The bar chart compares the figures for anticipated and actual expenses in 10 different Summer Olympiads between 1976 and 2012.
Overall, all the games shared the same trend – actual costs were always higher than expected ones. In addition, all the events from 1992 onwards had considerable difference between estimated and real expenses.
Regarding the initial 4 Olympic Games, the one in 1976 took place in Montreal and had twice as much spending as expected – about 5 and 10 billion USD, respectively. The Games held in Moscow in 1980 also spent almost twice more money than firstly anticipated. Moreover, the remaining two games in this category followed a quite similar path.
The other 6 Games that took place from 1988 to 2012 had much bigger expenses than it was calculated. Specifically, the cost of Barcelona Olympics of 1992 was supposed to make up exactly 50 billion USD, but the actual expenditure was 50% more – 75 billion USD. In comparison, the last two events held in Beijing and London had the most noticeable disparities in numbers. The 2008 Olympics organized in the capital of China were expected to charge around 80 billion USD, but the real cost accounted for staggering 220 billion USD – almost thrice as the estimated amount. Meanwhile, the 2012 London Games were thought to have roughly 50 billion USD of spending, but in reality, the organization cost 200 billion USD.