Costs mount as Olympic 'Curse' strikes Beijing

BEIJING • The "curse" of Olympic overspending looks set to strike again at the Beijing Games, with stringent Covid-19 measures and loss of ticket sale revenues pushing up costs.

It is not unusual for hosts to find the bill ballooning, but the pandemic and China's "zero-Covid-19" approach have made preparations for the Feb 4-20 Winter Games particularly difficult.

With increasingly strict rules imposed to combat domestic outbreaks, organisers announced last week that they will not sell tickets to the public because of the "complicated" situation.

Instead, invitations will be given to select people.

The organising committee had originally calculated ticketing revenue to be worth US$118 million (S$158.7 million).

That total was already in question after it was confirmed last year that there would be no international spectators at the Games because of China's weeks-long quarantine requirement and closed borders.

Budget was a key part of China being awarded the Games, with Beijing winning the bid over only one other contender as other cities backed out over high costs.

Games communications manager Zhao Weidong recently admitted that the pandemic might mean a need to "increase some expenses".

In 2015, Beijing said it was counting on a budget of just over US$3 billion, which included the costs of organising and building sports facilities.

But excluded was a huge amount of new infrastructure needed, including the construction of a high-speed rail line between Beijing and the ski slopes.

The cost of hosting the Olympics usually doubles between the award date and the opening ceremony, experts say.

Wladimir Andreff, a specialist in sports economics from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, called it the "curse" of successful Olympics bids.

To get the Games, all candidates "systematically underestimate the costs and overestimate the profits" expected, he added.

The pandemic has brought additional problems and costs. Last year's delayed Tokyo Olympics ended up at around twice the budget proposed in the city's original 2013 bid.

Andreff feels the absence of international spectators should not be underestimated, on top of the ban on ticket sales to the public.

"Hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists who were expected will not come," he said.

"There will be a certain shortfall due to the pandemic."

Beijing is hoping for a financial boost domestically that will last long beyond the Games.

The Chinese government has committed to introducing 300 million people to winter sports - a goal achieved, according to official figures - which they hope will generate a profitable future industry.

However, this also means new infrastructure. The Yanqing resort, for example, was built especially for the Olympics - constructing the first track in China for bobsleigh, skeleton and luge from scratch.

Dr Matthieu Llorca, lecturer at the University of Burgundy, said additional costs will probably be linked to pandemic control and not integrated into the final Olympics budget.

He said this reallocation will allow the authorities to claim the Games were both "successful and at a lower cost".

Ultimately, he said, China - the world's second-largest economy - probably will not worry too much about the expenses.

"They don't look at how much it will cost. They will look at the image of the country," he added.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE