Paris 2024 Olympics: What will happen to the 76 million euro surplus?

For a surprise, it's a good one. On Sunday, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organizing Committee (COJO) announced that it had significantly revised its budget surplus upwards. The surplus is now reportedly around €76 million and could even climb to around a hundred million once the final adjustments are made. In December, the figure was "simply" €27 million .

According to the Cojo's financial director, this difference is explained by a favorable trend in exchange rates, lucrative financial investments, as well as revenue from ticket sales and licensed products. The announcement of the increased surplus comes just days before the Cojo's board meeting on June 17, which will close the accounts and make way for a liquidator with a view to dissolving the organizing committee.

These 76 million, "it's money that goes to sport," Tony Estanguet, the former head of the Cojo , assured a handful of journalists. Concretely, at least 80% of this sum should benefit French sport, according to the host city contract signed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 20% will thus be donated to the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF), an institution that has been in dire need since a sharp reduction in state subsidies was decided .

Around 60% will then go to the Paris 2024 endowment fund, which is managed by the State, the Seine-Saint-Denis department, the CNOSF, the Paralympic Committee, the city of Paris and the Île-de-France region. The money will be used to celebrate the Games and keep their legacy alive (such as the installation of the Olympic wavy in the Tuileries Gardens over the next three summers or the celebration of the anniversary of the opening ceremony); to help projects launched by Paris 2024 such as the "Savoir nager" program or Paralympic Day; and finally to support athletes who are struggling to finance their careers, particularly in less publicized sports.

The remaining 20% ​​goes, as required by the contract, to the IOC. Le Parisien recalls that the committee has made a habit of leaving its share to the host country. This could in particular provide a small boost to the organization of the 2030 Winter Games in the Alps .

As a reminder, the Cojo's budget revenues are almost entirely private , relying on sponsors, the grant paid by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and ticket sales. Public money (State and local authorities) was used to cover part of the construction of the Olympic facilities, amounting to 2.46 billion euros, according to a 2025 budget document. But the first president of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici, had mentioned in March 2024 a public cost that should rather be "between 3 and 5 billion" euros.