The Olympic Games are considered to be the world's foremost international sporting event with over 200 nations participating.[1] It historically had the highest costs and expenses for the hosts, with the estimated cost of the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro being at approximately US$11.1 billion.[2]
Sports-related costs for the Summer Games since 1960 is on average $5.2 billion (USD) and for the Winter Games $393.1 million dollars. The highest recorded total cost was the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, costing approximately US$55 billion. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games experienced the biggest loss recorded at approximately $2 billion (USD).[3]
Costs
The current highest cost of hosting the Olympic Games was the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, costing approximately US$11.1 billion. In order to meet the requirements set out by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)[4] The Rio de Janeiro council had to invest heavily in building the necessary facilities/venues, and an entirely new subway line. The lack of a solid infrastructure to support these investments led to the council underestimating their costs by 25%.[5]
The costs of hosting the Olympic Games can be classified into 2 categories; infrastructure and operational costs.
Infrastructure
General infrastructure
The costs of general infrastructure consist of preparing the necessary infrastructure to accommodate the influx of tourists and athletes in the host city. The International Olympic Committee requires a minimum of 40,000 hotel rooms available for visiting spectators and an Olympic Village that is able to house 15,000 athletes, referees, and officials.
Internal and external transportation facilities that can transport spectators into and out of the host city and from venue to venue are also required by the Committee. These requirements are often met through renovations to already-built facilities or construction of entirely new facilities. These facilities include train/subway lines, roads, and airports.
Sports infrastructure
The host city is also required by the Olympic Committee to invest in sport-specific infrastructure that meets their requirements. Facilities must have specified minimum sizes and reach the specific seating and safety protocols which often require refurbishments or new construction, particularly less-used facilities such as natatoriums, velodromes and sliding tracks.
Host city selection
The winter games needs high mountains, especially for the alpine events. Traditionally there were requirements of fairly short distance between the host city and the alpine slopes, which often has made smaller cities to be chosen as winter host cities, such as Lake Placid, Lillehammer and Sochi. These smaller cities have mostly lacked the arenas and accommodation needed, and had less need for them afterwards. After the 2012 when no democratic country bid for the winter games due to the high cost, a larger distance was accepted, allowing existing slopes to be used together with a large host city with more existing infrastructure, for example Milan at a distance of 410 km by road to Cortina.
Operating costs
Once the necessary infrastructure is put in place, the Olympics require a large amount of spending on operating costs throughout the duration of the Games. Historically, the most significant operating costs for the hosts have been in event management, organization and preparation of the opening and closing ceremonies, and increasingly in recent years, security.
Table
The table below lists the costs of hosting the Olympic Games. Due to the multitude of reporting methods, the table contains both the operating costs and total final costs (which include various infrastructure upgrades and security costs), as well as both known and not estimated figures. Net loss or gain are measured against the operating budgets. Intangible costs (such as to the environment and society) and benefits (through tourism) are not included here.
Olympiad | Host | Final Operating Budget |
Total Costs | Taxpayer Contribution | Profit/Loss | Year Debt Paid Off | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1896 Summer Olympics | Athens | 3,740,000 ₯[6] | Donations by George Averoff of 1,000,000 ₯ covered potential losses | |||||
1900 Summer Olympics | Paris | |||||||
1904 Summer Olympics | St. Louis | |||||||
1908 Summer Olympics | London | US$394,000 est.[6] | £6,377 | |||||
1912 Summer Olympics | Stockholm | |||||||
1920 Summer Olympics | Antwerp | |||||||
1924 Winter Olympics | Chamonix | 3,500,000₣ | 2,000,000₣ | |||||
1924 Summer Olympics | Paris | 5,496,610₣[6] | ||||||
1928 Winter Olympics | St. Moritz | CHF706,000 | CHF104,800 | |||||
1928 Summer Olympics | Amsterdam | $1,183,000[6] | $18,000 | |||||
