Paris’ lean Olympics won’t blow any budgets

Significant recoup: The Olympic rings in front of the Paris City Hall. Ticket sales and TV and marketing deals should bring in around US$4.6bil which could cover up to 96% of total operating costs, according to the International Olympic Committee. — AP

LONDON: Paris’ “lean” Olympic Games are unlikely to do any lasting damage to France’s finances, thanks to 95% of its venues either already being built or needing only minor refurbishment, credit rating agency S&P Global estimates.

The near €9bil (US$10bil) budget to host the July and August Games is comfortably below those of Tokyo, Rio and London and only a fraction of the record US$52.7bil Beijing is estimated to have spent in 2008.