Becoming an Olympic Games Host

Hosting the Olympic Games enables a region and country to develop: the knowledge and skills of their workforce and volunteers; career opportunities; the tourism and events industry; the business sector; their global profile; and diplomatic relations.

The scale of the economic impact is dependent on local market conditions and the context of each event. In all cases, from Paris 2024 to LA28 and Brisbane 2032, the eventual economic benefits for the city, region and country are predicted to far outweigh the Games-related investments.

The IOC makes a significant contribution in cash, in services and in value-in-kind to the success of each edition of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games. This stimulates the regional and national economy, and generates government revenues which help to compensate any public investments. The IOC contribution also supports the organisation of the Paralympic Games. It is common practice for the Paralympic Games to receive a public contribution.

The IOC assists Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) in many other ways, including by providing daily support and expertise. The IOC is in charge of broadcasting the Games, and ensures the delivery of host broadcasting operations.

The IOC distributes the vast majority of its revenue to support the staging of the Olympic Games and to promote the worldwide development of sport and the Olympic Movement.

Find out more about the funding of the Olympic Games.

It is important to differentiate between the cost of organising the Games, which is almost entirely privately funded, and long-term capital investments, which represent a city, region or country planning for its future.

A respected study showed that, for 10 Olympic Games editions from 2000 to 2018, the organising committees’ operational budgets were almost entirely privately funded, and broke even or generated profit.

To ensure the greatest possible legacy, it is very important for the IOC that hosting the Olympic Games aligns with the host’s existing long-term social and economic development plans, as well as the goals of the Olympic Movement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Governments and other stakeholders can achieve maximum impact by combining different funding sources and ambitions with the timeline for the Games.

The social benefits of hosting the Olympic Games are wide-ranging, and contextual to each host’s vision. They include opportunities to promote: elite and grassroots sport; health; education; culture; gender equality; inclusion and diversity; and human rights.

Some examples of social benefits from past and future Olympic Games are:

• Paris 2024’s ‘Bouger Plus’ [Move More] strategy supported public bodies and employers to encourage active schools, active cities and active workplaces. Paris 2024 successfully advocated a daily 30-minute physical activity period in French primary schools.
• Before Tokyo 2020, alternatives to stairs were installed at 97 per cent of railway stations in Tokyo, while the number of wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms grew from 460 to 3,200.
• One aim of Tokyo 2020 was to influence government and societal reform by opening debate on gender and setting examples on and off the field of play. UN Women included the Games as one of the 16 defining moments for gender equality in 2021. In 2022, Japan moved up five places in the Global Gender Gap Index.
• LA28 has committed to investing USD 160 million for youth sports, including supporting PlayLA by LA Parks, which offered low cost or free activities at 148 parks in 2022.
• ‘You for 2032’, Australia’s largest athlete identification programme, will find and develop promising talent for Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Thanks to Beijing 2022, almost 3,000 schools across China have had winter sports, or dry land winter sports such as roller skiing, added to their curriculum.
• Vancouver 2010 improved community relations and accelerated reconciliation with First Nations Peoples. The non-profit organisation for Games legacies continues to work across Canada.

Sources: The Organising Committees of Paris 2024; Tokyo 2020; LA28; Brisbane 2032; and Beijing 2022; the World Economic Forum; UN Women; the Canadian Government and Four Host First Nations Society.

From the start, sustainability must be part of the DNA of any Olympic hosting project. 

Hosts must embed sustainability throughout the Games lifecycle; minimise negative impacts on the environment and use their visibility to showcase sustainable solutions.

Future Games will commit to tackling climate change. From 2030, Organising Committees will be obliged to reduce direct and indirect emissions, compensate more than their residual emissions, and use their influence to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Paris 2024 halved its carbon footprint compared to previous Olympic Summer Games, in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, with innovative solutions for energy, food, temporary venues, transport and digital services.

Hosts are required to protect biodiversity and manage resources sustainably.

The Games provide an opportunity to raise awareness of climate action and low-carbon technologies. Olympic hosting enables the acceleration of local, regional and national sustainability strategies.

Through its Sustainability Strategy, the IOC is committed to contributing to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The IOC has committed to leading by example in sustainability in a number of areas, such as reducing its own carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, compensating more than 100 per cent of its residual emissions, and using its influence to encourage stakeholders and fans to take action against climate change. Olympic House, the headquarters of the IOC, is one of the most sustainable buildings in the world.

Examples of environmental benefits from past and future Olympic Games

• Paris 2024 rented, reduced, reused and recycled wherever possible. Recycled and recyclable materials, such as certified wood, were used for the Aquatics Centre and Olympic Village, built to serve long-term residential needs. Following the Games, 98 per cent of Games assets got a second life.
• Tokyo 2020 was a springboard for the introduction of hydrogen stations and fuel cell buses, as part of the Japanese government's long term vision to achieve carbon neutrality in Japan.
• Brisbane 2032 will advance Queensland’s transition to a low carbon economy, by building partnerships between government, industry and communities to educate, build capacity and achieve renewable energy and emissions reduction targets.

Sources: the Organising Committees of Paris 2024; Tokyo 2020; and Brisbane 2032

Sustainable venue masterplan

No new infrastructure or venues are required to host the Olympic Games. Hosts are encouraged to prioritise existing venues, then consider temporary venues. New venues should be built only if there is a solid legacy and business case, in line with the long-term needs of the population, integrating sustainability principles into all aspects of design, planning and construction.

Any transport or general infrastructure improvements must be part of long-term socio-economic development plans to improve the region for its population. These developments represent a city or region investing in its own future.

There is no minimum spectator capacity requirement for venues, to ensure efficient legacy use.

See some more examples of climate legacies and sustainable transport solutions from recent and future Olympic Games, or find out more about the IOC’s sustainability goals.