Why India must mind the financial impact of hosting Olympic Games

All summer games held between 1960 and 2024 had significant cost escalations for host countries

India took the first step in its attempt to host the 2036 Summer Olympics by submitting a letter of intent to the International Olympic Commission. It will be a matter of national pride if India hosts the event but likely an expensive one.

 

All Olympic Games between 1960 and 2024 (for which data is available) faced significant cost escalations, shaking the finances of the host countries, said a recent working paper by the Oxford University. The mean value of cost overruns (in real terms) of all Olympic Games between 1960 and 2024 was 159 per cent of the cost projections,