The Paris Olympics involve about 10,500 athletes from 200 countries or regions. But the Olympics are more than just fun and games.

They are a giant business that generates billions of dollars in income for the International Olympic Committee. They’re also a proxy for geopolitical influence seen through the standings in the medal tables, the presence of world leaders at the opening ceremony and the national anthems serenading gold-medal winners.

Here’s a look at how the IOC and the Olympics operate.

It’s a business, not a charity

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental body based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It generates 91% of its income from selling broadcast rights (61%) and sponsorships (30%). Income for the latest four-year cycle of Winter and Summer Games ending with the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was $7.6 billion. The IOC says it returns 90% of its income back into sports, although athletes directly get only a small slice.

There may be a move afoot to change that. The IOC opened a new headquarters in 2019 at a reported cost of about 190 million Swiss francs, or about $200 million. Host nations pick up the majority of the bills for staging the Olympics. The cost for the Tokyo Games was officially listed at $13 billion. More than half was covered by Japanese government entities. Olympic costs are difficult to track, but a Japanese government audit suggested the real costs may have been twice as much as listed.

Membership and perks

The IOC is composed of about 100 members. The membership selects its own colleagues and the longest serving is Princess Nora of Liechtenstein. At least a half-dozen other royals are IOC members. However, most of the power is vested in President Thomas Bach - a lawyer from Germany who also is a member - and his executive board. IOC members are technically volunteers, though all of Bach’s expenses are covered by the IOC. The IOC’s annual report says this amounted to $370,000 in 2022. This included an annual “indemnity” of 275,000 euros, or about $295,000. His tax liabilities of $163,000 in Switzerland also were paid. IOC members receive per diems of between $450-900 to attend meetings and get first-class travel and five-star lodging.

Unpaid volunteers

Unpaid volunteers help the IOC and local organizers run the Games. They typically receive uniforms, food when they work and some minor transport costs. Lodging is seldom included. Paris is looking for 45,000 volunteers. Tokyo initially went after 80,000. Typically, only the well off can volunteer. The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro struggled to find volunteers because many of the city’s poor could not work for free. Some showed up the first day, collected their uniforms and did not return. The volunteer system can be viewed as economic exploitation. If volunteers were paid a minimum wage of $10 per hour, the extra cost could be as much as $100 million. Some Paris volunteers have threatened not to show up to express their displeasure over Olympic spending and French pension reforms.