The 2024 Paris Olympics are shaping up to be the most budget-friendly Games of the 21st century, with a total cost of 8.9 billion euros (about 9.7 billion U.S. dollars), according to an S and P Global Ratings.
This is significantly lower than the cost incurred by previous Games, such as the 13 billion U.S. dollars spent in Tokyo 2021, Rio's 13.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 and London's 17.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2012. The cost reduction is attributed in part to the focus on renewable venues, among other factors.
The report showed that the budget for the Olympics, consisting of operating expenses and infrastructure costs, is likely to stand at 4.4 billion and 4.5 billion euros, respectively.
Large-scale events can often burden a host city or country, but Paris already had most of the required infrastructure: 95 percent of its Olympic venues were already in place, required limited refurbishing, with others temporarily constructed.
As a popular tourist destination, Paris receives an average of 100 million tourists every year, raking in tourism revenue that accounts for 8 percent of its GDP, placing it in an advantageous position to handle the influx of visitors.
The International Olympic Committee expects the 2024 Olympic Games to yield an economic return of approximately 7.3 billion to 12.1 billion U.S. dollars French consulting firm Asteres projects that the Games will boost France's GDP in the third quarter by 0.3 percentage points, raising the growth rate during the period up to 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, S and P Global predicts that tourism and spending related to the Olympics could bring a nearly 5-percent boost to Paris' tax revenue.
The Paris Olympics officially opened on July 26 and will run till August 11. With over 10,000 athletes participating, a record 8.6 million tickets were sold globally, with the mega event drawing in billions of viewers worldwide.
Reusable venues help slash billions from Paris Olympics budget
Reusable venues help slash billions from Paris Olympics budget
