Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Are Frugal

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

08 Aug 2008 07:40 AM

Hosting the Summer Olympics is an enormous feat that takes billions of dollars to orchestrate. Think about all of the things that must be built, from new venues, to housing, to television and media towers, to the medals themselves. But Beijing Olympics officials vowed from the very beginning to keep everything as frugal as possible for this Summer Olympics. The Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) wanted to make sure that there was a balance of income and expenditure, with maybe even a little profit. How can they do this?

One of the big expenses for a country hosting the Summer Olympics, or any Olympics, really, is the cost of all of that building to accommodate the events, the athletes and the media. The BOCOG has negated this cost in some interesting ways. Many of the new facilities were self-financed by various enterprises that will own them once the Summer Olympics are over. Some facilities were sold even before they were constructed. The Olympic Village, for example, has already been sold out for commercial housing. As soon as the Summer Olympics residents move out, the new buyers move in.

Whenever possible, current sports venues are being used for the games. The BOCOG choose to transform or expand what was already available, rather than build new facilities. Any new sports venues were built at universities to ensure that they would continue to be used fully after the Summer Olympics games.

The BOCOG was committed to hosting the Summer Olympics frugally, and they made this their mission. There were strict procedures involved for approving expenditures. There is a large-sum expenditure team in place whose job it is to evaluate, assess and approve anything that costs more than 1 million yuan. The team is made up of staff from all five of the BOCOG's various departments. The final cost to host the Beijing Summer Olympics is 2 billion U.S. dollars.

Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.

Recession Giving Birth to More Frugals

Host a Summer Olympics Party at Home

Toilet Paper Wedding Dress

Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger

ljb (3984) 08 Aug 2008 07:44 AM

Will be curious to see how much revenue they take in and if it exceeds the $2 billion outlay.

dms1987 (21) 08 Aug 2008 10:02 AM

This article was interesting to read! Thank you.

StBridgit (322) 08 Aug 2008 10:21 AM

That is very interesting! I hope their experience proves that hosting the Games can be done profitably and wisely.

Mary Ann Romans (26886) 08 Aug 2008 04:03 PM

Does anyone know the budget for the Olympics hosted by the USA?