Nobody Wants To Host The Olympics Anymore
And frankly, who can blame them?
The Olympics are the biggest and most prestigious sporting event on the planet. Every four years, even people with no real interest in sports take some time to marvel at the accomplishments of the world’s greatest athletes all gathered together.
Yet for all the glamor and glory of the Olympics, their future is seriously in doubt. The 2032 Games were awarded to Brisbane, Australia’s 3rd biggest city, after it was the only place to submit a bid. Voters in potential host cities like Hamburg and Budapest have rejected the possibility of welcoming the games in referendums.
It seems possible that in our lifetime, the Olympics as we know it will fade away — and the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. The Olympics can be a cruel mistress, overpromising and underdelivering.
Understandably, the Olympics are expensive to host. Even though they are usually held in major cities that already possess major stadiums, athletics tracks, hotels, transport options and so on, it’s never really possible to host them with whatever a city happens to already have lying around. These were the costs for some of the past few Olympics:
- Sydney 2000: US$4.7 billion
- Athens 2004: €9 billion
