ABSTRACT
The Olympic Games are expensive for host cities and cause substantial deficits for cities and countries (in particular the Olympics in Montreal in 1976 and in Athens in 2004). Today the International Olympic Committee (IOC) controls the finances of the operation of the event, but there is still the problem of how to finance the infrastructure needed for the event. Host cities often invest in new infrastructure that is oversized or not needed in the long term. Since 2004, many Olympic facilities built for the 2004 Olympics in Athens have remained unused.
