Although several indicators provide an overview of the economic results of the event, it will be necessary to wait several years to be able to draw up a complete and relevant one.
This is the question that many asked themselves before the Paris Olympics and which will often come back to the table when discussing the event from now on: was hosting the 2024 Games a good operation for France on an economic level? Two and a half months before the opening ceremony, the Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES) produced an economic impact study which established it at nearly 9 billion euros for the Paris region between 2018 and 2034.
A figure which corresponds to the combined budgets of the Organizing Committee and the Olympic Works Delivery Company (Solideo) although additional costs estimated at at least 3 billion euros occurred for the State. Next year, a cost/benefit study commissioned this time by the State will make it possible to assess the profitability of the Paris Games.
Hoteliers profited more than restaurateurs
But a few days after the closing ceremonies, indicators are already giving a first glimpse of the economic results of the event, starting with tourism figures. During this period, the Paris Tourist Office recorded more than 11 million visitors, 15% of whom were foreigners. An attendance which did business for Parisian and more generally Ile-de-France hoteliers since the occupancy rate was 10 points higher in establishments in the capital and reached 83% for hotels in Seine-Saint-Denis, up by 13 points compared to a normal period.
As for restaurants, it is in particular those near the Olympic sites which have done well due to the profile of tourists present during the Games according to the general director of the Office Corinne Menegaux: “They were not people who wanted to sit down, take the time to have lunch and discover a gastronomic heritage […] We are therefore more in a small restaurant with drinks before or after the events.” Same logic for cultural sites, some of which have seen their attendance drop by 20 to 25% due to this tourism centered on sport. But Corinne Menegaux anticipates a catch-up effect in the coming months based on reservation rates in Parisian hotels:
“The outlook is rather good for the end of the year with rates above seasonal norms, between +7 and +10 points, and the same for the start of 2025.”
Gain market share in tourism competition
In reality, the knock-on effects on tourism between accommodation, catering and transport only represent a small part of the contribution of the Games to French growth in the third quarter of 2024 which amounted to 0.4 %: only 0.05 points on a contribution of 0.3% according to INSEE figures. “There are also a lot of crowding out effects which compensate for the excess spending of ‘Olympic’ tourists,” recalls Vincent Biausque, assistant to the regional director in charge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for INSEE Île-de-France. France.
This contribution to French GDP is therefore largely fueled by ticketing revenue and rebroadcast rights which are only recorded at the time of the event even if the actual sales took place several months in advance. As anticipated several months before the event, Vincent Biausque estimates that there was no “wow” effect from the Games from a macroeconomic point of view: “We are talking about 3 to 4 billion euros of public investments so if we relate this figure to the entire period which can cover from 2017 to 2030, we are on an investment which is relatively low compared to French GDP.
“There is no major impact of the Olympic Games on the economy of a country. But if we look from a very localized point of view, it goes without saying that for certain municipalities, for certain places and for certain sectors of activity, the impact is very significant.”
Furthermore, the expert believes in an impact of the Olympic showcase on tourism in the long term and is based in particular on the example of the London Games, the British capital sharing a certain number of geographical, social and economic characteristics with Paris: ” We will be able to see if we see an inflection in tourism in Île-de-France and in France and compare this inflection with other capitals. We were able to see after the 2012 Olympic Games that London had gained some market share in other countries. other cities in the tourist competition.”
Constructions signposted towards Seine-Saint-Denis
To determine whether hosting the 2024 Games was a “good deal”, many specialists emphasize the long-term socio-economic repercussions which are often grouped under the term “legacy”. “The notion of legacy is often linked to the equipment that we can leave behind and the IOC is committed to ensuring that there are no ‘white elephants’ and that the new equipment meets its audience the day after the Games and that they are used to their full potential”, explains Marie Barsacq, Director of Impact and Heritage within the organizing committee. The Olympic village and the media village as well as the Olympic aquatic center were therefore built to meet the needs in a particular region, Seine-Saint-Denis, which lacks housing or whose sports infrastructure is dilapidated.
“Our desire was to take advantage of the opportunity of the Games to accelerate the development […] The athletes’ village is an eco-neighborhood that might have taken 15 years to emerge when it took 7 years thanks to the Games.”
If it was partly inspired by London 2012 with the desire to develop a certain number of neighborhoods which are economically or socially backward, the legacy strategy of Paris 2024 asks the same questions. “Insee will look closely at the people who will settle in the two villages and if we observe the same effects of gentrification, underlines Vincent Biausque. Will the people who settle there not contribute to accentuating inequalities within Seine-Saint-Denis?”
An effect of sport on the economic health of the country
Inheritance can therefore take multiple forms, from housing to sports and health policies to employment. “Our objective was also to use Games jobs as attractive products for job seekers who could have lasting work, beyond the Games, since they are in sectors in tension which are recruiting,” underlines Marie Barsacq. As such, several job forums were organized in Seine-Saint-Denis, which is on the podium of the departments having won the most calls for tenders.
In another register, Paris 2024 is closely linked to the measure aimed at generalizing 30 minutes of daily physical activity in all schools or to the “1, 2, 3, swim” program which made it possible to learn swimming to 36,000 children who are unable to go on vacation. So many factors which, by improving the health of the population, can have “a long-term second-order effect on the economic health of the country” according to Vincent Biausque: “We know that it plays a role, but these are difficult things to measure , because when there is a pandemic-type crisis, it is complicated to differentiate the effects linked to one event or another which overlap.”
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