After Oslo, Norway withdrew its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics on October 1, it became the fourth city – after Stockholm, Lviv, and Krakow - to pull out of what many believe is a national honor. Now, only Beijing and Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, remain up for consideration, putting the International Olympic Committee in the uncomfortable situation of having to choose between two autocratic states with poor human rights records.

Cost appears to be the primary reason why no country wants to host the Games – the event’s price tag has risen to an astronomical $51 billion (Sochi) since the first modern Games held in Athens in 1896, which cost $448,000.

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Those countries that have already dropped out did so after local governments realized that the “true cost” can balloon to greatly exceed the estimated budget, especially since the Olympics rarely end up delivering on their promised socioeconomic benefits.

Read more at TIME.

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