Rio Olympics 2016 to cost $4.55 bn; 51% more than budgeted

The 2016 Rio Olympics will cost USD 4.55 billion, says an Oxford University study. It may be 155 percent of the amount spent for Athens 2004 (USD 2.9 billion), it still pales in comparison to the USD 14.95 billion spent for the London Olympics held in 2012. The study also points out that the total cost of USD 4.55 billion is 51 percent more than what was allotted for in the budget for the Rio summer games. The cost overrun in London was 76 percent. Even though Brazil's expenditure for the event is roughly similar to Olympic games held in the last decade, overruns of such magnitude can be detrimental to an economy which is already riddled in an economic depression, the zaka virus, poverty and corruption.