In 1948, London hosted what would be known as the “austerity Olympics”. The world was just emerging from world war. Simon Jenkins of the UK Guardian argued for a return to the austerity Olympics… way back in 2008. Things have not improved since.

For London, many of the cogs are already in place. But it’s not too late for Rio to host their own austerity games. There are some things that they have to do… they need to make sure that Rio is safe when the world arrives there. They need to have places for the athletes to compete. Even some of the infrastructure needs to be built. However, in tough times, do we really need to try to best the 2008 Beijing Olympics? There are ways to cut costs, and perhaps Brazil should look into that. They have hosted major soccer events in the past, that can be a base for their austerity Olympics. If London can host a pared-down games after coming out of war (where their city was bombed), then Rio can offer a pared-down version of the games.

In 2018 and 2020, it is possible that the games will be awarded to the countries that are performing the best financially. Hopefully we will be pulling out of the economic doldrums by then, but much of the work to build the games will have to come several years before the games are held. Do we really need to spend that much on the Olympic games anyway?

Until the world economy turns around, perhaps we should keep things simple.

The British government is concerned about the costs of the upcoming 2012 London Olympics. The games are still a little over two years away, but they are concerned about cost overruns.

While the Yahoo article doesn’t mention it, the problem about the cost worries probably stems from problems with the global economy. Private financing that they were expecting fell through.

The West Ham football club (that’s soccer to us Americans) is in talks to jointly use the stadium. This could potentially help their financing problems.

As you may remember, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed a month ago today, while making a luge training run hours prior to the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Aside from a few minor glitches, his death seemed to be the one black spot of the otherwise well-done games.

I know that many people around the world are having difficult financial times right now. Not only are we in the middle of a global recession, but places like Haiti and Chile have been hit with devastating earthquakes. We want to give, but it seems like we don’t have much.

The International Luge Federation (IFL) is collecting donations for the family of Nodar Kumaritashvili. His family could use their help. They lost their home to fire a few years ago, and I guess they have never fully recovered. I know what it’s like to have my house catch on fire, it happened to me in 2008… it was not a fun experience, and I had fire insurance. I’m not sure if they have that kind of security in Georgia.

If you have a little extra money, please consider making a donation to the Kumaritashvili family. While the majority of us will go on with our lives, his family has been altered forever. If you don’t, that’s understandable, but if you could, then that’s wonderful. Thanks.

We’re only seven days away from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

The uniforms that Team USA are going to wear for the Opening Ceremonies have been revealed. I wasn’t a big fan of the Beijing outfits that he created, but I think that these are really nice. You can see them at Yahoo sports. I especially like the sweater… not that I would have much use for one here in Arizona. The hat, pictured above, is nice too. You can buy your very own Olympic clothing at RalphLauren.com. The sweater that I like so much is $425; you can get the hat for $75.

If you’re going to the Olympics, you may be interested in this interactive map that the Vancouver Sun has published. You’ll want to be able to get around, and a map might be handy, especially if you’ve never been to Vancouver before. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you may be interested in downloading a program like OffMaps. It uses Wikipedia maps, and you download the maps that you need ahead of time. That way, if you’re in a place where you don’t have Internet access, you can always have your maps with you. When I took my kids on a month-long road trip last year, we used the program, and we were able to download all our destinations ahead of time.

Evidently, the British Ski and Snowboard Association is bankrupt, but the British athletes will still be able to compete in Vancouver. I know that the United States athletes are also feeling the pinch of the recession, but I’m not sure if it’s gone beyond the local athlete level. More B-Team athletes have had to come up with more of their own funding.

One of the factors that is affecting the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and will likely affect the Olympics to come for several years, is the recession. Not only is the average person strapped for cash, so are the Olympic athletes.

Some sponsors have had to cancel their contracts. Home Depot, which used to pay Olympic employees full time pay for part time work so that they could have time to train, has canceled their sponsorship. While many top-tier athletes are still getting sponsorship to the games, second-tier athletes often have to pay their way to events, as well as pay more money for their equipment. This can be taxing to their families, and can also cause athletes to have to train less in order to earn money.

While some sponsors have cut back, Steven Colbert (of The Colbert Report) sponsored the US Speed Skating team.

Although many people have been affected by the economy, I know that not everybody is. If you are doing well economically, perhaps you could help support Team USA (that is, of course, if you are rooting for the US). I know that Britain’s Olympic team is also going through difficult times, and presumably other countries as well, so if you are supporting another country, I urge you to support them as well. If you’re in a giving mood, you may want to send a little to disaster victims in Haiti as well, if you haven’t already.

Another interesting recession-related development is that the company that owns the Whistler Ski Resort could end up in foreclosure proceedings in the middle of the Winter Olympics. The Whistler Ski Resort, as well as the locations where the luge and bobsled competitions are going to be held, could be auctioned off during the games. I’m sure that something will probably be worked out, if only as a temporary measure, but that could lead to some interesting drama.

Another (fun) way to support the Olympics is to drink Coca-Cola and purchase Team USA gear. If we support the sponsors, they will hopefully continue to support the Olympics, and will not drop their contracts.

For more information, please see The Seattle Times and Crain’s New York articles.