Why
(
almost
)
no
one
wants
to
host
the
Olympics
The
2008
Summer
Olympics
happened
in
Beijing
.
And
now
,
the
2022
Winter
Olympics
have
been
awarded
to
Beijing
again
since
there
was
little
viable
competition
.
Let's
read
why
.
Hosting
the
Olympics
has
become
a
game
no
one
wants
to
win
.
Pyeongchang
,
South
Korea
,
built
a
brand
new
Olympic
stadium
to
host
the
Winter
Games
,
which
is
now
being
after
being
used
only
four
times
.
In
a
city
of
40
,
000
people
,
it
is
a
pipe
dream
to
think
it
would
ever
be
used
again
.
In
1976
,
Montreal
hosted
the
Olympics
and
spent
over
$6
billion
?
it
took
30
years
to
pay
off
the
debt
.
This
impracticality
isn't
an
among
Olympic
venues
,
it
has
actually
become
typical
.
For
years
,
cities
were
left
with
'white
elephants'
and
a
legacy
of
overwhelming
debt
.
The
decline
in
applicants
to
host
is
striking
.
The
2004
Games
bids
from
12
cities
around
the
world
.
For
the
2020
Games
,
the
pool
shrank
to
five
bidders
.
The
2022
Winter
Olympics
and
2024
Summer
Olympics
got
only
two
bidders
each
.
For
the
2024
Games
,
the
International
Olympic
Committee
(
IOC
)
decided
to
change
it
up
.
Instead
of
choosing
between
the
only
two
bidders
?
Paris
and
Los
Angeles
?
it
decided
to
award
Paris
the
2024
Summer
Olympics
,
and
Los
Angeles
the
2028
Summer
Olympics
.
Experts
say
the
IOC
decided
to
do
it
at
the
same
time
for
a
simple
reason
,
it
was
afraid
no
city
would
want
to
host
the
Games
by
the
time
the
2028
bidding
started
.
To
a
potentially
-
-
city
,
hosting
the
Olympics
might
sound
great
.
You
build
some
impressive
buildings
and
then
present
yourself
as
an
international
hub
.
You
think
it
will
be
a
way
to
pull
in
a
ton
of
tourism
and
be
open
to
business
and
investment
.
But
hosting
these
games
is
a
lot
more
complicated
and
costly
than
we
can
imagine
.
Since
1960
,
not
one
of
these
Games
has
come
in
under
budget
.
In
fact
,
nearly
half
of
them
end
up
costing
more
than
twice
as
much
as
expected
.
Additionally
,
cities
tend
to
find
that
most
of
the
stadiums
,
fields
,
and
other
facilities
built
for
the
games
are
simply
useless
after
the
Olympics
are
over
.
They
are
really
too
big
for
most
events
to
fill
up
and
to
them
is
way
too
expensive
.
How
many
cities
really
need
a
10
,
000
seat
skating
oval
?
London's
attempt
to
convert
its
Olympic
stadium
for
the
use
of
a
local
soccer
team
after
it
hosted
the
games
in
2012
,
ended
up
costing
as
much
as
the
stadium
itself
.
What
about
the
tourism
bump
?
Barcelona
saw
a
lasting
tourism
legacy
after
hosting
in
1992
,
but
most
analysts
say
its
experience
was
exceptional
because
the
Spanish
city
was
a
'hidden
gem'
that
wasn't
well
known
around
the
world
prior
to
the
games
.
Most
cities
won't
become
great
tourist
draws
just
by
hosting
the
Olympics
.
Also
,
after
the
9
/
11
terrorist
attacks
,
the
cost
of
security
at
the
Olympics
.
The
2004
Olympics
in
Athens
were
the
first
games
held
after
the
attacks
.
Those
games
cost
more
than
$15
billion
,
and
a
big
part
of
that
was
because
the
city
spent
tons
of
money
trying
to
protect
the
games
from
a
potential
terrorist
attack
.
Another
point
is
that
democratic
governments
have
public
opinion
to
consider
when
investing
in
the
Olympics
,
but
autocratic
ones
don't
have
to
worry
about
that
as
much
.
The
Beijing
Games
in
2008
cost
$40
billion
,
and
Sochi
in
2014
cost
$51
billion
.
So
,
the
2022
Winter
Olympics
were
the
games
nobody
wanted
.
The
two
final
bidders
were
Almaty
,
Kazakhstan
and
Beijing
?
neither
of
which
worry
much
about
the
public
opinion
regarding
the
-
costs
.
The
other
three
bidders
for
2022
?
Stockholm
,
Krakow
,
and
Oslo
?
dropped
out
midway
through
the
process
because
of
local
political
opposition
.
Similarly
,
the
final
two
bidders
for
the
2024
Summer
Olympics
were
Paris
and
Los
Angeles
,
both
large
cities
that
have
hosted
the
Olympics
before
.
The
IOC
knows
it
has
some
serious
thinking
to
do
about
how
to
make
hosting
the
Olympics
more
sustainable
.
It
has
even
been
suggested
that
the
IOC
reserve
fund
of
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
could
one
day
be
used
to
offer
cities
a
revenue
sharing
option
if
a
host
doesn't
volunteer
,
but
the
IOC
doesn't
have
to
make
the
announcement
for
the
next
Olympic
Games
until
2025
.
Nonetheless
,
the
committee
has
its
work
cut
out
for
it
.
Let's
check
what
you
can
remember
!