Circus Maximus: The Economic Risks & Rewards of Hosting the Olympics & World Cup | Sports Event Analysis & Financial Impact

This is an extremely well written book that relentlessly and completely gives the lie to the oft-spoken idea that large sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup are economic gold mines for host cities or countries. Simply put, they aren't. But it's worse than that. Andrew Zimbalist uses facts, pertinent economic explanations, humor and irony to explain how host cities are nearly all left with economic disasters after the Olympics and World Cup leave town, taking most of the financial gain with them. The book showcases the sometimes insane euphoria, and big cash, that goes into bidding for world class sporting events with promises of increased tourism during the games that extends after the games, increased cache and economic preimenance that go along with hosting such events.Zimbalist does a fantastic job of explaining that the Olympic Games don't even bring more tourists to a city while they are happening, let alone for years afterward. London actually had fewer tourists in the Summer of 2012. As for the supposed cache attached to host cities, this book explains it can all go bad if there is a terrorist attack, protests, or, as in Brazil, deaths associated with the construction of venues.And the book showcases how the 'legacy' of hosting these events can often turn into a public relations nightmare when, like Athens and Beijing there are rotting stadiums that scar the landscape, or, like Sochi, you leave an impression of an infrastructure mess.And for those cities who eagerly jump at the chance for a bid, they often cite the 1984 Olympic Games in LA (which turned a modest profit) and the 1992 Barcelona Games, (which excellerated that city's rise as a city of consequence), Zimbalist clearly why those two cities are singular events, not easily reproduced.I love the Olympics. This book tells another side of the story beyond the athletic drama of the games. After reading this book, I hope my city never even bids for an Olympics.