80+ Top Summer Olympics Statistics 2024
The world’s leading sport event, the Summer Olympic Game will take place in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024.
I’ve gathered some Top Summer Olympic Statistics to prepare you for Paris 2024.
Contents
Top 10 Summer Olympics Statistics (Editor's Picks)
Around 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will compete in 329 medal events at the Olympic Summer Games in Paris in 2024.
7.2 million tickets were already sold for Paris 2024.
The United States has been the most successful nation in the Summer Olympics between 1896 and 2020 with 1,061 golds, and a total of more than 2,635 medals.
The most successful Olympian of all time is a former swimmer Michael Phelps from the United States with 23 gold medals in total.
The revenue for the last 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was $7.6 billion in total.
About $3.1 billion of the revenue was made fromf broadcasting rights worldwide for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 cost $13 billion.
The IOC contribution to Tokyo 2020 was $1.8 billion.
The 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo had a global audience of 3.05 billion, down from 3.2 billion five years earlier.
There have been 442 positive doping tests in total at the Olympic Games from 1968 to 2020.
General Summer Olympics Statistics
When and where is the next Olympics?
The next Olympics will be held in Paris, France from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
What new sport will be added in the Paris 2024 Olympics?
Breaking is the only new sport added in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Breaking or breakdancing is a type of street dance with dynamic, acrobatic movements originated in New York City in the 1970s when hip-hop culture was coming to life.
Breaking athletes are known as B-Boys and B-Girls with the “B” standing for “break”.
16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls will face off in 1v1 battles at the Paris Olympics.
When will the breaking competition take place?
At Paris 2024, the breaking competition will take place on 9 and 10 August 2024.
Is the Summer Olympics bigger than the Winter Olympics?
The Summer Olympic Games are much bigger events than the Winter Olympic Games.
Around 11,000 athletes participated in across 339 events during the Summer Olympics Games Tokyo 2020.
While less than 3,000 athletes participated in across 109 events in the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
When was the first modern Olympics?
The first modern Olympic Games took place in the Greek capital Athens in 1896.
What country has been the most successful in the Summer Olympics?
The United States has been the most successful nation between 1896 and 2020 with 1,061 golds, and a total of more than 2,635 medals in 28 Olympic Games.
The second most successful team is Russia (including the Soviet Union, Russia, and the Russian Empire) with 609 golds, and a combined total of 1,627 medals.
The third most successful Olympic team is German athletes with 438 golds and a total of 1,383 medals overall.
Great Britain is in fourth place with 285 golds, and 916 total medals.
Although China has competed in just 11 Summer Olympics, China comes in fifth place with 262 golds, 634 total medals.
Who won the most gold medals at the Summer Olympic games?
The most successful Olympian of all time is a former swimmer Michael Phelps from the United States. He has won 23 gold medals in total.
What is the most popular sport during the summer olympics?
Gymnastics (Artistic) was the most popular Summer Olympic Sports in the United States in 2021. Although football is the best-selling ticket for the Paris Summer Olympics 2024.
What are the top five best-selling tickets for the Paris Summer Olympics 2024?
Here’s the ranking below:
Football
Basketball
Handball
Athletics
Volleyball
What is the IOC?
International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a non-profit organisation, and is the authority responsible for organising the Olympic Games.
Audience Statistics
How many people watch the Olympics?
The 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo had a global audience of 3.05 billion, down from 3.2 billion five years earlier.
Total Global TV Audience Olympic Summer Games (2008–2020)
Beijing 2008: 3.5 billion
London 2012: 3.6 billion
Rio de Janeiro 2016: 3.2 billion
Tokyo 2020 (actually took place in 2021): 3.05 billion
Who has the rights to broadcast the Olympics?
The IOC owns all the global broadcast rights to the Olympic Games, including via television, radio, mobile phones and internet platforms.
And the IOC allocates Olympic media rights to media companies all over the world through the negotiation of the media rights agreements.
How many hours did the Summer Olympic Games host broadcast?
Beijing 2008: 5,000 hours
London 2012: 5,600
Rio 2016: 7,100
Tokyo 2020: 9,500
The Summer Olympic Games hosting broadcast feeding hours are way up from the Seoul Summer Olympic Games 1988 with 2,572 hours.
How many spectators will attend the ceremony for the Paris Summer Olympics 2024?
At least 600,000 people will attend to watch the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
How many tickets were sold for the Summer Olympics?
Sydney 2000: 6.7 million tickets
Athens 2004: 3.6 million tickets
Beijing 2008: 6.5 million tickets
London 2012: 8.2 million tickets
Rio 2016: 6.2 million tickets
Tokyo 2020: 4.5 million tickets
Paris 2024: 7.2 million tickets
Financial Facts of Summer Olympic Games
How much does Olympics broadcasting rights cost?
NBCUniversal paid $7.75 billion to extend its deal with the IOC to broadcast the Olympics in the US from 2021 to 2032.
In Europe, US based company Warner Bros. Discovery paid $1.41 billion (€1.3 billion) to broadcast the Olympics from 2018 to 2024.
