Will France's multibillion-euro gamble on Olympic gold pay off?

As France makes its final preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics, finance experts say that it's hard to be sure if the billions of dollars spent on the sporting spectacle will spur the kind of economic boost organisers are hoping for.

France is facing a bill of almost nine billion euros for hosting the Paris Olympics but top officials say the financial fallout could be more "psychological" than economic.

Ahead of the July 26 opening of the Games, ministers and financial observers are juggling the figures to estimate the costs and benefits of the sporting spectacle.

So far, French authorities are predicting a cost of nearly nine billion euros ($9.5 billion) for the Paris Games, although the official figure will take time to confirm.

Costs are always difficult to predict or confirm.

The Tokyo Olympics, delayed for a year until 2021 because of Covid-19, cost about $12.9 billion, Japan's Audit Board has been reported as saying.

Greece's finance ministry estimates that the 2004 Athens Games cost $9.1 billion – although some independent estimates are closer to $15 billion. London 2012 cost up to $15 billion.

But the final bill will depend on spending on Olympic bonuses for metro drivers, police and emergency services, as well as the general cost of security.

But it added that these benefits would be spread over 20 years.

(AFP)

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