-awaited rebound was a new promotional campaign the government has launched, and the legacy of investment and success from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, which is estimated to bring 1.4 million extra tourists in the coming years, offsetting lower competitiveness of the Greek tourism product in terms of prices.

• Tourism: a major engine for growth

• The new government's Herculean task of completing and executing the Olympic Games:
  The year 2004 was a turbulent one in Greek politics. The March general produced a landslide victory for the centre-right New Democracy party, thus ending a prolonged period of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), which had been in government for all but three of the previous 23 years. In the elections for the European Parliament in June, the conservatives increased their lead over the socialists to a record nine percentage points. The magnitude of the victories suggested that perhaps a new era of conservative rule was at hand. But the New Democracy government under Costas Karamanlis, nephew of the eponymous founder of the party, has eschewed traditional conservative policies and has instead promised "mild" policies. It has said that there will be reform but not at the expense of one political class over another. Karamanlis has repeatedly spoken of the need for dialogue and inclusiveness. In short he appears to be positioning the party in the centre of the political spectrum with a view to securing a long-term hold on office... The government also had the Herculean task of completing and executing the Olympic Games in August [2004] and the Paralympic Games in September. It performed admirably with a highly positive effect on international public opinion regarding Greece.

• Going for Gold? A survey on the economics of the 2004 Olympic Games:
  March 2004 -- The Olympic Games are a branded franchise the operation of which is awarded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) every four years to a national capital. Greece is the smallest country to host the Games in more than half a century and the cost is putting a considerable strain on the economy. When Greece won the Games in 1997 it was argued that the cost would be bearable because 72% of the venues were already in place in an international standard sporting complex built in 1982 when Greece hosted the Paneuropean Games.

• Greek construction firm AEGEK sets sights beyond 2004

• The Olympic Village -- Construction Numbers:
  The Olympic Village has evolved over the past years to become a real estate project that incorporates a large number of construction demands. It must suit the needs of the Olympic Games -- a considerable challenge -- and then be suitable for use after the games. The Olympic Village must serve the needs of the athletes, security concerns, environmental regulations, and be built within a tight budget. "Greek-American Trade" (GAT) presents an overview of the Olympic Village, to be built in Athens for the 2004 Olympic Games, from a construction point of view. [To read the full article, please click here. To gain complete and unrestricted access to INVgr's premium content pages, please register on-line.]

Did you know that...

• Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games facts & stats -- Olympia 776 B.C. - Athens 2004 A.D.

Olympic Torch Relay Route

• Olympic Torch Relay Route:
  The International Route of the Athens 2004 Torch Relay

Athens 2004 launch pad

• Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games Launch Pad

Athens 2004 sponsors, partners and sponsorship opportunities in 2004

• Athens 2004 -- Games of the XXVIII Olympiad -- Sponsorship opportunities

• Official sponsors and supporters of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games

• Grand National Sponsors

• Official Timekeeper

• TOP V Programme -- Olympic Partners

• Official Supporters

• Interview with Mrs. Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, President, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games:
  "The 2004 Olympic Games mark their return not only to the country that gave birth to them, but also to the city in which they were revived in 1896 -- Athens. This provides a unique opportunity for Greek companies to promote their products and services. No other country offers the rich history, the values and authentic settings of the Olympics in the magical way Greece does. All these intangible assets can be associated with corporate promotional activities."

• Selected sponsorship links

• Atos Origin SA (formerly SchlumbergerSema) completes Pack 2

• Organisers consider supports for expatriate volunteers

• New Visa credit card unveiled by major Greek 2004 sponsors

• National carrier Olympic Airways SA signs sponsorship deal

• Alpha Bank SA introduces a new 'Visa 2004' Olympic Games gold card

Olympic Truce

ELKE, in co-operation with the Athens Organising Committee for the 2004 Olympic Games, the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board, and the Federation of Greek Industries, is managing the Athens Business Club 2004, an exciting networking and matchmaking club that will bring together businesspeople from around the world to create new partnerships and develop new business.

