By Robbie Butler
There were scenes of wild jubilation in Tokyo on Saturday night when the Japanese capital was awarded the rights to host the 2020 Olympic Games, following the 125th IOC Session at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Argentina’s capital. The city beat off competition from the likes of Baku and Doha, finally prevailing over Istanbul, by a margin of 24 votes, after Madrid had been eliminated from the race to host the showpiece event.
The Turks and Spaniards, who had gathered in their thousands to await the outcome of the vote, looked forlorn as they trudged away from big screens and a large media presence in both Madrid and Istanbul city centres. To them, this must represent another missed a opportunity to present their city to the world. Their disappointment all the more pronounced when compared to the ecstatic residents of Tokyo.
Fear not Madrid and Tokyo. You are the ones that should celebrate!
The cost of running these events, which I have addressed before here, here and here ultimately results in an enormous outlay and is dependent upon state support, with taxpayers left to foot the bill. Sky Sports reported that the cost of the games is estimated at around £5 billion pounds ($8 billion). This figure seems wildly optimistic when one considers the four previous games held this millennium in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London. The illustration below presents the estimated cost of hosting each summer games.
Fear not Madrid and Tokyo. You are the ones that should celebrate!
The cost of running these events, which I have addressed before here, here and here ultimately results in an enormous outlay and is dependent upon state support, with taxpayers left to foot the bill. Sky Sports reported that the cost of the games is estimated at around £5 billion pounds ($8 billion). This figure seems wildly optimistic when one considers the four previous games held this millennium in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London. The illustration below presents the estimated cost of hosting each summer games.
Even excluding the 2008 games, the trend in costs as been upward. The figures are also nominal. A projected cost of $8 billion by the Japanese seems way too conservative. An examination of recent past games would suggest, a figure of $15 billion to $18 billion is more likely to represent the true cost of the games. Eight years is a long time to wait but watch this space…
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