Japan Data

Recent Olympics: A Comparison in Figures

Economy

Hosting the Olympics is a massive project for any country, with national pride and prestige at stake. These bare figures bring into focus some of the differences and similarities between recent Olympics.

Many events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in facilities that already exist within the metropolitan area. This will help to keep construction costs much lower than for the two previous Olympics, in London and Rio de Janeiro. At the same time, the games are expected to drive additional demand worth ¥3 trillion (approximately $30 billion) and lead to the creation of some 150,000 new jobs. This anticipated boost to the local economy is likely to be one of the distinctive characteristics of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Year 2020 2016 2012 2008
Host city Tokyo Rio de Janeiro London Beijing
Number of participating countries 204 204
Construction costs
(Billions of yen)
450 1,300 1,200 200
Total balance of budget spending
(billions of yen)
4.6 14
Economic impact
(billions of yen)
3,000(*1) 1,500(*2) 1,500(*3)
No. of events 28 sports 28 sports 302 events in 26 sports 302 events in 26 sports
No. of athletes 11,000 11,000

(*1) ^ Positive impact on industrial production, 2013–20

(*2) ^ Figures for 2009–16

(*3) ^ Figures for first year after Olympics

Tokyo sports Olympics 2020 Beijing London games