Russia’s $50 Billion Olympic Bill

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The cost of the Winter Olympics in Russia next year will exceed $50 billion, a government official said Monday in Moscow, making the Games one of the most expensive in history.

The government and private investors will share the cost, the bulk of which is being spent upgrading infrastructure in the host city of Sochi on Russia’s Black Sea, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak was quoted as saying Monday by Russian news agencies.

Mr. Kozak said the government is spending $24 billion building Olympic facilities and improving the city’s infrastructure as it tries to demonstrate it can organize its first major global event since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia has had to build virtually all of the infrastructure for the Games from scratch.

The rest of the funding will come from private investors, Mr. Kozak added. Much of their financing has been provided by state banks.

Organizers of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing spent an estimated $40 billion getting the city ready for the event.

WSJ


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