A review by emmkayt
Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup by Andrew Zimbalist

3.0

I thought I needed a little top-up of scepticism before the pandemic Olympics get underway in Tokyo next month. The individual stories and achievements of the athletes are captivating, but hosting either the Olympics or the World Cup is almost invariably not worth it and really problematic for host countries/cities. Zimbalist is an economist, and while somewhat dry, he is clear as he explains the short-term and legacy losses or at least lack of gains (and the difficulty of reproducing the few successes - in Barcelona and Los Angeles). If you’re a resident, a small business owner, someone who cares about public services or the environment - it sounds fair to say that if politicians start angling for your home city or country to make a bid, you should respond with a loud no. 3.5.