ABSTRACT

In this paper we analyse the economic impact of organizing the Summer Olympic Games and the FIFA Football World Cup (World Cup in brief hereafter). These two events are the largest sporting events in the world (measured by attendance and financing needs) and have a strong international following in terms of (pre-)competition and participation. Although the Olympic Summer Games is characterized by a large variety of sports, while the World Cup involves only football, both events attract huge media attention rates and require substantial budgets. One major issue for hosting cities (and so national authorities) is whether significant additional economic growth effects can be derived from efficient organization. In the literature so far no systematic evidence of multiple events across different countries has been presented, but in this paper a first attempt is made.