The clock is already ticking down to what should prove the most spectacular event of the summer. In less than two week’s time, the Paris Olympics will open. According to the plan, as well as a sporting festival, it should hugely boost tourism, revive the city, draw investment and kick-start a French economy that is badly in need of a boost.
There is just one catch. It isn’t happening.
In reality, the economic case for staging the Olympics has always been shaky. Even so, Paris is turning into a catastrophic financial flop, with tourists avoiding the city and travel slumping. It is about to kill the Olympic juggernaut stone dead – and make the case for a far simpler, permanent home.
The Olympics has always been sold as an expensive, and yet ultimately worthwhile investment. True, it might cost a few billion to build all the stadia and facilities and lay on the extra security required to stage all the events. But that would pay for itself many times over, with the games bringing lots of extra tourists into the host city, raising its profile and triggering a wave of renewal and investment. In the case of Paris, the argument was always uncertain.
After all, the French capital was not exactly short of tourists to start with; with 44 million visitors a year, it was already the most visited city in the world. And it was always hard to understand why Paris needed to raise its profile; it is probably safe to say that most people have heard of it already.
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