Yep, the Olympic Games are great, all right. But then the bill arrives, and everybody can’t get out of Dodge fast enough.
While numerous studies have been conducted about the Games and their financial viability, the results have been quite vague. Because so many variables are involved here, everything from subjective interpretations to educated guesswork, it’s not often economists read from the same chapter, let alone the same verse. In fact, so much mathematical gymnastics has been known to take place over the years, it could be an Olympic event itself.
This list per Wikipedia ranks the Games on the basis of profits or losses where such data is available. The figures are adjusted to reflect inflation. Global currency has been converted to United States dollars at current exchange rates.
Now you be the judge as to if hosting the Olympics is worth it. . .
