Pope's Australian tour organisers find the devil's in the detail

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — Less than a month before Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Sydney for World Youth Day, an unholy row is brewing over the event's costs and its impact on local businesses in Australia's biggest city.

The five-day celebration of Catholic youth has been billed as a major boost to the city's economy, attracting up to 125,000 international visitors and culminating in a Papal mass before 500,000 people on July 20.

But the devil, as World Youth Day (WYD) organisers have found, is in the detail.

World Youth Day's funding has come under scrutiny after the New South Wales government committed almost 110 million dollars (103.5 million US) to staging the event, arguing that it will pump 150 million into the economy.

Critics have cast doubt on the...