PARIS: The budget for the Paris Olympics organising committee is set to total €4.5 billion (RM21 billion), boosted by the success of ticket sales, organisers said on Wednesday.
At the end of December 2024, the calculated total will hit €4.481 billion, compared with €4.397 billion at the end of 2023. At the outset, it was €3.8 billion, higher than the €3.2 billion entered in the bid documents when the French capital won the right to host the Games in 2017.
After making the final calculations, the local organising committee's revenue exceeded expenditure by €26.8 million.
"It's extremely satisfying to be able to present these figures, as they are positive," said Paris 2024 chief organiser Tony Estanguet, during a press briefing ahead of a board meeting today.
Estanguet plans to "complete his mission" as president if the accounts are approved.
The local organising committee's budget is financed by ticket sales, sponsors and funds from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Sponsors accounted for €1.238 billion and the IOC contributed €1.228 billion. Ticket sales were higher than expected at €1.333 billion due to the "success of the event." Over 12 million tickets were sold.
The highest increase in the budget came in December 2022, when it rose by €400 million, more than 10 per cent, mainly due to inflation.
Billions of euros of public money have also gone into the Solideo infrastructure group that built the Olympic village north of the French capital and other facilities.
With infrastructure, the bill is close to €9.0 billion, two billion more than the 2019 estimate.
The French government has not yet revealed the entire bill for the latest public costs, including bonuses granted to police officers.
Last month France's general budget rapporteur, Charles de Courson, estimated that €1.9 billion had not been budgeted for. - AFP