Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. By Andrew Zimbalist. Brookings Institution Press; 174 pages; $25 and £18.50.

THERE may be few sweeter siren songs for public officials across the world than the dulcet tones of emissaries from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA, the global governing body of football. To induce cities to bid to host the Olympics and World Cup, they promise infrastructure investment to modernise blighted areas, a lasting rise in tourism, improved public health, a month at the centre of the world stage and the eternal gratitude of constituents. And as for the costs? Well, the economic ripple effects will surely be so large that the spending will pay for itself, and it can always be financed with debt that comes due long after an officeholder has moved on.

Following the extensive media coverage of the economics of the London and Sochi Olympics and Brazil’s World Cup, it should be no surprise that these lofty assurances rarely come to fruition. But even appropriately jaded readers are likely to be shocked by the evidence in “Circus Maximus”, a brief polemic by Andrew Zimbalist, an American sports economist, which reveals the magnitude of the deception that precedes these events and the disappointment that follows. The book’s misleading subtitle calls hosting the competitions an “economic gamble”, implying it is a risky bet with a potentially high return. In fact, “Circus Maximus” leaves little doubt that under current conditions, prudent city governments should avoid the contests at all costs.

In principle, there is no reason why hosting such events needs to be an economic own-goal. Between television rights, ticket sales, licensing and sponsorships, the most recent summer Olympics, in London, generated $5.2 billion in revenue. In a city with sufficient existing athletic, hotel and transport infrastructure, it would be easy to stage the competition for less than that figure and come away with a healthy profit—as Los Angeles did in the highly successful 1984 summer games. But over the past few decades, the IOC, in particular, has appropriated an ever-greater share of the proceeds for itself: the most recent public data reveal that it now pockets more than 70% of Olympic television revenue, compared with less than 4% between 1960 and 1980 (see chart). And there is little evidence to support the projections that hosting will bring a surge in tourism: Beijing and London both attracted fewer visitors during their summer Olympics in 2008 and 2012 respectively than they had in the same period a year earlier.