Over $133 billion has been spent in the last 30 years by Olympic host cities

Since 1992, over $130bn has been spent by cities hosting the Summer or Winter Olympics. Tokyo’s 2021 Summer Games, delayed from 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is estimated to have cost $28bn to host.

The games held in Sochi, Russia were the most expensive Winter Olympics with a cost estimated to be close to $22bn. The official reported cost for the Beijing Winter Olympics is $3.9bn as some facilities were repurposed from the 2008 Summer games. However, some commentators have suggested a real cost of ca. $40bn, including roughly $9.2bn for a high-speed rail line to improve transport links.