mm hmm. The Olympics It's where the world gathers every
two years, winter and summer. And for two weeks the
eyes of the world focused on the athletes, countr
and host city. While athletes compete for gold, silv
and bronze, the most important colour might be green
According to an Oxford University study. It costs an
average of $12 billion 2007 and 2016, The cost of
hosting the games have soared. The bidding process
alone can cost countries tens of millions of dollars.
Tokyo spent $150 million 2016 games. It pledged another
75 million on its successful effort to host in 2020.
Then there's the cost of building highly specialized
venues. Most cities don't already have arenas to host
events like track, cycling, ski jumping, BMX or
bobsledding. That means billion of dollars poured into
facilities that might serve little purpose after
closing ceremonies. In RIO, organizers spent over $2
billion on sports related venues after the games ended,
abandoned facility sat empty Dechaine while they
continue to cost the host city upkeep fees. There's
also the cost of infrastructure cities need to be able
to house tens of thousands of people and move them
around. That means building new hotels, train lines and
sometimes airports In 2008, Beijing spent more than $20
billion dollars on transportation infrastructure a
But the greatest cost factor in putting on the games,
maybe host city and experience. You're always doing
olympics in a new place. You always you always give it
to an organization that haven't tried it before to a
place that haven't tried it before. And that's actually
not a very good idea. If you want to be on budget, you
wanted to give it to somebody who's experienced,
tried it before and so on. But you don't do that with
the olympics. So we call that the eternal beginner
syndrome. So people who are doing the olympics are
always beginners and that's not a good idea. Over the
last century, just six cities have hosted the games
twice. Beijing is now the first to host both the summer
and winter games cities were once lured by the
opportunity of short term economic interests like job
creation and tv revenue and long term benefits
including a jump in tourism and lasting infrastruct
upgrades. But while host cities foot most of the bill,
they don't keep most of the revenue that's shared with
the International olympic committee because of that
it's getting harder to find hosts recently. A growing
number of cities have withdrawn their bids as they
realize the financial burden here. Here's the reality.
Every single Olympic games since 1960 that we have
financial data for has had a cost overrun, economist.
Andrew Zimbalist has one idea, Los Angeles forever. He
argues that already has the venues and the needed
infrastructure L.A. Is getting the 2028 games four
years after paris host in 2024 it will be each city's
third time hosting the IOC. Isn't ready to commit to
only one permanent location, Bu it knows it's facing a
problem. In 2014 it produced the Olympic Agenda 2020, a
set of 40 recommendations to safeguard the Olympics. It
includes reducing the cost of bidding using already
existing facilities and promoting a more Sustainable
Olympics The IOC says Paris will use almost exclusive
existing or temporary facilitie in 2024, It says Los
Angeles won't need any new permanent venues for 2028.
The recommendations from the IO to cut costs are an
important step translating them into action. Will allow
it to keep the flame burning for olympic games to co
I'm Nate Carlisle for Newsy