The Olympics Should Have a Permanent Home
The current model encourages corruption and leaves cities to construct massive sites for an extremely short term pay off
Perhaps the most depressing thing about this year’s edition of the Summer Olympic Games is the empty stadiums. Normally, the host city enjoys a massive, if temporary, influx of international tourists eager to take in the games and spend cash locally.
But because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Tokyo will not be enjoying those tourist dollars this year. Not even parents of the athletes will be able to be on hand to watch their kids compete. It’s left the Japanese capital city holding the bag after funding expensive temporary sporting facilities and upgrades to their public transit system, without the usual tax payoff.
Tokyo was originally selected to host the 2020 Olympic Games in 2013, seven years before most of the world had ever heard of Covid. Originally, the city estimated that the cost associated with hosting the games would be around $7.5 billion. But actual costs have far exceeded the initial assessment, skyrocketing to an estimated $25 billion, which would make it the most expensive games of all time.
And Tokyo won’t see a dime of tourist spending in return. Journalists covering the games can’t…
