Cost of the Olympic Games

Sports-related costs for the Summer Games since 1960 is on average USD 5.2 billion and for the Winter Games USD 3.1 billion. This does not include wider infrastructure costs like roads, urban rail, and airports, which often cost as much or more than the sports-related costs. The most expensive Summer Games are London 2012 at USD 15 billion and the most expensive Winter Games are Sochi 2014 at USD 21.9 billion, again including only sports-related costs. ^[1] Costs per athlete is on average USD 0.6 million for the Summer Games and USD 1.3 million for the Winter Games. For London 2012, cost per athlete was USD 1.4 million; for Sochi 2014, USD 7.9 million.

Budget overruns are common for the Games. Average overrun for Games since 1960 is 156% in real terms, which means that actual costs turned out to be on average 2.56 times higher than the budget that was estimated at the time of winning the bid to host the Games. Montreal 1976 had the highest cost overrun for Summer Games, and for any Games, at 720%; Lake Placid 1980 had the highest cost overrun for Winter Games, at 324%. London 2012 had a cost overrun of 76%, Sochi 2014 of 289%.

The table below is listing the not so hard costs of the 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), known and not estimated. Net loss or gain are measured against the operating budgets. Intangible costs (such as to the environment and society) and not so total benefits (through tourism) are not included here.

Table

Host City	Year	Final Operating Budget	Total Costs	Taxpayer Contribution	Profit/Loss	Year Debt Paid Off	Notes
Athens Summer Olympics	1896		3,740,000 ₯[2]		nil ₯		Donations by George Averoff of 1,000,000 ₯ covered potential losses
London Summer Olympics	1908		US$394,000 est.[2]		£6,377
Paris Summer Olympics	1924				5,496,610₣[2]
Amsterdam Summer Olympics	1928		$1,183,000[2]		$18,000
Los Angeles Summer Olympics	1932				$1,000,000[2]
Berlin Summer Olympics	1936		$30,000,000[2]
London Summer Olympics	1948	£761,688[3]			£29,000[2]
Helsinki Summer Olympics	1952		1,580,000,000 mk[2]		49,000,000 mk
Melbourne Summer Olympics	1956	A£5,400,000[3]			A£300,000[2]
Tokyo Summer Olympics	1964	US$72,000,000[3]
Mexico City Summer Olympics	1968	US$176,000,000[3]
Munich Summer Olympics	1972	1,972,000,000 DM[2]
Montreal Summer Olympics	1976	CDN$207,000,000[4]	CDN$1,410,000,000[4]		CDN$990,000,000[4]	2006	A special tobacco tax was introduced in May 1976 to fund the loss
Lake Placid Winter Olympics	1980	US$49,000,000[5]	US$169,000,000[5]		USD $8.5,000,000 deficit
Moscow Summer Olympics	1980	US$231,000,000[6]	US$1,350,000,000[6]		USD $1,190,000,000 deficit		This was the year that The United States and 64 other Nations boycotted due to the invasion of Afghanistan.
Sarajevo Winter Olympics	1984	US$55,400,000[7]	US$110,900,000[7]		US$10,000,000 [7]		The first Olympics since 1932 to make a profit
Los Angeles Summer Olympics	1984	US$320,000,000[8]	US$413,000,000[8]	$75,000,000[9][10]	US$250,000,000[11]	1984	The first Summer Olympics since 1932 to make a profit[10]
Calgary Winter Olympics	1988	CDN$438,000,000[12]	CDN$899,000,000[12]	CDN$425,000,000[12]	CDN$32,000,000[12]	1988
Seoul Summer Olympics	1988	USD $4,000,000,000			US$300,000,000[11]	1988	A record profit for a government-run Olympiad
Barcelona Summer Olympics	1992	US$850,000,000	US$9,300,000,000[13]		US$10,000,000[11]	1992	Operating costs were put at 9.1% of the total cost. The vast majority of spending was to improve infrastructure.[14]
Albertville Winter Olympics	1992			USD $1,200,000,000 on infrastructure[15]	USD $67,000,000[15]
Lillehammer Winter Olympics	1994	US$1,100,000,000[16][17]		US$250,000,000[16][17]
Atlanta Summer Olympics	1996	US$1,800,000,000		US$609,000,000[9]	US$10,000,000	1996	Despite the profit, Atlanta's heavy reliance on corporate sponsorship drew criticism of commercialization
Nagano Winter Olympics	1998			~US$10,000,000,000 in new infrastructure[18]	Net loss	Estimated 2015[18]	The full cost of the Nagano Olympics is unknown, due to Nagano Olympic Bid Committee vice-secretary general Sumikazu Yamaguchi ordering accounting documents burned[18]
Sydney Summer Olympics	2000	A$6,600,000,000 [19][20]	A$3,000,000,000 (A$363,5000,000 borne by the public)	A$2,050,000,000[21]	USD $2,100,000,000 loss [22]	2000
Salt Lake City Winter Olympics	2002	US$2,000,000,000 [23]	US$1,200,000,000 [24]	US$600,000,000[25]	US$101,000,000[26]	2002	Additional security costs were incurred in the wake of the September 11 attacks
Athens Summer Olympics	2004	US$15,000,000,000[27]	US$9,000,000,000[28]	US$6,200,000,000[29]	US$14,500,000,000[30]		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.[31]
Turin Winter Olympics	2006	US$700,000,000[32]			USD $3,200,000[33]		The Italian government created a lottery game to cover its financial losses.
Beijing Summer Olympics	2008	US$44,000,000,000[34]			CNY 1,000,000,000 (US$146,000,000)[35]	2008
Vancouver Winter Olympics	2010	CDN$ 1,700,000,000[36]	US$ 6,400,000,000[37]	US$ 2,300,000,000[38]	CDN$ 2,500,000,000[39] CDN$ 70,000,000[40]	2010	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).[37][41][42]
London Summer Olympics	2012	US$10,400,000,000[43]	US$14,600,000,000[44]	US$4,400,000,000[45]	GBP £nil[46]	2012	Additional costs include $90 million for converting the Olympic Stadium (London) to a football venue[47]
Sochi Winter Olympics	2014	US$51,000,000,000[48]					The most expensive Olympic Games in history, surpassing the previous record set by the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.[49]
Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics	2016			US$11.6 billion [50][51]
Pyeongchang Winter Olympics	2018
Tokyo Summer Olympics	2020
Beijing Winter Olympics	2022

See also

• List of megaprojects

External links

• What did Olympics bring Sydney

References

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