Olympics should cherish merit of cost control

The Olympic Games celebrates struggle for excellence, not costs. As more emerging economies are hosting the Olympics, it is time to recall the Olympic Creed.

When Brazil won the right to host the Summer Olympics six years ago, its economy was booming after years of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's successful economic policies. Today, the Brazilian economy is struggling amid its worst recession since the 1930s.

But the economic fall of Brazil as host country is only part of the big picture. The other part has to do with cost overruns. The initial cost of organizing the Rio Olympics was estimated at $2.8 billion. The current budget is closer to $5 billion. But the total Olympic budget, initially estimated at $12 billion, is closer to $20 billion - more than 22 times what Brazil is spending to contain the Zika virus.