Exclusive new analysis of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s financial accounts reveals how the body used the more than $5.6 billion of revenue it generated over the last full Olympic cycle between 2013 and 2016.
The analysis, by insidethegames, shows that nearly one in every three dollars the IOC earned, chiefly from the sale of broadcasting rights and sponsorship, went to the various Olympic and Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committees operational during the period, mainly those tied to Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016.
Some 13.8 percent of revenue was channeled to International Sports Federations (IFs), with just over 18 per cent going to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and a further 10.6 percent covering broadcasting costs.
Among NOCs, 7.2 percent of IOC revenue, equivalent to more than $400 million, appears to have gone to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and some 10.9 percent to the rest.
The analysis also explains how a “change in presentation” helped to keep operating expenditure down, making it easier for the IOC to claim that it redistributes 90 percent of revenue.
The change covers “culture and heritage” expenses.
According to the 2015 financial statements, it was implemented “in order to give a more meaningful and fairer presentation of the group’s engagement in the Olympic Movement promotion”.
The full analysis, compiled with reference solely to the relevant IOC accounts, and particularly the Combined Statement of Activities and associated Notes, can be read here.
By David Owen
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.