Public support for hosting the Olympic Summer Games in Germany: The CVM approach

Cities and their respective regions must weigh the merits of hosting major sport events, including the Olympic Games. This paper presents a contingent valuation method estimate of the monetary value of intangible benefits to Germans of hosting the Olympic Summer Games. In a nationwide online survey, 6977 respondents said whether they would support a referendum to host the Games. The survey employed a payment card format containing monthly tax amounts to elicit individual willingness-to-pay for the Games over a five-year period. In the weighted sample, 26% expressed an average willingness-to-pay of €51. Willingness-to-pay varied widely across regions. Around Cologne, the average willingness-to-pay was €100. Interval data hurdle models reveal that policy consequentiality and various intangible benefits increased willingness-to-pay. Aggregate willingness-to-pay over a five-year period amounted to €46 billion which exceeded the estimated costs of the 2024 Summer Games for Hamburg. The findings have implications for policy makers since they show what regions within Germany most support hosting the Games.