The sporting mega-event often held up as a cautionary tale for prospective hosts is the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In 1970, the moustachioed Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau confidently declared: “The Olympics can no more run a deficit than a man can have a baby.” Several years and $1bn (£580m) of debt later, a cartoon in the Montreal Gazette depicted a pregnant Drapeau telephoning an abortion clinic.
Montreal finally paid off its Olympic debt in 2006. The corrupt and chaotically organised Games were a financial disaster and marked the start of an era of excess and overpromise, when Olympic bids became more and more extravagant: bigger and better, bigger and better. Increasingly, hosting international sporting events like the Olympics, the Fifa World Cup and the Commonwealths has become a gamble – cities must weigh up the vast and often uncontrollable costs against the benefits of a two-week economic boom, some investment in sporting facilities and infrastructure, and intangibles such as a boost to local pride.
