Oxford researchers point out that the Olympics are the most expensive sporting events in the world. This is more and more evident in the increasing scale of the event.
We wondered which of the competitions were included in the top 5 of the ranking of the most expensive and how much the organizers cost all the fun. The results of the study were quite unexpected.
5th place. Lillehammer, Norway (1994)
1923 athletes from 67 countries of the world met at the competitions in Norway. There was no such number of participants at any previous Games.
Such changes have occurred due to political restructuring. For the first time, many countries participated as independent teams.
This could not but affect the cost of the event. It was originally planned to spend $ 0.59 billion, but the estimate came to be adjusted and the price increased to $ 2.23 billion.
4th place. Salt Lake City, US (2002)
These competitions have become one of the most scandalous in the history of the Games. After all, the purpose of the event was to unite countries around the world, but, according to analysts, the event was held in an atmosphere of “frank pushing North American athletes onto the podium and pushing everyone else out of this podium.”
Be that as it may, the Americans have invested a lot. The cost of the project was $ 2.25 billion.
3rd place. Vancouver, Canada (2010)
Additional costs were brought by the fact that by the beginning of the Olympics there was not enough snow on a number of objects, which had to be brought there by trucks. The weather improved only towards the end of the games.
However, despite the large expenses, most of them were compensated through advertising and sponsorship. Everything about everything took $ 2.54 billion.
2nd place. Turin, Italy (2006)
The city authorities believe that the Olympics gave a huge impetus to its development. It would seem that in this case it is obvious where such figures come from.
The subway was rebuilt from scratch in the city! € 1.7 billion was allocated for the construction. However, the ranking does not include indirect costs in the aggregation. Researchers estimate the cost to be $ 4.36 billion.
1st place. Sochi, Russia (2014)
It follows from the Oxford study that Sochi hosted the most expensive Olympic Games. The originally planned budget of $ 12 billion had to be increased to (attention!) $ 22 billion! A colossal difference with the second place.
The high cost was due to the need to provide snow, since the event took place in a subtropical climate. In addition, a high-speed road had to be built.
Significant funds were spent on security. However, many believe that some of the money was spent ineffectively.