The Athens Business Club 2004 is centred on the Olympic Games in Athens. If you and your company are interested in taking full advantage of the post-Olympics business and investment opportunities in Greece, please contact us.

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Unique Olympic sponsorship and investment opportunity: "The Flight of the Javelin"

Courtesy of Stephanie Ann MacKenzie, photographer and graphic artist

A panoramic video project for the 2004 Olympics

A dynamic Canadian-British-Greek production company is looking for sponsors and investors for its latest and hottest project, "The Flight of the Javelin".

The benefits to sponsors and investors in addition to a speedy return on their investment within two years or less will afford them a highly visible attraction that is going to wash its own face over time and carry the sponsors' good name long after the 2004 Olympics.

"The Flight of the Javelin" -- Objectives 

• Produce a panoramic video film on 12 x 60 foot screen

• Build a theatre with a seating capacity of 120-150 on an Olympic site in Athens

• Co-production Canada/England/Greece

• Offer Investment incentives according to the guidelines of the Hellenic and International Olympic Committees

• Create a lasting tourist attraction and income before, during and after the Olympic Games

• Create a profit situation for Athens and investors

• Promote goodwill from the Greek community abroad and interested investors for Greece

• Pride in the Greek heritage and culture

• Celebrate the origin of the Olympic Games

For twelve centuries, the Olympic Truce is observed. Noble competition and a harmonious coexistence are celebrated in Olympia. [more...]

INV International Ltd. supports Olympic Truce

INV International Ltd. fully supports the international Olympic Truce initiative. The idea of the Olympic Truce -- also known as 'Ekechereia' -- dates back to an ancient Hellenic tradition. In keeping with this tradition all hostilities would cease during the Olympic Games. The Olympic Truce was fully respected for twelve centuries of Olympic Games in antiquity.

Useful Athens 2004 contact details, senior executives and governmental officials

[If you have any specific question or request, please contact us.]

Key officials, ministers, mayors, executives and decision-makers

In alphabetical order (the majority of these key officials and executives have moved on after the Olympic Games and are now employed by other companies or organisations)

If you wish to receive the contact details and/or career summaries of any of the professionals, executives, consultants and government officials listed below, please contact INVgr (this service is only available to INVgr's registered premium content subscribers).

• Panos Alevras, Project Manager, Olympic Games Athens 2004, Athens International Airport SA (AIA) - "Eleftherios Venizelos", Spata (Attica)

• Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, President, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games; the media, press and communications general directorate is under the direct control of Angelopoulos-Daskalaki

• Athanassios (Thanassis) Asimakopoulos, Chairman, Olympic Village 2004 SA [premium content] and President, Workers' Housing Organisation (OEK), Greece's state organisation for labour housing that finances the Olympic and Paralympic Village project; the village will house 16,000 athletes and trainers during the Olympic Games, while 6,000 athletes will be housed during the Paralympic Games; development has been assigned to OEK which in turn has created a 100%-owned subsidiary corporation, Olympic Village 2004 SA to manage the project; after the Games, the housing complex will be transferred to OEK's so-called "beneficiaries," i.e. low-income workers' families, creating a town of between 10,000 and 13,000 people

• Dr. Makis Asimakopoulos, General Manager for Sports, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Dimitris Avramopoulos, Minister of Health and Social Solidarity, Greece; former Mayor of Athens

• Dora Bakogianni, Minister of Foreign Affairs; former Mayor of Athens; she was Deputy Minister of State adjunct to the Premier Minister (1990-91), Deputy Minister of State adjunct to the Premier Minister (1992), Minister of Culture (1992-93); in 1996, she was candidate for the leadership of New Democracy, Greece's main opposition party; she is daughter of ex-premier Constantine Mitsotakis

• Dimitris Beis, General Manager, Technology, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• George Bolos, General Manager, Marketing and Ticketing, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Dimitris Caramitsos Tziras, General Manager, Volunteer Division, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Major General Vassilios Constantinides, head of the Olympic Games Security Division

