Paris Olympics: tallying up the euros, the viewers and the bananas at the Games
- Three million bananas will be eaten at the Paris Games, which will cost €9b and be watched by one billion viewers and 15 million spectators
In the months leading up to the Paris Olympics, the statistics were already impressive: the budget had reportedly hit almost €9 billion (US$9.7 billion) and 1 billion viewers were expected to watch the opening ceremony.
Now, on the eve of the 33rd Olympiad, some of those figures have grown still further.
Here are some other Games numbers:
10,500 athletes: most will stay in the Olympic Village in suburban Saint-Denis.
329 events: the Paris Games offer 32 sports, including four newcomers – surfing (in distant Tahiti), sport climbing, breaking and skateboarding.
203 invited nations: these include the Refugee Team. Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete as neutrals.
€9.7 billion: the current Games budget, although the total bill will not be known until after the Games. France’s national audit body estimates a total of €3 billion of public money could be spent on the Olympics.