Hosting the Olympic Games was often promoted as a major opportunity for economic growth and global recognition. In the short term, the Olympics create an immediate boost to tourism, as millions of visitors travel to the host city, spending money on hotels, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment. Local businesses experience increased revenue, and the global spotlight enhances the city’s reputation. Preparation also leads to temporary employment opportunities in construction, hospitality, security, and event management.
Investment in extensive infrastructure–stadiums, athlete villages, airports, and public transportation systems–intended to serve residents long after the Olympics. However, these benefits are overshadowed by significant financial risks. Hosting requires billions in public spending, and budgets often exceed projections. Many cities are left with debt that taxpayers must repay for decades. Furthermore, some venues become ‘white elephants’-costly facilities that go unused after the event due to insufficient local demand. Instead of generating profit, they become financial burdens.
Environmental concerns have also grown. While recent hosts like the Milan-Cortina Olympics emphasize sustainability, the Olympics still produce a large carbon footprint. International travel, construction, and energy consumption drive emissions. The Winter Games are especially resource-intensive, requiring artificial snowmaking that consumes significant water and electricity. Together, these consequences demonstrate that hosting is more complex and costly than advertised.
Historically, nations fought for the prestige of hosting. Today, the trend has reversed. Intense competition has been replaced by cities withdrawing bids, discouraged by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) excessive demands. To host, a city must dedicate billions, build massive arenas, and ensure high-level security.
These challenging requirements are why the list of potential hosts is shrinking. The risk of debt and displacement has forced states to realize that the cons outweigh the pros. Faced with this problem, the IOC has changed its selection process to save the Games. Abandoning public bids, they now handpick hosts–like the French Alps (2030) and Salt Lake City (2034)–to avoid embarrassing withdrawals. To survive, the committee began prioritizing the reuse of facilities. Los Angeles secured the 2028 games by promising “no-building,” relying entirely on existing stadiums. By focusing on established infrastructure, the Olympics are surviving only by refusing to build anything new.