Paris 2024 organizers say budget likely to increase

The operating budget for the 2024 Paris Olympics is expected to go up by 10%, in part because of high inflation, organizers said Tuesday. The organizing committee, known as COJO, had an original operating budget of around 4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) but will present a revised figure at a board meeting next month that is expected to reach 4.4 billion euros ($4.5 billion).

Organizers said half the extra money is needed to cover the impact of inflation, while some will go toward additional expenses for the opening ceremony on the Seine river and costs such as human resources and cybersecurity.

The overall budget for the Paris Olympics, including the cost of building and renovating venues, is about 8 billion euros ($8.2 billion) and has already gone up from its original estimate. On the other hand, organizers expect to generate more income from tickets sales than initially expected and said they have already secured 80% of the 1.1 billion euros in revenues from partnership deals they have targeted.

"We have exceeded our partnership goals," said Tony Estanguet, the Paris 2024 organizing committee president. "We had set ourselves the goal of reaching 80% by the end of the year. We have already reached this goal ahead of schedule. And we should even exceed 90% in the coming weeks."