On the surface, The Olympics is a worldwide tradition that brings people together. Athletes and fans from around the world come together as a sign of peace and goodwill for healthy competition amongst nations.
But sometimes money pushes tradition out of the stadium.
On September 1, the Los Angeles city council unanimously voted to approve a proposal to authorize Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to “execute agreements related to the Olympic bid,” according to NBC Los Angeles.
Hosting the Olympics will always offer the possibility of a high return on investment during projection phases in business model proposals. However, projections are as reliable as meteorologists on the morning news.
Los Angeles should not host the Olympics because the results in projected revenue are simply unpredictable, and the costs in post Olympic venue maintenance are simply unsustainable.
The 2024 Olympic bid document shared by Casey Wasserman, Sport Executive from Wasserman Media Group, details a $4.1 billion bid proposal with an additional $1.7 billion in venue costs, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Olympics is something everyone can appreciate because it provides opportunities for anyone and everyone, despite race or religion.
In reality, it’s a money pit.
As money is quickly invested into procuring the games, none of it comes back out to its supporters and resident hosts. Ten host cities nearly went bankrupt in the name of the Games, including the 1980 Lake Placid and 1992 Albertville France Games, according to How Stuff Works.
The very first Olympic Games, as we know them now were held in 1896, and they spent the equivalent of $448,000.
Then at the Paris Games in 1924, the French spent an equivalent of $1.7 million, but made only half of the amount in revenue back. CNBC Reports that France later suffered another $67 million loss with an estimated $2 billion spent during the Albertville Olympic Games in 1992.
Moreover, while the Olympic games offer so much for so many people who are able to participate, they also take away so much from the poorest of the poor, and the under-represented. If this is the picture that the aftermath paints, will California taxpayers be left with the bill too?
To prepare for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, CNBC reports that one-third of $3.8 billion costs were taken straight from Australian taxpayer money. And the list only continues to grow.
When Nagano, Japan hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics, $10.5 billion was garnered in preparation. The Economist reports that a large amount of funds came directly from some of the city’s 378,000 residents.
On Tuesday, June 5, 2007, The Guardian reported over 2 million people were removed from their homes over the past 20 years, to make way for the Olympic Games.
Many of those people were removed from their homes forcibly and more than 6,000 homes had been demolished.
Additionally, over two years ago, Ryot News reported that more than 100,000 homes were demolished for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. More than 230 families were forced out of their homes and left homeless for the sporting projects.
Businesses gather to help build venues for the Olympics as they make their visits around the world. Once the proprietors have collected their money, they move on to the next host city to capitalize off of.
But no one stays to clean up the mess or even sustain the structures made in the name of the sporting event. Sochi became a deserted wasteland only one month after the Winter Games in 2014, according to Business Insider. But Russia is neither the first nor the last country to reap similar results.
How much is it going to cost to take down all those now abandoned structures? Are those displaced families ever going to get compensation for the loss of their homes? And who will be the next to gather in the name of money at the expense of their people?
We should focus on the priceless rewards of the Olympics, rather than how much a city will gain and lose from the games.
