The final bill for the Paris Olympics is not yet clear, but depending on how you look at it, it is likely to be more expensive compared to initial estimates, or cheaper compared to other recent Olympics.
That total is currently approaching 9 billion euros ($9.66 billion) but is likely to exceed 10 billion euros, with the Olympics being planned under the slogan “The Games will fund the Games.” This will require additional funding from the government.
With 100 days left until the torch is lit at the opening ceremony, “this is a dangerous time”, a government official told AFP.
Depending on what is included in the cost of the Olympics, cost calculations can vary greatly.
The Tokyo Olympics, postponed by a year and held in 2021 amid the coronavirus crisis, will cost 12 billion euros, almost double the original bid estimate, according to Japan's National Audit Office. became.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
In the case of Rio 2016, which was plagued by corruption, local organizers estimated the total cost at 11.8 billion euros, more than half of which was for infrastructure.
Estimates for London in 2012 range from €12 billion to €15 billion. The Chinese government's calculations for 2008 by external experts put it at 40 billion euros at current exchange rates. Athens in 2004 increased the Greek government's crippling debt, costing it €13 billion.
In the case of Paris, responsibility for spending the funds will be shared between the Olympic Organizing Committee (Cojo), which runs the games, and the Olympic distribution company (Solideo), which built the facilities. Both problems are exacerbated by higher-than-expected inflation.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
Coho is already on track to raise 4.4 billion euros in private funding, more than the 3.2 billion originally expected. In fact, the original budget envisaged complete fiscal balance, but this goal was abandoned.
Cojo has raised €1.24 billion from sponsors, €1.4 billion from ticket sales and received €1.2 billion from the International Olympic Committee.
Kojo's costs include rent for the Stade de France, facilities for the Olympic Village, private security, temporary stands and dancers for the opening ceremony.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
At the end of 2022, Kojo increased its budget by 10% due to inflation. By then, it had received an additional 111 million euros in public funding from the French government and local authorities, particularly for the post-Olympic Paralympic Games.
The French auditor general said Kojo made the traditional Olympic mistake of initially underestimating the budget.
In a sign of the difficult situation, Kojo recently asked local governments to provide 10 million euros for bus transport for accredited participants. The region refused.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
The French government is keeping a close eye on Kojo's finances. The government has given a guarantee of 3 billion euros to cover the shortfall.
Sports Minister Amélie Udea Castella said: “At this point there is no reason to believe we will be in the red.”
Solideo, which has a total budget of 4.4 billion euros, receives approximately 1.8 billion euros from national and local governments. This includes €542 million of the total cost of €646 million to build the Olympic Village, which will be turned into apartments after the Olympics.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
Other heritage sites include the new Olympic Aquatics Center, which will host diving, water polo and artistic swimming events, and the pedestrian bridge over the motorway that separates the pool from the Stade de France, which hosts track and field events and rugby sevens. there is.
However, not all costs are known, including the exact price of security, such as the €1,900 Olympic bonus for police officers and other promised civil service bonuses.
According to the budget documents, by 2023 public funding for the Olympics will reach 2.44 billion euros (including 1.3 billion euros from the national government and 260 million euros from the city of Paris).
Pierre Moscovici, president of the Court of Accounts, recently raised his estimate of the final public contribution to “3 billion, 4 billion or 5 billion euros”, saying the final figure would only be known “after the Olympics”. Ta.
Mr. Oudea-Castella disagreed.
“There's no reason it has to be 5 billion euros,” he said, adding there were no “budget changes or hidden costs.”
Audea Castella also argued that the final total of nearly 10 billion euros would be cheap compared to other summer Olympics this century.
“These budgets are probably the most scrutinized in Olympic history” and “the most restrained (from an organizational perspective) in the last 20 years,” she said.
Final scores will not be known until after the final competition.
The Board of Audit is required to prepare a report by fall 2025.
dec/pb/gj
