Olympics debts can plague a city for decades
Disastrous for both international reputation and individual citizens, the economic burden created by hosting the Olympic Games is simply not worth any imaginable prestige.
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The Argument
Hosting the Olympic Games is incredibly expensive. A study by researchers at the University of Oxford found that the cost of Olympic Games overrun with 100% consistency. At times, it is even worse; for instance, the 1992 Albertville, France Olympic Winter Games ran over by a staggering 135%.[1] A vast majority of the infrastructure and investment that goes into hosting the Olympic Games is simply not worth the benefit. Not only that, it can set a thriving metropolis back decades economically. The average household in Athens was forced to pay an additional €50,000 in order to offset costs from Athens’ disastrous 2004 hosting.[2] Another example of intense economic impact comes from Montreal. Despite the claims of their mayor Jean Drapeau who famously boasted “the Olympics can no more lose money than a man can have a baby,” the city suffered under debt for several decades. The cost of their 1976 Games ballooned to $1.6 billion, a price Montreal paid through 2006.[3] Disastrous for both international reputation and individual citizens, the economic burden created by hosting the Olympic Games is simply not worth any imagine prestige.[4]
Counter arguments
The failure of budgeting and remaining revitalized is no fault of the Olympic Games’ presence, but of the various cities who failed. The Olympic Games offered these cities the chance to thrive under international attention, yet they squandered it. One need only to look to the more successful models to see that a productive hosting greatly benefits a city. Los Angeles in its 1992 Summer Olympics hosting was able to turn a profit of $200 million, a remarkable amount. Sydney’s 2000 Games, widely believed to be the most successful hosting in modern history, resulted in economic expansion for the country. Bad planning and overspending are no faults of the Olympic Games.[5]
Proponents
Premises
Rejecting the premises
References
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bent_Flyvbjerg/publication/244484259_Olympic_Proportions_Cost_and_Cost_Overrun_at_the_Olympics_1960-2012/links/5ac277fe0f7e9bfc045f2fad/Olympic-Proportions-Cost-and-Cost-Overrun-at-the-Olympics-1960-2012.pdf
- https://www.britannica.com/list/7-ways-hosting-the-olympics-impacts-a-city
- https://www.businessinsider.com/why-olympics-terrible-investment-host-city-china-rio-pyeongchang-2017-12
- https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/economics-hosting-olympic-games
- https://www.britannica.com/list/7-ways-hosting-the-olympics-impacts-a-city