• Apostolos Doxiades, Tourism Consultant with the Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games; one-time head of the Hellenic Tourism Organisation (EOT)

• Demetra Egan, Manager, Department of Greeks Abroad, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Nikos Filaretos, President, International Olympic Academy

• Makis Fokas, Food Services Manager, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC)

• Xavier (Xavi) Gonzalez, Director of the Athens and Turin Paralympic Games Co-ordination Committees, International Paralympic Committee

• Dolly Goulandris, Member of the Torch Selection Committee

• Christos Hatziemmanouil, Chairman, Olympic Real Estate SA (also referred to as Olympic Properties SA)

• Gerhard Heiberg, President, Marketing Commission, International Olympic Committee (IOC)

• Maria Horst, Choreographer of the Torch Lighting Ceremonies from 1964 until today

• Alexis Iliadis, Telecommunications Manager, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC); joined ATHOC in June 2000 and started working as its Telecommunications Manager covering the areas of voice, data, mobile, terrestrial trunk radio (TETRA) and a number of supplementary telecommunications services (e.g. public address systems) as well as planning and dimensioning of the above-mentioned services [presentation]

• Thanassis Kantartzis, General Director in charge of relations with local governments and public administration, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC), a particularly crucial position that acts as ATHOC’s bridge with a variety of government and quasi-government entities in the greater Athens area; the all-important city operations portfolio was given to Kantartzis in September 2003; according to sources, Kantartzis’ performance during the August 2003 “test events” was judged as especially successful

• Spyros Kapralos, Executive Director, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Athens 2004 SA); a banker and ATHOC’s official representative vis-a-vis the International Olympic Committee (IOC); today, Kapralos is Chief Executive Officer of Hellenic Exchanges Holding SA (HELEX) and also serves as the Chairman of the Athens Exchange (ATHEX)

• Petros Karachalios, General Manager, Athens 2004 Olympic Group, Coca-Cola; from the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam to the forthcoming Olympic Games in 2004 in Greece, Coca-Cola has established itself as the longest continuous partner of the Olympic Movement

• Dr. Kostas Karamanlis, Greece's Prime Minister and Minister of Culture, President of the ruling Nea Demokratia (ND) party

• Ioanna Kariofylli, General Manager, Paralympic Games, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Paralympic and Olympic Games

• Olga Kikou, Manager, Volunteers Training, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Minos X. Kyriakou, President, Hellenic Olympic Committee; President, International Olympic Academy (IOA)

• Stavros Lambrinidis, Director, International Olympic Truce Centre (IOTC), Greece; in July 2000, the International Olympic Committee launched the International Olympic Truce Foundation and the International Olympic Truce Centre, new instruments of peace in our times; IOTC's Chairman is Dr. Jacques Rogge, while the centre's Vice-Chairman is George Papandreou, Greece's former Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of PASOK, the country's main opposition party; former Washington lawyer Lambrinidis, a graduate of Amherst and Yale Law School, believes that "Olympic Truce means no war for 16 days during the Olympics, and hopefully no war beyond"

• Kikis N. Lazarides, Member of the International Olympic Committee; Executive Chairman of the Laiki Group, Cyprus' second largest financial group of companies; Chairman, Laiki Attalos Securities SA, Greece; President of the Commonwealth Games Association (1980-); President of the Cypriot Olympic Committee (1984-); Member of the Executive board of the European Olympic Committees (1993-); Treasurer of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (1993-)

• Basile J. Neiadas, CEO, ATHEX-listed OPAP SA; former General Director of Games Services, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games; responsible for Olympic accommodation; now CEO of ATHEX-listed Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics SA (OPAP); Neiadas, who was appointed to the CEO position of state-controlled OPAP on March 22, 2005, has a strong academic and corporate background in the private sector. He is a graduate of the Athens University-School of Economics and holds an MBA with Honors from Boston University. He has a 20-year career in the pharmaceuticals and cosmetic industry and was a Track and Field athlete and Basketball player

