Paris 2024: A Less Expensive Games?

With a cost of USD 8.7 billion and a cost overrun of 115%, is Paris 2024 living up to IOC policy for a cheaper Games, so more cities will want to host in the future?

By Bent Flyvbjerg and Alexander Budzier*

In 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was panicking. It was fast running out of cities willing to host the Olympic Games. Before, cities had queued up for the privilege of hosting the Games. Now, the conventional bid process had broken down with potential host cities withdrawing in droves over concerns of high and growing costs and cost overruns for the Games.

In an emergency move, the IOC decided to award the 2024 and 2028 Games at the same time, to Paris and Los Angeles, respectively, to ensure there would be a host in 2028. Los Angeles had not even bid for the 2028 Games, but for 2024 like Paris. Now the Angelenos were presented with a fait accompli by the IOC: take 2028 or nothing. Los Angeles reluctantly accepted.

With a view to making the Games attractive to host cities again, first Paris and then Los Angeles would be models for a new way of delivering the Games, with a focus on cost control, or so the IOC envisioned. Specifically, in Agenda 2020+5 the IOC described a policy…