Hosting the Olympic Games

"Hosting the Olympic Games is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature that cautions cities about the significant financial, ecological, social and political costs of hosting the Games. After discussing the problems with the current hosting experience, Short provides a thoughtful discussion on how the system can be reformed."

Andrew Zimbalist, Professor of Economics, Smith College, USA.

"Unlikely to be wined and dined by the IOC, Professor Short goes for the jugular on the global juggernaut that is the Summer and Winter Olympics. Written with his characteristic clarity and élan, Hosting The Olympic Games succinctly and devastatingly unpacks the ongoing burdens of debt, redistribution, environmental damage, corruption and other ‘dirty little secrets’. Cumulatively far outweighing the positive legacies, this is a cost-benefit analysis that ends badly but calls forth a radical rethink."

Robert Freestone, Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney, Australia.

"Everything you ever wanted to know about the Olympic Games is in this book. Spanning from their ancient beginnings to their most recent challenges, John Rennie Short draws his readers - no matter lay or expert - into the Olympic world and allows them to navigate the complexity of the Games with ease. Critically reviewing the Games’ history, their myths and their promises, he judges the merits of hosting the Olympic Games."

Eva Kassens-Noor, Associate Professor, Michigan State University, USA.

"The modern Olympics require vast and sustained expenditure by their host cities in order to stage brief celebrations of sport and culture. In this book, John Short dispassionately dissects the financial implications of bidding for and staging the Games against the benefits likely to accrue. Crisply written and with an eye to possible future developments, Hosting the Olympic Games adds considerably to our knowledge of the world’s leading mega-event."

John R. Gold, Oxford Brookes University, UK.