China made RMB 1.16 billion (US $170 million) in operating profit from the 2008 Olympic Games, a Chinese government auditor recently reported (full story from the Financial Times here).
The Beijing Olympic committee reaped its revenues primarily from sponsorships and TV broadcast rights, according to the Financial Times. Its expenditures were on “transport, accommodation, medical services and temporary event infrastructure.” The expenditure numbers do not include construction of the 93 new facilities required for the games. And the Financial Times points out that absent from the report are the amounts spent on improving air quality or improving the capital’s infrastructure with new subways and roads.
Here are some other numbers from that report:
RMB 20.5 billion (USD $2.925 billion): Revenues as of March 15 for Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) RMB 800 million above budget.
RMB 19.34 billion (USD $2.829 billion): BOCOG expenditures
RMB 19.455 billion (USD $2.846 billion): Investment in 93 new sports venues
RMB 3.5 billion: Initial investment in Bird’s Nest stadium
RMB 150 million: Annual maintenance cost for Bird’s Nest
30,000: Maximum number of tickets that current operators of the Bird’s Nest can sell daily for tours of the white elephant
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Bird’s Nest, Olympics, sports venues