IEA Director General, Mark Littlewood, penned his bi-weekly Times article on whether the economic benefits of hosting the Olympic games outweigh the costs. Mark argued that despite the joyful rhetoric around the games, which do bring people and communities together, hosting the Olympics “is not good for the wealth of the wider economy“.

Mark said: “As millions of us have cheered on our footballers, swimmers, runners and rowers this summer, we shouldn’t delude ourselves that this amounts to a major economic benefit to the economy. Great sporting events may lift our spirits and captivate us all, but in financial terms they are simply consumption decisions. Often they are very expensive consumption decisions. We should not delude ourselves that they are meaningful investments“.

Read the full article here.