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The Tokyo Olympics 2021 was the most expensive Olympics of all time. In 2019, the bid committee had projected the cost of the Tokyo Olympics would be around USD 13 billion; due to the pandemic and the delays, the final cost is expected to exceed USD 20 billion.
 
Tokyo 2021 is no exception, a recent paper titled ‘Regression to the Tail: Why the Olympics Blow Up’ shows how most Olympics in the past have had a cost overrun. For example, 15 Olympic games between 1960 and 2016 had a cost overrun of more than 50%.
 
The Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG) estimates USD 6.7 billion in revenue for the Tokyo Games, far less than the cost.
 
Another troubling factor for the Tokyo Olympics was  the empty stadiums (due to the pandemic), and the revenue loss was at least $800 million in ticket sales.
 
Japan is one of the most indebted countries (Debt to GDP ratio = 237%), and hosting the Olympics puts an additional burden on the taxpayers.
 
A survey in May 2021 by the Asahi Shimbun showed that the majority of the people living in Japan (83%) believed that the Olympics should have been postponed or scrapped altogether.
(Indirect capital costs such as roads, railways, airports, hotel upgrades, etc are not considered)

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