1932 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid | |||||||
1932 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles | $1,000,000[6] | ||||||
1936 Winter Olympics | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | |||||||
1936 Summer Olympics | Berlin | $30,000,000[6] | ||||||
1948 Winter Olympics | St. Moritz | |||||||
1948 Summer Olympics | London | £761,688[7] | £29,000[6] | |||||
1952 Winter Olympics | Oslo | |||||||
1952 Summer Olympics | Helsinki | 1,580,000,000 mk[6] | 49,000,000 mk | |||||
1956 Winter Olympics | Cortina d'Ampezzo | lira 460 million | ||||||
1956 Summer Olympics | Melbourne | A£5,400,000[7] | A£300,000[6] | |||||
1960 Winter Olympics | Squaw Valley | US$80 million[8] | ||||||
1960 Summer Olympics | Rome | |||||||
1964 Winter Olympics | Innsbruck | |||||||
1964 Summer Olympics | Tokyo | US$72,000,000[7] | US$1,926,000,000[6] | |||||
1968 Winter Olympics | Grenoble | |||||||
1968 Summer Olympics | Mexico City | US$176,000,000[7] | ||||||
1972 Winter Olympics | Sapporo | |||||||
1972 Summer Olympics | Munich | 1,972,000,000 DM[6] | ||||||
1976 Winter Olympics | Innsbruck | |||||||
1976 Summer Olympics | Montreal | CDN$207,000,000[9] | CDN$1,410,000,000[9] | CDN$990,000[9] | 2006 | A special tobacco tax was introduced in May 1976 to fund the loss | ||
1980 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid | US$49,000,000[10] | US$169,000,000[10] | |||||
1980 Summer Olympics | Moscow | US$231,000,000[11] | US$1,350,000,000[11] US$2,000,000,000[6] |
US$1,190,000 deficit | This was the year that The United States and 64 other Nations boycotted due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. | |||
1984 Winter Olympics | Sarajevo | US$55,400,000[12] | US$110,900,000[12] | US$10,000,000 [12] | The first Olympics since 1948 to make a profit | |||
1984 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles | US$320,000,000[13] | US$413,000,000[13] | $75,000,000[14][15] | US$250,000,000[16] | 1984 | The first Summer Olympics since 1932 to make a profit[15] | |
1988 Winter Olympics | Calgary | CDN$438,000,000[17] | CDN$899,000,000[17] | CDN$425,000,000[17] | CDN$32,000,000[17] | 1988 | ||
1988 Summer Olympics | Seoul | US$4,000,000,000 | US$300,000,000[16] | 1988 | A record profit for a government-run Olympiad | |||
1992 Summer Olympics | Barcelona | US$850,000,000 | US$9,300,000,000[18] | US$10,000,000[16] | 1992 | Operating costs were put at 9.1% of the total cost. The vast majority of spending was to improve infrastructure.[19] | ||
1992 Winter Olympics | Albertville | US$1,200,000,000 on infrastructure[20] | US$67,000,000[20] | |||||
1994 Winter Olympics | Lillehammer | US$1,100,000,000[21][22] | US$250,000,000[21][22] | |||||
1996 Summer Olympics | Atlanta | US$1,800,000,000 | US$609,000,000[14] | US$19,000,000 | 1996 | Following the model of LA 1984, Atlanta achieved a healthy profit | ||
1998 Winter Olympics | Nagano | ~US$10,000,000,000 in new infrastructure[23] | Net loss | Estimated 2015[23] | The full cost of the Nagano Olympics is unknown, due to Nagano Olympic Bid Committee vice-secretary general Sumikazu Yamaguchi ordering accounting documents burned[23] | |||
2000 Summer Olympics | Sydney | A$6,600,000,000 [24][25] | A$3,000,000,000 (A$3,635,000,000 borne by the public) | A$2,050,000,000[26] | US$2.1 billion [27] | 2000 | ||
2002 Winter Olympics | Salt Lake City | US$2,000,000,000 [28] | US$1,200,000,000 [29] | US$600,000,000[30] | US$101,000,000[31] | 2002 | Additional security costs were incurred in the wake of the September 11 attacks | |
2004 Summer Olympics | Athens | US$15,000,000,000[32] | US$9,000,000,000[33] | US$6,200,000,000[34] | US$14,500,000[35] | The cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games has been cited as a contributor to the Greek government-debt crisis. Many of the venues lie vacant and rotting; the Independent newspaper reports as many as 21 out of 22 are unused.[36] | ||
2006 Winter Olympics | Turin | US$700,000,000[37] | US$3,200,000[38] | The Italian government created a lottery game to cover its financial losses. | ||||
2008 Summer Olympics | Beijing | US$44,000,000,000[39] | CNY 1,000,000,000 (US$146,000,000)[40] | 2008 | ||||
2010 Winter Olympics | Vancouver | CDN$ 1,700,000,000 (US$1,260,000,000)[41] | US$ 6,400,000,000[42] | US$ 2,300,000,000[43] | CDN$ 1,900,000[44] |
2014 [45] | Included in the total US$6,400,000,000 cost are the $1,000,000,000 for security, $2,500,000,000 for transportation extensions and upgrades, and $900,000,000 for the new Vancouver Convention Centre (An additional $554,000,000 was spent by the city including a portion on the Olympic Village).[42][46][47] | |