Again, Warner Bros. Discovery and this time with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), have been awarded all media rights in Europe from 2026 to 2032.
The agreement guarantees free-to-air coverage on television and digital platforms through the EBU's network of public service broadcasters, including BBC.
In China, the state-run China Media Group (CMG) - holding company of China Central Television (CCTV) paid $550 million to broadcast the Olympics from 2018 and 2024. IOC has extended the deal with CCTV until 2032.
In Japan, Japan Consortium (JC) paid over $674 million to broadcast the Olympics from 2026 to 2032.
How much revenue does the Olympic Games generate?
The revenue for the Tokyo Olympic Games was $7.6 billion in total.
That revenue includes the sale of broadcasting and marketing rights, and other income streams such as ticketing.
How much money does the Olympic Games make from broadcasting rights?
About $3.1 billion was made from the marketing of broadcasting rights worldwide for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
How much did the 2020 Tokyo Olympics cost?
The Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 cost $13 billion.
However, some Japanese government auditors estimated that the true cost is at least $25 billion, which includes projects related to the Games. And most of them will be paid off by taxpayers.
How much did the IOC pay for the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020?
The IOC contributed $1.8 billion for Tokyo 2020 including some costs of the postponement.
How much does a gold medalist get paid?
The size of the bonus a gold medalist gets varies hugely by country.
For example, Indonesia offered the highest bonus of $746,000 for athletes who won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021.
On the other hand, the United States offered $37,500 for gold medalists.
Does the Olympics boost tourism?
Yes, for example visitors from all over the world brought $600 million during the London Olympics 2012.
Sadly, Tokyo Olympics 2020 did not benefit any spending from overseas visitors because of the restrictions to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
Which Summer Olympic Games were the most profitable?
The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics made a profit of $223 million. And that is the last time that hosting city made a profit in the modern Olympic Games.
Although, the 2012 London Olympics expects to break even in the lifetime position.
Athletes Statistics
How many countries and athletes will participate in the Paris Summer Olympics 2024?
Around 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) will compete in 329 medal events at the Olympic Summer Games in Paris in 2024.
Numbers of Participating Countries in Recent Years
Sydney 2000: 199
Athens 2004: 201
Beijing 2008: 201
London 2012: 204
Rio 2016: 207
Tokyo 2020: 206
Paris 2024: 206
How many male and female athletes participate in the Summer Olympics?
Athens 1896: total 241 athletes (Male 241 | Female 0)
Sydney 2000: 10,651 (Male 6,582 | Female 4,069)
Athens 2004: 10,625 (Male 6,296 | Female 4,329)
Beijing 2008: 10,942 (Male 6,305 | Female 4,637)
London 2012: 10,568 (Male 5,892 | Female 4,676)
Rio 2016: 11,238 (Male 6,179 | Female 5,059)
Tokyo 2020: 11,037 (Male 5,651 | Female 5,386)
How many events for male and female athletes at the Summer Olympics?
Athens 1896: Male 43 events | Female 0 event
Sydney 2000: Male 180 | Female 120
Athens 2004: Male 176 | Female 125
Beijing 2008: Male 175 | Female 127
London 2012: Male 162 | Female 140
Rio 2016: Male 161 | Female 145
Tokyo 2020: Male 165 | Female 174
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
What is WADA?
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was founded by the International Olympic Committee in 1999. The purpose of WADA is to combat the increasing use of performance-enhancing substances in sports.
In 2019, WADA banned all Russian athletes from the 2020 Games in Tokyo due to another state-sponsored doping scandal. Athletes from Russia could only compete if they had been cleared by WADA prior to the games, while representing the Russian Olympic Committee, rather than the country itself.
How many Olympic medals have been stripped so far?
A total of 133 Olympic medals, including 42 golds, 43 silvers, 48 bronzes, have been stripped from athletes at the Summer Olympics between 1968 and 2020.
How many Olympic athletes have tested positive for drugs?
There have been 442 positive doping tests in total at the Olympic Games from 1968 to 2020.
Among the numbers, 132 positive doping tests were taken at London 2012.
Is Russia allowed to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics?
Individual athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus who had qualified for the Paris summer games would be allowed to compete without flags, emblems or anthems of their countries.
Conclusion
Over the years, hosting an Olympic Game has become extremely expensive for the hosting country. However, the after effects of hosting the biggest sport event in the world are long lasting. And people watching the Olympic Games at home will remember the hosting countries associated with the medal events.
I am very much looking forward to watching the best athletes in the world compete on such a big stage this summer.
Sources: Olympics.com(1), Statista(1), Statista(2), Statista(3), Statista(4), BBC, Statista(5), Statista(6), Statista(7), Nikkei Asia, Olympics.com(2), Statista(8), Statista(9), Statista(10), Reuters(1), gov.uk, Olympics.com(3), Diffen, Olympics.com(4), Olympics.com(5), Statista(11), Financial Times, Reuters(2), Statista(12), inside the games, Washington Post, Olympics.com(6), Investopedia, Statista(13), Olympics.com(7)