The economic benefits of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for Paris and its region will be between 6.7 and 11.1 billion euros, according to a study published this Tuesday, May 14 and commissioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Committee. organization of the Paris 2024 Games.
4 mins
The Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES), which this Tuesday updated the figures from a previous study carried out in 2016, before the designation of the France as host country Olympic Games, revised upwards its forecasts of economic benefits, which ranged from 5.3 to 10.7 billion euros for the capital region. No estimate of the economic impact has been provided for the whole of France, with Île-de-France concentrating “ a very large majority of competition sites as well as most sporting events », argues the CDES.
The figures published this Tuesday are broken down into three large blocks: revenues linked to the organization of the event, those resulting from the construction or renovation of infrastructure and finally those expected from tourism.
As the head of economic studies at CDES Christophe Lepetit reminds us, these estimates measure “ the increased activity compared to a situation where the event ” would not have been organized, rather than the ” profitability » of the Games, which will be evaluated in a separate study.
Available studies on the economic fallout from the Games anticipate a limited impact on the French economy. The Asterès cabinet estimated in February that they would lead to “ an increase in tax and social revenue of 5.3 billion euros “. The governor of the Bank of France François Villeroy de Galhau judged in March that the possible benefit of the Games would be more “ psychological » than economical.
For the organization, the central scenario expects benefits of 3.8 billion
The benefits generated by the expenses of the Games organizing committee range from 3.2 billion for the low scenario, to 4.6 billion euros for the high scenario. The central scenario expects benefits of 3.8 billion.
The economic impact of organizational expenses is concentrated between 2018 and 2024, during the phases of preparation and then the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, details the CDES. The expected benefits during the “legacy phase” of the Games (2025-2034) will reach at best 322 million euros.
To erase the effect of inflation that has occurred since the last study, which may have contributed to inflating the hoped-for benefits, the CDES also calculated the economic impact of the Games in constant euros. With this change in method, the expected benefits are more modest: 2.7 billion in the low scenario, 3.2 in the central scenario and 3.9 in the best case.
Also listenWhy the Olympic Games stimulate social protest
An intermediate scenario estimated at 2.5 billion for the construction or renovation of infrastructure
While numerous sports infrastructures which will host Games events were already built before the award of the event to France, the expected impact of construction and renovation expenses is between 2.1 and 3 billion euros, with an intermediate scenario estimated at 2.5 billion. The benefits will again be concentrated between 2018 and 2024, with barely a few tens of millions of euros expected over the period 2025-2034.
In constant euros, the economic impact of the Games would be in the range of 1.8 to 2.5 billion euros. The authors of the study emphasize that they deliberately limited themselves to calculating the benefits directly linked to the construction or renovation of infrastructure “ truly necessary for the Games » (stadiums, Olympic village, etc.).
Certain infrastructure expenses less directly linked to the event are therefore excluded from the calculation. This is for example the case of the Grand Paris Express, excluded from the calculation of the benefits in 2016 as in 2024, explains Christophe Lepetit.
For tourism, the impact will depend in particular on the number of tickets sold
Tourism is the position for which there is the greatest uncertainty regarding the fallout, since the tourists have not yet arrived in France for the Games. The benefits should reach 1.4 to 3.6 billion euros taking into account inflation, and 1.2 to 3 billion in constant euros.
The impact will depend in particular on the number of tickets sold for the Olympic and Paralympic events. Among the 12.4 to 14 million tickets deemed “ marketable » by the CDES, at least 77% should find a buyer for the Olympic Games and at least 62% for the Paralympic Games, anticipates the CDES.
Unlike the other two positions, the tourism-related benefits during the “legacy phase” of the Games could be considerable, “ due to potential growth in post-Games tourism in Île-de-France »: from 201 million to 1.2 billion euros depending on the scenarios.
Despite this shower of figures, comparing the impact of the Paris Games and those of previous editions is difficult. “ It is difficult to compare different realities, different countries, different economies », underlines Tania Braga, director of heritage at the IOC.
Read alsoOlympic Games 2024: swimming in the Seine, a battle far from won yet