2012 Summer Olympics | London | US$10,400,000,000[48] | US$14,600,000,000[49] | US$4,400,000,000[50] | GBP £nil[51] | 2012 | Additional costs include $90 million for converting the Olympic Stadium (London) to a football venue[52] | |
2014 Winter Olympics | Sochi | US$51,000,000,000[53] | US$53,150,000[54] | The most expensive Olympic Games in history, surpassing the previous record set by the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.[55] | ||||
2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro | US$13,100,000,000 [56][57] | US$11.6 billion [58][59] | US$2.0 billion [60] | ||||
2018 Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang | US$2,190,000,000[61] | US$12,900,000,000[62] | US$55,000,000[63] | ||||
2020 Summer Olympics | Tokyo | US$15,400,000,000 [64] | US$28,000,000,000 [65] | |||||
2022 Winter Olympics | Beijing | US$3.9 billion[66] | US$52,000,000[67] | |||||
2024 Summer Olympics | Paris | |||||||
2026 Winter Olympics | Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo | US$1.6 billion[68] | ||||||
2028 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles | |||||||
2032 Summer Olympics | Brisbane | |||||||
See also
References
- ↑ "Overview of Olympic Games". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ↑ Baade, Robert (2016). "Going for the Gold: The Economics of the Olympics". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 30 (2): 201–218. doi:10.1257/jep.30.2.201.
- ↑ Baade, Robert (2016). "Going for the Gold: The Economics of the Olympics". The Journal of Economic Perspectives. 30 (2): 201–218. doi:10.1257/jep.30.2.201.
- ↑ "OLYMPIC GAMES CANDIDATURE PROCESS". Olympic Games. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2015-09-18.
- ↑ Davis, Scott (June 15, 2017). "The Rio Olympics were a financial disaster and it keeps getting worse". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2017-06-15.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "A Look at Olympic Costs".
- 1 2 3 4 "London 2012 must learn from the £1bn Sydney hangover". 8 February 2007.
- ↑ Ungar, Bernard L. (2000). Olympic Games: Federal Government Provides Significant Funding and Support. Washington D.C.: United States General Accounting Office. p. 19. ISBN 0-7567-1501-6. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
squaw.
- 1 2 3 "Official Report of the XXIst Olympiad Montréal 1976" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. 1978. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
- 1 2 "XIII Olympic Winter Games Lake Placid - Final Report" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
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- 1 2 Julia Campbell. "Cost to Host Olympic Games Skyrockets". ABC News. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- 1 2 "Olympic Cities: Booms and Busts". Cnbc.com. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
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- 1 2 3 4 "XV Olympic Winter Games: Official Report" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. 1988. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
- ↑ Flyvbjerg, Bent; Allison Stewart (2012). "Olympic Proportions: Cost and Cost Overrun at the Olympics 1960-2012". Working Paper. Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
- ↑ Brunet, Ferran (1995). An economic analysis of the Barcelona’92 Olympic Games: resources, financing and impacts". Working Paper. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- 1 2 "Olympic Cities: Booms and Busts". Cnbc.com. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
- 1 2 Nina Berglund (3 February 2014). "Lillehammer marks OL anniversary". News In English. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
compared to the NOK 8,500,000,000 spent on Lillehammer
- 1 2 "Exchange rate, US dollar (USD)". Norges Bank. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
January 1994 7.5109
- 1 2 3 Schlotterbeck, Bianca (19 January 2012). "Nagano, Japan (Winter 1998)". Olympic Cities: Booms and Busts. CNBC. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ↑ Craig, David (2009). Squandered. Constable & Robinson Limited. p. 300. ISBN 9781849011617.
- ↑ "Olympic glory at any price? - John Madden & James Giesecke - 26 Jul 2012, Business Spectator". Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ "Sydney 2000 - Auditor Slams Costs". Archived from the original on 2005-02-07.
- ↑ "Hosting the Olympics: cash cow or money pit?". 25 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- ↑ Roberts, Selena (2002-02-04). "IOC's Rogge Steps into the Cold - Feb 4, 2002 - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- ↑ "Olympics budget nearly $2,000,000,000 - Dec 11, 2001 - Sports Illustrated". CNN. 2001-12-11. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ "Mitt Romney's Olympic history in the spotlight". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). 28 July 2012.
