From new world records across the track, field and pool, an awe-inspiring comeback performance from Céline Dion and viral Olympic memes, the Paris 2024 summer Olympics dared to shine bright in the city of love and light in typical bold and daring French fashion. In a time when hosting the Olympics has come under scrutiny for its financial burden and long-term sustainability problems for a host city, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games have experimented with and changed the way host nations handle the pinnacle global sporting event. For the games, Paris aimed to deliver more responsible, more sustainable, and more united Olympics where they prioritised environmental sustainability and financial viability. These goals and their outcomes are core answers to the question of whether the Paris Olympics were a success or a flop.
History of the Olympics
Over the past decades, the Olympics have changed massively with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the helm navigating it through times of change, triumph and ruin. The recent Paris Olympics has found itself at an inflection point in the history of the Olympics with the long-term sustainability of the games called into question.
The Paris Olympics shot for the stars with regards to being economically and environmentally sustainable. With an estimated cost of just under 10 billion dollars, only 25% over its budget, it was one of the cheapest iterations of the Olympics in the last two decades. This came with a focus on carbon emission reduction initiatives and an emphasis on using existing facilities. The Paris Olympics have redefined the way a host nation manages the challenges of hosting. Despite this, it was not always so clear what path the Olympics would take.
In the lead up to the Paris Olympics, the IOC changed their criteria for hosting the games, setting out its “Olympic Agenda 2020” which tightened their requirements on the financial and sustainability bid proposals. An important part of this was a “legacy” plan outlining what to do with the venues, athlete accommodation and other facilities created for the Olympics after the games are finished. A long time criticism of the Olympics was the dilapidation of sporting venues and stadiums after the games finished. Due to these changes, only 2 cities, Paris and Los Angeles, maintained their bids for the 2024 Olympics.
Figure 1. A noticeable decline in bids over the years.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46236682
The growing lack of demand led to the IOC awarding two cities simultaneously, Paris 2024 and LA 2028, something it had never done before.
The events parallel the near disaster the IOC faced in the 1970s and 1980s where hosting the games were associated with national security risks due to the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Games and financial risks in the 1976 Montreal games, which saw the city’s initial CA$120 million budget in 1970 balloon to 13 times that for a final cost of CA$1.6 billion in 1976.
Thankfully, the 1984 LA Olympics came as a miracle for the IOC, being the only city to bid for the games with no government funding and even turning a profit that year. Even though the 1984 LA Olympics were a success, many of its successors failed to execute an Olympics without budget blowouts, which has led to the current pressure the IOC is facing. Currently faced with a crucial task to ensure that this cycle of callus does not impede the longevity of the Olympics as a whole, the Paris 2024 Olympics and the IOC have pushed for a more sustainable system for Olympics hosts.
Financial Sustainability in the Paris Olympics
Behind the opulence and glamour of the quadrennial sports events, hosting the Olympics has plagued hosts with debt and continued a decades-long reputation of budget overruns. Historically, the catalyst for costs becoming a concern was Los Angeles’ success as a host in 1984. Their success was attributed to the use of existing infrastructure and a spike in broadcasting revenue, enabling them to profit $215 million. As a result, a rising number of cities wanted to host the games, allowing the IOC to select the cities with the boldest and most extravagant plans. Exemplary to this concern were the $28.9 billion spent on the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and the $23.6 billion for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.
Due to the burdensome nature of the games, the IOC has prioritised making the games more economically sound. Similar to what Los Angeles did, Paris’ strategy involved using 95% existing or temporary venues which contributes to its affordability. Countries that host the Olympics usually invest in costly infrastructure projects designed to exemplify progress and reinvigorate urban areas. Nations rationalise the significant investment in the hopes that the use of facilities will continue after the Olympics are over. However, in many cases, they become white elephants that necessitate costly maintenance and are predominantly vacant. Through these measures, Paris aims to be financially sustainable and avoid the shortcomings of past hosts.
Figure 2. Rio’s Olympic Aquatic Stadium less than a year after the 2016 games
Source: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/economics-hosting-olympic-games#chapter-title-0-6
It is expected that the Paris Olympics will generate between $7.4 billion to $12.2 billion for the city and the surrounding Île de France region between 2018-2034. Paris has experienced a boost in tourism, supported by the sale of 8.6 million tickets, a record-breaking amount. This has led to an increase of 0.25 points for the French economy in the third quarter. Despite the budget overrunning by 115% at $8.7 billion, this is drastically less than previous summer games. Nevertheless, quantifying the total cost of the games is convoluted. The direct costs can be calculated easily, but the implicit costs of the Olympics are more elusive and raise questions about the true costs of the Paris Olympics.
