The Most Expensive Olympic Games in History The Olympic games refer to international sports competitions involving more than 200 countries around the world. Thousands of participants participate in various competitions such as athletics, ice hockey, karate, cycling, sailing, triathlon, and marathon swimming.
How Pricy is It to Host the Olympics?
As a fan, you can easily watch the games from the comfort of your home as you enjoy an exciting True Blue casino no deposit bonus. But, have you ever thought about how much it costs to host the Olympics? Well, huge costs are associated with hosting the Olympics, and it seems the expenses keep increasing. Today, we will talk about the top 5 costliest events since the first Olympics. Check the following table for the summary.
| Host | Year | Estimated Cost |
| Sochi, Russia | 2014 | More than US$51 Billion |
| Beijing, China | 2008 | US$44 Billion |
| London, United Kingdom | 2012 | US14.6 Billion |
| Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 2016 | US$13.2 Billion |
| Pyeongchang County, South Korea | 2018 | US$12.9 Billion |
Sochi Olympics
The 2014 Sochi Olympic games are so far the most expensive competitions since the world’s first Olympics in 1896. Russia hosted the games, and it is estimated that the total cost of hosting the games was at least $51 billion. If you do the calculations, you will notice that this amount is more than what it would cost to host all other Winter Olympics that took place before the Sochi events.
Many have speculated that a large sum of money went to corrupt building contracts, but there are still many positive things about the Sochi Winter Games. Despite recording the highest costs in Olympics history, the events generated profits worth $53 million. And the best thing that happened to Russia is that the host city, Sochi, experienced notable transformation. Right now, Sochi is one of the leading tourist destinations on the Black Sea coast because of the infrastructures that were built just to host the Sochi Olympics.
Beijing Olympics
Held in Beijing, the 2008 Summer Olympics happened to be among the most popular Olympic events involving huge costs. Many construction projects began in Beijing and additional locations outside of the capital city a year before the events began. This included constructing more than 30 sporting venues in Beijing alone. The events attracted 10 942 participants from 204 nations. And the total cost of preparing for the 2008 Olympics was at least $44 billion, which was a lot compared to the cost of the previous Summer Olympics.
Several Olympics events that happened before the Beijing Olympics reported significant losses, but the 2008 events were profitable. The games generated a profit of more than 1 billion yuan, which is approximately $146 million. According to China Daily, more than 6 million tickets that were sold during the games generated 1.28 billion yuan. Above everything else, Beijing and the entire country benefited from an economic boost that many countries have never experienced.
London Olympics
In the third position, we have the London Summer Olympics that took place in 2012. More than 10,000 men and women from 204 countries participated in the games. Local government authorities initiated numerous improvement projects in preparation for the events, including the expansion of London’s suburban rail network, the East London line, and the Docklands Light Railway. Moreover, many events were held at completely new venues and historical facilities.
All of the facilities required a substantial amount of money to build or renovate. In the end, Olympic organisers spent $14.6 billion to keep things on the right track. The best part is that there were no significant losses. One thing that sets London apart from other Olympic hosts is that the city has hosted the games three times. The economic impact of choosing London several times is that many people around the world view it as one of the best places to visit. With that said, we should not be surprised to see London host the Olympic games once again in the future.
Rio de Janeiro 2016
In 2016, Brazil was lucky enough to host the Summer Olympics. First of all, Brazil was a great choice because the country is best known for iconic footballers such as Neymar, Pele, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and Ronaldo. Secondly, the Brazilian culture has inspired many incredible things, including casino games featuring the country’s gorgeous sceneries and the Carnival of Brazil. For such reasons, it is no surprise that many people were eager to travel to Rio de Janeiro to watch the Olympics live. The events attracted more than 11,000 athletes and 207 teams.
Looking at what happened, things turned out the way most people expected because everything was perfect, from the opening performance to the last event. But there was a financial predicament that many fans still don’t know. It took approximately $13.2 billion to host the events, putting the 2016 Olympics on the list of the costliest Olympic Games. And to make it even worse, the events created a deficit of $2 billion. The costs skyrocketed because a lot of money was used to build new stadiums, highways, railways, and the city’s subway extension.
Pyeongchang Olympics
South Korea’s Pyeongchang County was not that popular until the 2018 Winter Olympics. Most people were aware of cities like Rio de Janeiro, London, and Beijing, but the Olympic Games can be credited for putting Pyeongchang County on the map. Many of us learned about the county’s amazing cultural heritage sites, temples, and festivals courtesy of the Olympics. Located in Gangwon Province, Pyeongchang is known for long and extremely snowy winters, which explains why it was the perfect host for the winter events of 2018. Another interesting fact about the 2018 Olympics is that over 1,200 drones participated in the spectacular opening ceremony.
South Korea spent $12.9 billion on a wide range of projects such as the Olympic Village and a modern high-speed rail. Despite the relatively huge sums of money that were spent on new facilities, renovations, and other projects, it is estimated that South Korea made profits worth at least $55 million. With such profits, the Pyeongchang Olympics proved that even less popular cities could easily host the Olympics and give the world incredible results.
Summary
Based on the figures mentioned here, there is no doubt that hosting the Olympics is not a joke. It takes a lot of work to organise international sporting events that can appeal to billions of viewers and bring noteworthy economic benefits to the host.
The budget is definitely one of the key determinants of the success of the Olympics, and the organisers can easily underestimate it. Those tasked with preparing and implementing the budget must consider all expenditures, including the expenses associated with unforeseen events. The bottom line is, future Olympic hosts should learn from the previous hosts and avoid the mistakes we already know to offer spectators the best experience during the Olympic Games.
