Boston announced this week it will pull its bid for the 2024 Olympics, due in part to the huge costs associated with the games that could become a taxpayer burden. Here is a breakdown of what the Olympics cost their host cities:
- $300 million: Regulation track-and-field stadium the entire community will be able to enjoy for decades to come
- $5,000: Licensing rights for blue, yellow, black, and red Olympic rings
- $870,000: Licensing rights for green Olympic ring
- $9,000: Hedge that looks like a guy running
- $65,000: Gymnast feed and trough
- $50,000: Quietly burying another Bob Costas sex scandal
- $18 million: Thrown straight into Olympic flame as tinder
- $50,000: Incinerating bodies of athletes who perished during event
- $600,000: Water wasted by Olympic divers showering off between heats
- $28: Dry cleaning for Olympic mascot suit
- $175,000: Study delineating exact ways hosting Olympics will devastate local economy for decades to come