This is one of the main challenges of the Paris Olympics: not to skyrocket the accounts. The organizers presented, Monday, December 11, their budget at the end of December which remains at 4.4 billion euros, drawing 154 million euros from their cushion reserved for hazards.
The budget is exactly 4.397 billion, an increase of 17 million euros, compared to 4.380 last year. “It’s a fragile balance and we will have to be vigilant until the end,” Cojo told the press on Monday, who presented it during a board meeting.
121 million euros remain
The reserve for contingencies amounting to 275 million euros was reduced by 154 million euros. There are 121 million euros left. This amount was used in particular to pay for expenses linked to temporary infrastructure, additional stands, costs linked to energy, or even costs linked to the artistic part of the opening ceremony on the Seine (for 20 million euros), specified the Cojo.
“The next three to four months are the last risk area, we will see if the 121 million euros give us flexibility and margin, or if they are quickly consumed,” said Cojo.
Revenues from “hospitality” (luxury packages with hotels and lodges) and “licenses” were revised down by 20 million euros, he also specified, explaining that they had been recorded at “levels ambitious” in previous budgets.
The budget had increased by 400 million
At the end of 2022, due in particular to inflation, the budget had increased by 400 million (+10%). The State and communities had added 111 million euros from their own pockets. The Cojo’s budget is almost entirely private, made up of ticket revenue, that of sponsors and a contribution from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Of sponsorship revenue, 1.2 billion euros was raised, “97%” of the objective set at the end of 2022 of 1.24 billion EUR. In July, it signed a partnership with LVMH as its top sponsor, a long-awaited deal.
Transport a crucial issue
While the subject of transport in Ile-de-France has been the subject of a heated exchange of arms for more than two weeks between Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, Ile-de-France Mobility (IDFM), the Minister of Transport and the of Sports, the president of IDFM Valérie Pécresse reaffirmed Monday during the board of directors that transport “will be ready”, her entourage reported to AFP. On the special pricing put in place for the Olympics, she reiterated that it was the “fair price” and that she “refused that the residents of Ile-de-France pay the cost of the Olympics”.
Added with the budget of Solideo (Olympic works), the budget of the Olympic Games is currently 8.8 billion euros in total. Certain costs assumed by the State are not yet known.