Category: Games News

With a volley of fireworks at National Stadium, the Tokyo Summer Olympics ended with a bang. In economic terms, though, it felt more like a whimper.

The Olympics cost Japan at least $15.4 billion, making them the most expensive summer Games ever, according to a study by University of Oxford researchers. The cost for the 2008 Beijing Olympics is widely cited as being more than $40 billion, though the researchers found most of the spending was not directly related to the Games.

The 17-day Tokyo Olympics were held without foreign tourists or even domestic fans amid a COVID-19 stat…