“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.” — Jesse Owens


The Paris Olympics concluded a week ago, with India securing six medals — one silver and five bronze — in the quadrennial event. The medalists received a warm welcome, and the country showered love on them, especially with the Indian cricket team going through a lean phase. Amid this, whispers grow louder about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious vision to bring the Olympics to India in 2036. In the words of Jesse Owens, who won Olympic gold four times — twice the number of individual gold medals India has — it takes an “awful lot” to be a winner at the Games. A nation with 1.4 billion people cannot remain satisfied with just a handful of medals while the dream is to host the Olympics, which is a fireball.


Costs And Overrun


Paris Olympics remains one of the "cost-friendly" events, with the initial numbers quoted out by external experts at just over $8 billion. A paper titled 'The Oxford Olympics Study 2024: Are Cost and Cost Overrun at the Games Coming Down?', published in May 2024 in the Social Science Research Network, estimated the cost of the Paris Olympics 2024 at $8.7 billion with a cost overrun of 115%. 


Against this projection, an article titled 'The Games Finance Themselves' published in November 2023 on the official Olympics website gave the bifurcation of costs for the Paris Games. It mentioned the total budget for the Paris 2024 Organising Committee at approximately $4.9 billion (€4.38bn) against the current $8 billion estimates. The breakdown of the Paris Olympics budget was predicted as following:


- IOC allocation: $1.37 billion (€1.2bn), comprising TV rights ($850m / €750m) and TOP partnerships ($530m / €470m)
- Ticketing, Hospitality, and Licensing: $1.57 billion (€1.4bn), including ticket sales ($1.23bn / €1.1bn), hospitality ($190m / €170m), and licensing ($140m / €127m)
- Partnerships: $1.38 billion (€1.226bn)
- Other revenue: $217 million (€0.193bn)


The last three Summer Games cost a combined $51 billion, exceeding their budgets by 185%. Infrastructure costs, including roads, railways, airports, and hotels, often surpass the expenses of the Games themselves and are sometimes not included in the overall Olympics cost estimates. Los Angeles 2028 has already revised its forecast from $5.3 billion to $6.8 billion. At this stage, it appears that it may cost less than the Paris Olympics, but cost overruns remain unavoidable.


'India 2036': Where Will The Money Come From?


Even if India wins the bid for the 2036 Olympics, the biggest question remains where will the initial funding come from? While there is no prescribed rule by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), there are three ways the Games can be funded: a) Public b) Private & c) Public–Private Partnerships


a) Public


The last mega event hosted by India was the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, which cost around Rs 1,813.42 crore, with the amount coming from the government exchequer — or simply put, the public. Now, the CWG left a bitter taste in the mouth of people in India in terms of how it was handled, and the finances and costs involved. Going by the estimates of the Paris Olympics, the cost to host will be roughly over Rs 6,500 crore. The question is will India take another such financial plunge where the cost overruns are pretty much declared and are over 100%? For the record, the public exchequer is currently bearing a cost of Rs. 11.80 lakh crore over the next five years to provide free food grains to approximately 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).


b) Private


The 2024 Paris Olympics was 96% funded by the private sector. The bifurcation was mentioned above but there are more hidden costs than estimated. For example, the entire new infrastructure is to be built in and around the host city, which includes housing, modes of transport, stadia and sports facilities that will only be used for 10 to 15 days. The private sector can chip in with various infrastructure projects but it has to be self-motivated. The return against that infrastructure may just be fractional.


Economist Andrew Zimbalist in his book 'Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup', says the financial gains from Games “comes in the form of qualitative gains and the rest comes from very long periods of time”.


c) PPP 


India has experience in balancing out this model and over the years there have been various successful projects done under the Public-Private Partnerships including the likes of DMRC, DND Link road, Mumbai Metro, Nivedita Setu and many more. Since hosting the Olympics is about creating a legacy, the infra and project boost for a city can be beneficial under this mode. However, the terms and agreements involving multi-faceted projects with multi-parties might end up creating more errors than benefits.   


3. Which City Will Host — Ahmedabad Vs Delhi?


The biggest question that comes around the hosting of the event is how the bid for the Olympics will be carried out, and which city will be the host. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hinted at Ahmedabad in Gujarat as the prospective host, while Delhi has experience of hosting two global events — the 1982 Asian Games and the 2010 CWG, with almost an Olympics-like infrastructure already in place.


According to media reports, preparations are on for Ahmedabad's bid to host the 2036 Olympics. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, a 236-acre facility alongside the Narendra Modi Stadium, is being developed at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore, featuring facilities for 20 Olympic sports disciplines. Additionally, the Naranpura Sports Complex, spanning 20.39 acres with an investment of Rs 631.77 crore, will host various sporting events if Ahmedabad wins the bid. The state government is also planning an Olympic Village at Manipur-Godhavi on the city's western outskirts. 


Meanwhile, Delhi’s physical infrastructure, from the metro and roads to the airport, hotels, and stadiums, is already better compared to that of Ahmedabad. Hosting the Olympics in Delhi could significantly reduce operational costs.


4. Shun Olympics Hosting Aspirations


Rather than focusing on hosting the Olympics, India should prioritise its Olympians. There is no greater reward than seeing athletes stand atop the podium with the tricolour hoisted high. India needs a revitalised sports ecosystem where athletes are nurtured from the grassroots level and celebrated as champions throughout their development and not just after they bag a medal at the Olympics.


India should focus on boosting its Olympic medal tally by expanding its reach beyond traditional strongholds. Historically, the country has excelled in only six sports: hockey, shooting, wrestling, badminton, boxing, and weightlifting. However, with over 30 sports featured in the Olympics, India is missing out on numerous medal opportunities.


To break into the top 10 in the medal tally, India must aim for a minimum of eight to ten gold medals and 25 to 35 medals overall. Achieving this will require identifying and investing in sports like swimming, aquatics, fencing and gymnastics which offer a wealth of medal opportunities.


It's time for India to set aside aspirations of hosting the Olympics and instead focus on winning medals, allowing other global cities to bear the cost of hosting the quadrennial extravaganza.


[Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal.]