From
The Telegraph – The Paris Olympics is turning into a catastrophic financial flop–
“True, it might cost a few billion to build all the stadia and facilities and lay on the extra security required to stage all the events. But that would pay for itself many times over, with the games bringing lots of extra tourists into the host city, raising its profile and triggering a wave of renewal and investment. In the case of Paris, the argument was always uncertain.”“Air France reported earlier this month that it expected to report a loss of €180m in the current quarter. Why? Because lots of flyers are avoiding the city, expecting it to be far more crowded than usual. That is a double blow for the French government since it owns 29pc of the airline, and its shares are down by 40pc this year.”“Likewise, hotel bookings are disappointing. There are some peak days around the opening ceremony, but over the entire Olympics period occupancy is now below the 81.4pc level the city saw in July 2023. In plain language, Paris’s hotels are having a worse summer than usual.”“Meanwhile, the city may well not even be ready, with the Seine still too polluted for events planned on the river, and, with grim inevitability, French public sector workers already threatening strikes if they are not offered some extra money. Add it all up, and it is not looking good.”MY THOUGHTS: Every host since dreams of reaping the gains Atlanta did in 1996, when it ascended from a southeast regional center to a global city, with its airport becoming among the world’s busiest since then. Since Atlanta, host cities have gone from barely breaking even (Sydney, Athens) to downright losing a lot of money (Vancouver, Tokyo).
The Olympic Committee themselves seems very ignorant/arrogant to the burden its infrastructure requirements place on host cities who are required to build brand new, billion dollar stadiums once awarded the games. It’s why I wondered why Los Angeles, with an endless list of its own internal problems, bothered bidding (and winning) to host the 2028 summer games.
Additionally, viewership for the Olympics has consistently declined for twenty years now, with operational costs soaring, and the other global sporting event – The World Cup – surpassing viewership and global following, especially across South America and Africa.
https://twitter.com/Fxhedgers/status/1812989545299763412