- ↑ News, Bloomberg (2002-09-18). "Salt Lake Tops Forecast - 2002-09-18 - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
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has generic name (help) - ↑ "As Olympic glow fades, Athens Questions $15,000,000,000 Cost - 2008-07-21 - The Christian Science Monitor". Christian Science Monitor. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- ↑ "How the 2004 Olympics Triggered Greece's Decline - 2012-08-02 - Bloomberg Business". Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ "Olympics 'may cost Greece dear' - 2004-06-02 - BBC NEWS". BBC News. 2004-06-02. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ Schlotterbeck, Bianca (19 January 2012). "Athens, Greece (Summer, 2004)". Olympic Cities: Booms and Busts. CNBC. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ↑ "Olympic Cities: Booms and Busts". Cnbc.com. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
- ↑ "Turin Winter Olympics 2006 - 2014-02-06 - CIPRA: Living in the Alps". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ "Olympic Cities: Booms and Busts". Cnbc.com. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
- ↑ "Beijing Olympics to cost China 44,000,000,000 dollars - 2008-06-08 - Pravda News". Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ "Beijing Olympics' profit exceeds 1b yuan".
- ↑ "Olympics cost B.C. $925M". CBC Sports. July 9, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
- 1 2 "Vancouver's Olympic Games overstated legacy and ignored true costs - 2014-02-07 - Rabble Canada". 7 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ "IOC HEAD ROGGE HAPPY THAT 2010 VANCOUVER GAMES ARE ON TRACK - 2014-02-12 - TSN.ca". Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ "VANCOUVER 2010 TAKES ITS FINAL BOW WITH POSITIVE FINANCIAL FIGURES". Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ↑ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics debt-free, VANOC final report says | CBC News".
- ↑ "Winner's curse? The economics of hosting the Olympic Games". CBC News. July 30, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Olympics cost B.C. $925M". CBC News. July 9, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ↑ "London 2012 - Final cost of London 2012 Games revealed". Yahoo. October 23, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ↑ Gibson, Owen (October 24, 2012). "Olympic Games 2012 olympics olys,Paralympics 2012,Olympic legacy,Olympic Stadium,London (News),UK news,Politics,Sport". The Guardian. London.
- ↑ "London Olympics exceed initial budget by £6.52bn". Newstatesman.com. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
- ↑ "Locog London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,Olympic Games 2012 olympics olys,British Olympic Association,Sport politics,Sport" (PDF). LOCOG FINAL ANNUAL REPORT Page 33. London. March 31, 2012.
The results for the period show a net profit [...] which matches brought forward losses therefore bringing the cumulative financial position of the Company to £nil.
- ↑ Bond, David (2012-03-22). "BBC Sport - West Ham get Olympic Stadium after government ups funding". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
- ↑ "Sochi 2014: the costliest Olympics yet but where has all the money gone?". The Guardian. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ↑ Downie, Andrew. "Sochi Winter Games made $53 million profit", Reuters, Rio De Janeiro, 27 February 2015. Retrieved on 28 August 2017.
- ↑ Why Sochi Is By Far The Most Expensive Olympics Ever ADAM TAYLOR, JAN. 17, 2014,
- ↑ "Is hosting the Olympics ever worth the cost?". 10 August 2016.
- ↑ "Rio Olympics cost $13.1 billion". 14 June 2017.
- ↑ "Finance". 2016 Working Group Report (PDF). International Olympic Committee. March 14, 2008. p. 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
- ↑ "Finance" (PDF). Rio de Janeiro 2016 Candidate File (PDF). Vol. 1. Brazilian Olympic Committee. February 16, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
- ↑ "The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics: By the Numbers". Forbes.
- ↑ "PyeongChang 2018 unveils at least $55 million profit at the 133rd IOC Session". infobae. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ↑ Settimi, Christina. "By The Numbers: The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
- ↑ "PYEONGCHANG 2018 ANNOUNCES SURPLUS OF AT LEAST USD 55 MILLION"
- ↑ Cervantes, Alberto (2021-07-23). "The Tokyo Olympics' Staggering Price Tag and Where It Stands in History". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
- ↑ Ugincius, Leila. "What we learned about sports and athletes — and ourselves — at the Tokyo Summer Olympics". VCU News. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
- ↑ "Beijing won't have a big budget for the 2022 Winter Olympics". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ↑ Beijing Olympics Report $52 Million Profit, IOC To Donate $10.4 To Chinese Sport"
- ↑ "Milan Cortina 2026 budget remains same as initially proposed despite economic difficulty". InsideTheGames. 25 March 2023.