• Diamantis Nikolaou, Human Resources Director, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Lambis Nikolaou, former President, Hellenic Olympic Committee, Greece, and Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

• George Orfanos, Deputy Minister of Culture with responsibilities for Sport, Greece

• Fani Palli-Petralia, Minister of Tourism Development, Greece, and Co-Chair, Sino-Greek Joint Committee on Olympic Co-operation

• Nikos Papadakis, General Director, OTE - COSMOTE - OTEnet Consortium, one of the Grand National Sponsors of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games; this consortium, consisting of Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation SA (OTE), COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications SA (mobile telecom) and OTEnet SA (IP services), manages the OTE Group's sponsorship contribution to the Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Paralympic and Olympic Games and coordinates the parties involved in the preparation and implementation of the entire telecom infrastructure for the provision of telecom support and services to the Athens 2004 Olympics

• Spyros Pappas, Accommodation Manager, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Michael Payne, Marketing Director, International Olympic Committee (IOC); head of coordination and promotion of relevant programmes which relate to and affect the Olympic Movement

• Claude Philipps, Summer Olympics Games Manager, Atos Origin (formerly SchlumbergerSema), the information technology systems providers that took over from IBM as Olympic sponsor after the Sydney 2000 Games; the sale of the majority of SchlumbergerSema businesses to Atos Origin, a leading international information technology services company, was completed on January 29th, 2004

• Costas Politis, Education and Training Director, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Dr. Costas Parisis, Chief Medical Officer, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games; Vice President of the Hellenic Basketball Federation and member of FIBA Medical Commission, since 1980; Doctor of the National Basketball Team of Greece from 1980 until today

• Yannis N. Pyrgiotis, Executive Director, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Athens 2004 SA); an urban planner in charge of Olympic works and technology services

• Dr. Jacques Rogge, President, International Olympic Committee (IOC)

• Manuel (Manolo) Romero, President, Athens Olympic Broadcasting SA (AOB); the international TV pictures of the Games will be produced by AOB, while Greek state broadcaster ERT has the exclusive right to broadcast those images within Greece; a total of 3,600 hours of live transmission will be offered to world broadcasters by AOB (this translates into more than 200 hours of live transmission a day), while more than 850 different types of cameras will be strategically placed throughout Greece; Athens 2004 is going to be the first all digital Olympic Games; a native of Seville, Spain, Romero is regarded as the foremost authority in the televised production of the Olympic Games

• Peter Ryan, QPM BA Msc, Consultant to the Board of Directors, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games; former security chief at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

• Yiannis Sgouros, Prefect of Athens

• Marton Simitsek, Executive Director, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games; a professional Olympics executive, in charge of marketing (sponsoring, licensing, ticketing), venue operations, culture and ceremonies, volunteers and planning

• Dimitris Souflias, Minister for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works

• Ioannis N. Spanudakis, Managing Director, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Athens 2004 SA); joined The Dow Chemical Company in 1985; became Dow's Global Business Director in the newly-established polypropylene business unit in 1996; appointed as ATHOC's Managing Director in March 2001

• Petros Tatoulis, Deputy Minister of Culture

• Christina Tsitsibikou, Head of Doping Division, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Panagiotis Tzanikos, Mayor, Municipality of Maroussi, Attica

• Costas Veloudakis, Ship Section Manager, Athens 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games

• Fofi Yennimata, Supra-Prefect of Attica (i.e. the Greater Athens area)

• Evgenios Yiannakopoulos, President, Cultural Olympiad 2001-2004; lawyer; former Chairman of Greece's ERT state television, former Secretary General of Greece's Ministry of Culture and former Secretary General of the Hellenic Tourism Organisation (EOT)

Disclaimer: This is not the official home page of the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Please carefully read INV International Ltd.'s special disclaimer related to Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games material and information published in this and other INVgr pages.

Last updated: January 20, 2006.