To host the Olympic Games is a great honor and at the same time a huge expense for any state. It has long been calculated that no one has yet managed to recoup the investment due to the influx of tourists during the Olympics.
And very few people succeed in keeping within the framework of the Olympic budget. On average, the cost overrun of the originally planned funds for preparation for the Games is 180%. In Sochi, this figure is already approaching 500%. The scale of the Sochi Olympics will become even more noticeable if you study our current Top-7, which included the most expensive Olympic Games.
7. Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City 2002 (budget - $ 1.5 billion)
This White Olympics was the seventh for the United States. However, her budget exceeded the total cost of 6 previous Olympics. After Salt Lake City, the States did not dare to take on such large-scale projects.
6. Summer Olympics in Sydney 2000 (budget - $ 4.1 billion)
From the huge budget, only $ 530 million (13%) was spent on the construction of the Olympic facilities directly. The rest of the money went to transport infrastructure, security and stunning shows.
5. Winter Olympics in Vancouver 2010 (budget - $ 6 billion)
Initially, the Canadians planned to keep within $ 600 million. However, the budget grew 10 times, and the country had to sequester social spending for the Games, including for the healthcare system.
4. Summer Olympics in Athens 2004 (budget - $ 11.6 billion)
The grandiose Games in Athens left an already poor Greece in debt. If we divide up all the unrecovered investments in the Athens Olympics, then the debt will amount to 50 thousand euros for each Greek family.
3. Summer Olympics in London 2012 (budget - $ 15 billion)
London has hosted the Olympic Games three times, but never have the British incurred such costs as in 2012. About a billion dollars was spent on security alone - the Games were guarded by 40,000 police and military.
2. Summer Olympics in Beijing 2008 (budget - $ 43 billion)
The construction of the Olympic facilities took up almost half of the huge budget. It is all the more offensive to realize the fact that most of these grandiose objects have remained out of work and are gradually falling into desolation and destruction.
1. Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014 (budget - $ 51 billion)
It's hard to say yet how much was spent on the Sochi Olympics, but most experts agree on a budget of $ 51 billion. No one can say whether the facilities remaining after the Games will be used rationally. But I really want to hope that the most expensive Olympics in history will not trigger an economic crisis, as happened in Greece, and the Olympic infrastructure will find a better use than in Beijing.