In 2014, the Russian resort of Sochi will host the Winter Olympics. But already this mega-event looks set to cost Russian taxpayers more money than the combined costs of the last three Winter Olympics, and up to 4,000 local residents face evictions with compensation far below current market values.

Knowledge bank: Huge sporting events are a break from every day life.
But they are expensive. Event organisers understimate the costs and exaggerate the revenues for the event and for the host country, says Harry Arne Solberg of the Trondheim School of Business.

Based on a study of the economic impact of hosting professional sports teams in 37 US cities, the authors conclude that professional sports generally have little, if any, positive effect on a city's economy.

Knowledge bank: Sport Management in Eastern Europe, especially in Hungary

The first part of the paper is based on a research on the economic importance of sport in Europe. The second part dwells upon the restructuring of sport finance which can be observed in several European countries.