The long-term financial sustainability of the Olympics remains uncertain, but the integrated remedies aligned with the IOC 2020 Agenda have set Paris up for success. The economic success of Paris 2024 hinges on its ability to manage infrastructure and capitalise on its current economic momentum. Paris could set a new precedent for financial sustainability in the Olympics, making the games more attractive for future hosts.
Figure 3. Predicted economic benefits of the Olympics estimated by the IOC
The New French Revolution of Socio-Environmental Sustainability
Beyond its anticipated financial success, Paris, a city renowned for hosting numerous sustainability summits, is poised to redefine the paradigm for socio-environmental sustainability through pioneering feats in renewable energy, localised sourcing and gender parity. The Games’ ambitious power plan includes supplying 100% of its electricity needs through renewable sources, complemented through the extensive use of LED lighting and retractable terminals at key venues for proximate energy access. This has also extended to its culinary strategy which involves utilising more plant-based options over meat and sourcing 80% of its ingredients through local agriculture, supporting both the environment and domestic economy. Cumulatively, the net-impact of these initiatives, as depicted on the column chart below, are set to curtail carbon emissions by 50% compared to previous Games, juxtaposing starkly with the 3.4 million tons of CO2 generated by London 2012 and the 3.6 million tons generated by Rio 2016.
Paris’s reliance on existing or temporary venues mitigates the excessive environmental and financial costs associated with extensive builds in previous hosts such as London in 2012. While previous host cities were plagued by the challenges of maintaining Olympics infrastructure, Paris aims to remedy this unfavourable legacy by repurposing its venues, like the Olympic Village and Aquatic Centre, for community and commercial use thus avoiding the potential for abandonment. For instance, the Olympic Village, built on the historically underutilised arrondissement of Seine-Saint-Denis, will be transformed into 2800 affordable housing units presenting a viable solution to the complex issue of housing scarcity.
Beyond a focus on the environment, Paris 2024 has also been successful in achieving social sustainability, being the first Olympics to achieve full gender parity, with female athletes comprising 50% of competitors. This milestone, as visualised on the chart below, not only marks a pivotal moment in Olympic history but also advances the broader agenda of equal opportunity in sports. As the games concluded with the much-anticipated women’s marathon, Paris 2024 marks a symbolic milestone, heralding in a new era where athleticism is now defined by members of both sexes. The Games were also coordinated according to a Social Charter which aims to generate 150,000 jobs with a specific emphasis on marginalised groups, SMEs and the long-term unemployed alongside several initiatives to vocationally induct high-school students in the planning and organisation process.
Figure 4. The Paris Olympics, for the first time, have achieved full gender parity
Source: https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/othersport/arid-41444632.html
However, despite this rich tapestry of sustainability initiatives, a few of these have sparked considerable controversy. Notably, initiatives revolving around the Olympic village like cardboard bedding, hydronic cooling systems and plant-based menu options were heavily criticised and perceived by some athletes as compromising to their wellbeing in the name of sustainable value creation. While the intent to reduce carbon emissions through food options and hydronic cooling were aligned with Paris 2024’s sustainability goals, it has underscored the complexities of implementing eco-friendly solutions in high-stakes environments where athlete performance and safety are equally paramount. Despite these challenges, Paris 2024’s broader sustainability efforts still signify a critical evolution in Olympic organisation, setting new benchmarks for future host cities to seek a balance between corporate social responsibility and athletic wellbeing.
Conclusion
The Paris 2024 Olympics marked a transformative shift in how host cities address the financial, environmental and social challenges of organising the Games. Through the prioritisation of these dimensions, Paris 2024 has set new standards for Olympic hosting. Record-breaking ticket sales, driven by the use of iconic venues for staging events, contributed to the event’s financial success. Furthermore, Paris’s strategic use of existing and temporary venues, alongside a strong focus on renewable energy, helped reduce carbon emissions while also cutting expenditure. These strategies have cumulatively illustrated that properly implemented sustainability strategies can lead to profitable outcomes. However, certain eco-friendly solutions such as ineffective hydronic cooling and plant-based food options in the Olympic Village, have underscored the inability of certain sustainability initiatives in translating to practical reality as signified through numerous complaints by athletes. Nevertheless, Paris 2024’s focus on sustainability sets benchmarks for future hosts while demonstrating the possibility of staging global events in a way that balances profitability with socio-economic sustainability.
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