The 2014 Olympic winter games in Sochi, Russia are projected to be the most expensive in history. With construction and infrastructure costs rising to more than $50 billion, a staggering $38 billion over budget, Russia has more than three times eclipsed the record for most expensive games. Greece, which hosted the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens, spent $15 billion. While the immediate economic benefits and increased global profile of hosting the games are attractive, the long-term costs are unlikely to be recovered by most cities. Few host nations have been successful in creating development that will benefit the country after the fanfare has left town. Many cities are left with infrastructure that suddenly has no real use.
Which Olympic host cities have succeeded and which have not? Our Real Estate Matters blog looks at the good, bad, and ugly of hosting the Olympics.
