Olympics: Bearing the Torch and the Expanses

Hosting a sporting event comes with a hefty price tag as there’s a lot to plan, organize, implement, and to do it rightly, requires great patience. But is hosting the Olympics worth it? The Games are certainly expansive. Just bidding to be a host can cost vast amounts of money.

Tokyo spent as much as $150m on its failed 2016 bid, and then half that much again on its successful pitch. Tokyo’s final budget stands at more than $15bn, it is reportedly set to be the most costly Summer Games ever, though past events were not budget-friendly either.

According to a study, the average sport-related cost of hosting the Olympic Games between 2007 and 2016 was $12bn. Over the past decades host cities have always ended up spending more than planned. In Greece the cost of the 2004 Olympics in Athens was blamed for contributing to the country’s later economic crisis.

The 1976 Games left Montreal laden with debt which took decades to pay off. But of course, the host cities make a good sum of money out of the Olympics. There are substantial revenues from TV deals and sponsorships for the International Olympic Committee, almost $6bn from recent Summer and Winter Games, funding sports and future Games.

Host cities look forward to economic gains like employment opportunities, tourism and investments in infrastructure and sports facilities. Redevelopment for the Barcelona Games in 1992 is often credited with helping to turn the city into one of Europe’s most popular destinations. But during the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics there were fewer international visitors that visited The UK during the Olympics, as compared to the previous year.

Tourists may come and go, but historic buildings and sporting facilities are here to stay. In London the Olympic stadium in Stratford is now West Ham United’s football ground. Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Park hosts events like music festivals and e-sports tournaments as well. They had to face fair criticism for their poor management.

Olympic sporting venues in other parts of the world have fallen into disrepair. In Athens some Olympic facilities were unused and overgrown just ten years after the Games. This can take a heavy toll on the environment. And critics point out the construction of new Olympic sites in a few years is not environmentally sustainable.

The Tokyo 2020 Games also suffered the burden of a global pandemic which added billions in additional costs. Revenues are likely to take a hit because stadiums won’t be full and international spectators are unable to attend. Even without the effects of a pandemic, after all the expenditures, economists are generally sceptical about whether hosting the Olympics improves a city’s economic prospects or not.

Hence cities and countries, as potential future hosts for any sports events, are not showing much zeal. Some nations advocate for a permanent home for the Games. But let’s be clear, not everything can be measured neatly in numbers. Indeed, there are other perception-based motives, for instance, the pride of hosting the world’s largest sporting event and the prestige that goes with it. The Olympics and Paralympics after all are about more than just money.