Olympic Games

At least 24 federal organizations provided or planned to provide about $2.1 billion in 1999 dollars for Olympic projects and activities for the Los Angeles and Atlanta Summer Olympic Games and the upcoming Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. About $530 million was reported to have been provided or planned for projects and activities solely related to the planning and staging of the Olympics, including safety and security as well as transportation services. The remaining $1.6 billion was spent or planned for projects, such as highway construction, transit system development, and other capital projects, that the host cities of Atlanta and Salt Lake City wanted to have completed in time for the Olympic Games. Federal and state officials said that they identified these projects as Olympic-related because their completion was generally accelerated to improve transportation services and avoid construction during the Olympic Games. These officials said that most of the federal funding for these projects would have been eventually provided to the host city regardless of the Olympic Games. Concerning the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, federal funding and support totaled about $75 million and involved 11 federal organizations. Unlike the federal support for later Olympics, the federal organizations reported little funding and support for capital projects to prepare Los Angeles for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. Most of the federal funding and support that agencies reported providing to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta and planned for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games is reported to be for infrastructure projects to prepare the host city for the Olympics?projects that will also benefit the host city and state after the Games have ended.

GAO noted that: (1) at least 24 federal organizations reported providing or planning to provide a combined total of about $2.1 billion in 1999 dollars for Olympic-related projects and activities for the Los Angeles and Atlanta Summer Olympic Games and the planned Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games; (2) of the estimated $2.1 billion, approximately $530 million was reported to have been provided or planned for projects and activities solely related to the planning and staging of the Olympic Games; (3) these projects included or plan to include such activities as safety- and security-related services and transportation services; (4) the remaining estimated $1.6 billion was spent or is planned for projects that the host cities of Atlanta and Salt Lake City wanted to have completed in time for the Olympic Games; (5) concerning the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, federal funding and support totalled about $75 million and involved 11 federal organizations; (6) the majority of the federal funding and support, about $68 million, was for safety- and security-related services provided during the planning and staging of the Olympic Games; (7) the federal organizations reported little funding and support for capital projects related to preparing Los Angeles for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games; (8) the majority of the federal funding and support agencies reported providing to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games held in Atlanta and planned for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games is reported to be for infrastructure projects to prepare the host city for the Olympic Games--projects that will also benefit the host city and state after the Games are held; (9) however, although the completion of these projects was generally accelerated because of the Olympic Games, most of the funding for these activities probably would have eventually been provided to the host city regardless of the Games, according to federal and state officials; (10) about $1.4 billion in federal funding and support is planned or has been provided for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and involves 18 federal organizations; (11) of this amount, about $272 million is planned or has been provided for activities during the planning and staging of the Olympic Games, including about $200 million for safety- and security-related services which would not have been used for this purpose if the Games were not being hosted there; and (12) about $1.1 billion is planned or has been provided for highway, transit, and other capital improvement projects that appear to be related to preparing the host city for the Olympic Games.