How Paris made the 2024 Olympics the cheapest ever

Keeping costs down

Paris was a great host for the Olympics, and the French capital tried to keep costs down wherever possible.

Sensible approach

It appears they have pulled it off to make the 2024 Olympics the cheapest ever. Let's take a look at how they did it!

“Better model”

Paris organizers claimed they learned from previous Games’ mistakes and created a “better model” for the 2024 Olympiad, per Ellen Francis for the Washington Post.

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95%

Per CNBC, Paris opted to reuse existing venues rather than build purpose-built arenas, with up to 95% of venues in prior use before the Games.

Three big projects

The Washington Post claims there were any three big projects to create for Paris, the Olympic Village, an aquatics center and an 8,000-seat arena, used for the badminton and gymnastic competitions, which organizers plan on using in the future.

“Always the plan”

CEO of Paris 2024, Etienne Thobois, said, “The plan from the start was to save money and not invest in things that are not useful.”

Reusing

Much of the Games has taken place at already existing venues, and where there weren’t suitable arenas, temporary ones were built. For example, the beach volleyball arena located in the shadow of the iconic Eiffel Tower, Thobois explained, “The Games adapt to the city, not the other way around,” per the Washington Post.

Still exceeded budget

CNBC has reported an S&P Global Ratings report suggests Paris still went over budget by around 25%, with a total spend of $10 billion (€9.3 billion/£7.8 billion), significantly lower than the previous three games.

Well controlled

The same S&P report suggests in contrast to Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, a 25% budget overage is a relatively small number, with Rio exceeding their original budget by 350% and Tokyo by 280%.

Unfortunately the norm

Per a study by the University of Oxford, every Olympics has vastly exceeded their initial budget, so to only overspend by 25% is a relative success.

Spend could increase

The Washington Post has suggested Paris’ spend could yet increase, with the huge quantity of security needed to manage the Games, plus bonuses offered to public service workers to avoid strikes possibly adding to Paris’ budget beyond what has already been reported.

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