The financial management of the Olympic Games

Question 1

What are the 4 distinct periods in the economic development of the Olympic Games?

Answer 1

1. 1896 – 1968: Recurring financial problems; and, identification of new sources of income
2. 1969 – 1980: Publicly financed Olympic Games
3. 1981 – 1996: Increasing importance of private finance
4. 1997 – 2012: Mixed financing; and, long-term relationships between sponsors, TV networks and the IOC

Question 2

What was the financial overview of the 1896 Athens games?

Answer 2

. Greece was bankrupt.
. only went ahead because of generosity of Greek public, and wealthy Greeks living abroad
.George Averoff agreed to pay for the restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium

Question 3

What was the financial overview of the 1900 Paris Games?

Answer 3

. Athletic and aesthetic disaster
. lots of sports=low standard
. same time as world fair=no separate financial record

Question 4

What was the financial overview of the 1904 st Louis games?

Answer 4

. In 1904, the Games were again held as part as a world’s fair but for last time
. mainly US athletes
.

Question 5

What was the financial overview of the 1908 London games?

Answer 5

. Organisers claimed a £6,377 profit, although the £60,000 construction costs for the White City Stadium were not included in the ‘official budget’
. first profit recorded

Question 6

What was the financial overview of the 1920 Antwerp games?

Answer 6

. Awarded to Belgium, as a compensation for WWI

. local Organizing Committee did go bankrupt at Games

Question 7

What was the financial overview of the 1928 Amsterdam games?

Answer 7

. longest serving sponsor of the Olympics, Coca-Cola began its relationship

Question 8

What was the financial overview of the 1936 Berlin games?

Answer 8

. Most of the expenses were provided by the Nazi government
. Lots of money thrown at it
. Most expensive so far

Question 9

What was the financial overview of the 1948 London games?

Answer 9

. 1st Olympics following WWII
. Austerity Games
. ‘make do and mend’ approach saw the Games make a small profit on an initial outlay of £750,000

Question 10

What was the financial overview of the 1952 Helsinki games?

Answer 10

. First reference to a legacy

. Games used as catalyst for e.g Airport

Question 11

What was the financial overview of the 1972 Munich games?

Answer 11

. funds raised bu public

. Following Munich Massacre’, security became a major budget item expense

Question 12

What was the financial overview of the 1976 Montreal games?

Answer 12

. poor planning and outright corruption,

. Montreal only finished paying for their Games in 2006

Question 13

What was the financial overview of the 1980 Moscow games?

Answer 13

. state covered most, if not all, of the costs-hard to know how much (approx £2bn)
. US and allies boycotted

Question 14

What was the financial overview of the 1992 Barcelona games?

Answer 14

. used as an opportunity to re-launch the city of Barcelona as a global tourist destination

Question 15

What was the financial overview of the 1996 Atlanta games?

Answer 15

. profit of approx. US$19m
. Heavily reliant on corporate sponsorship
. criticism of commercialisation- centenary edition of the Games not given to Greece

Question 16

What was the financial overview of the 2012 London games?

Answer 16

. delivered by two organisations-the (publicly-funded) ODA and (the mostly privately-funded) LOCOG
. Budget changed to make costs less

Question 17

What was the financial overview of the 2014 Sochi games?

Answer 17

. most expensive Olympic Games ever
. US$55 billion
. huge cost overrun
.

Question 18

What was found by The Oxford Olympics study?

Answer 18

Every Olympic Games (after 1960), without exception, have overran in cost, at an average of 156% in real terms

Question 19

What has sponsorship been described as?

Answer 19

. strategic activity during an event by one commercial interest in exchange for large amounts of money and special types of promotion connected with it