The economic impact of the Olympics

Increased tourism is the single biggest economic benefit to be gained from the Olympics, but it often doesn't pay off for the host city.

John Madden from Monash University says the cost of building stadiums, creating infrastructure and drug testing thousands of athletes all have to be footed by the host city – an expense that isn't compensated by boosted tourist numbers.

“The actual Games themselves normal only just cover the cost of operating them, so nothing goes to cover those capital costs, which have to be borne by the tax payer.”

After the Sydney Olympics, a predicted surplus of around $2.5 billion simply wasn't there, says Professor Madden.

“When we looked at Australia after the event, it turned out we couldn't find the evidence of these extra tourists. If you've got a well-established tourism destination like Sydney, and London even more so, it's unlikely you're going to get this legacy of increased tourism.”