Reading Comprehension

Economy

Medium

Do sports mega events like the summer Olympic Games benefit the host city economically? It depends, but the prospects are less than rosy. The trick is converting several billion dollars in operating costs during the 17-day fiesta of the Games into a basis for long-term economic returns. These days, the summer Olympic Games themselves generate total revenue of $4 billion to$ 5 billion, but the lion's share of this goes to the International Olympics Committee, the National Olympics Committees and the International Sports Federations. Any economic benefit would have to flow from the value of the Games as an advertisement for the city, the new transportation and communications infrastructure that was created for the Games, or the ongoing use of the new facilities.

Evidence suggests that the advertising effect is far from certain. The infrastructure benefit depends on the initial condition of the city and the effectiveness of the planning. The facilities benefit is dubious at best for buildings such as velodromes or natatoriums and problematic for 100,000 seat Olympic stadiums. The latter require a conversion plan for future use, the former are usually doomed to near vacancy. Hosting the summer Games generally requires $30$ plus sports venues and dozens oftraining centers. Today, the Bird's Nest in Beijing sits virtually empty, while the Olympic Stadium in Sydney costs some $30 million a year to operate.

Part of the problem is that Olympics planning takes place in a frenzied and time pressured atmosphere of intense competition with the other prospective host cities not optimal conditions for contemplating the future shape of an urban landscape. Another part of the problem is that urban land is generally scarce and growing scarcer. The new facilities often stand for decades or longer. Even if they have future use, are they the best use of precious urban real estate?

Further, cities must consider the human cost. Residential areas often are razed and citizens relocated (without adequate preparation or compensation). Life is made more hectic and congested. There are, after all, other productive uses that can be made of vanishing fiscal resources.

The central point in the first paragraph is that the economic benefits of the Olympic Games

are shared equally among the three organising committees

accrue mostly through revenue from advertisements and ticket sales

accrue to host cities, if at all, only in the long term

are usually eroded by expenditure incurred by the host city

✅ Correct Option: 3

From passage: "The trick is converting several billion dollars in operating costs during the 17-day fiesta of the Games into a basis for long-term economic returns."

Key insight -> The passage shows that immediate revenue ($4-5 billion) goes to organizing committees, not to host cities. Host cities must find benefits elsewhere -> through long-term sources like advertising value, infrastructure, and facility use.

Students often get confused between options that mention sources of benefits vs timing of benefits. The question asks about the central point, so focus on the main message about host cities specifically.

🟠 Option 1 -> scope-error -> talks about how revenue is divided among committees, but question asks about benefits to host cities. Passage says "lion's share" goes to committees, doesn't mention equal sharing.

🟠 Option 2 -> partial-truth -> mentions advertisements correctly as potential benefit source, but adds "ticket sales" (not mentioned in paragraph 1). Also misses that these are potential long-term benefits, not current main sources.

🟢 Option 3 -> captures both key points accurately -> "if at all" matches the uncertain prospects mentioned, and "only in the long term" directly matches the passage's emphasis on converting costs "into a basis for long-term economic returns"

🟠 Option 4 -> context-shift -> focuses on expenditure eroding benefits, but paragraph 1 doesn't emphasize this negative aspect as the central point. It's more about the challenge of converting costs into long-term returns.

Question 23

Sports facilities built for the Olympics are not fully utilised after the Games are over because

Question 24

The author feels that the Games place a burden on the host city for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that

The central point in the first paragraph is that the economic benefits of the Olympic Games

Solution

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