It appears that the demand for hosting the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games has declined. I was curious if this new trend is related to the economic impact of this biennial global event.
The article explains that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are likely to have a negative economic impact on France. One reason is the expensive, specialized infrastructure needed to host the games. This infrastructure will either need to be repurposed afterwards or maintained for far less use. Both of these options add more expenses on top of the original cost of the infrastructure. Another reason is the lack of significant monetary support from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC has sole rights to broadcasting regulations for the games but does not share any revenue from broadcasting deals with the host country. Additionally, the games may be negative for the economy of France because of the negative impact on citizens, including workers. The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee claims that it will bring more jobs and activity to Paris, however, this statement is misleading. Many jobs that will be involved in the Olympic Games already exist, such as hotel staff, and wages will likely remain the same during the games. Many of the businesses that will benefit from the tourism activity brought to Paris by the games are internationally owned such as car rentals or hotels, so France is not benefiting. Additionally, many workers for the games are volunteers from the host country, so French citizens are actually losing money by volunteering as they must lodge near the site, take off work, and more. The disruption of daily life caused by the Olympics will likely also hurt the economy. Metro ticket prices will nearly double for the week of the games and citizens have already been advised to work from home during the games. Furthermore, even if the games do not negatively impact France's economy, many of the tourists arriving in Paris for the Olympic games are simply replacing other tourists who would have come due to Paris's status as the most visited capital city. Essentially, at best, the games will have a negligible effect on France's economy, which does not appear to be worth the toll put on France's citizens and infrastructure.
https://www.euronews.com/business/2024/01/31/paris-2024-does-hosting-the-olympics-boost-the-economy
Interesting to hear as I would have thought that the Olympics would make the economy boom, without this insight. This brings a different and deeper aspect of the chain effect of the economic toll it would take on the countries economy.
ReplyDeleteI'd be curious to see how this compares to historical trends and other global events. I remember the 2014 World Cup causing issues for Brazil, but that was more of a politically led movement.
ReplyDeleteThe article provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic implications of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France, highlighting concerns such as the heavy burden of specialized infrastructure costs and the lack of significant monetary support from the International Olympic Committee. It raises important questions about the true economic benefits versus the toll on citizens and infrastructure, prompting a deeper examination of the rationale behind hosting such mega-events.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting side of the Olympics that not many people think of. One question I have is if the Olympics did open up the broadcasting rights, would it change your stance on the issue?
ReplyDeleteA question that arose after reading this what then incentivises France to want to host the Olymipcs? If they are the number one most visited capitalcity in the world and economists know that this hinders the economy, what is a gain or benefit from being the host then?
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting read for me because I did not think there would be any problems if a city hosts the olympics. It seems weird to me that a nation could have a worse economy after creating a lot of jobs, and creating tourism from people all over the world.
ReplyDeleteI wrote my blog on the impact of the 2026 World Cup on the host cities, and it seems much different than the summer olympics. I read that many jobs will be created with the World Cup, but it sounds like not as many with the olympics. It makes sense that the tourists coming for the olympics will replace other tourists who regularly visit France, but in World Cup host cities such as Seattle and Philadelphia, there are not many tourists visiting and the World Cup will bring tons of new people to these cities.
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