Olympic City Choice
Practice this advanced strategic decision making case interview question from Oliver Wyman in the Non-profit sector. Includes detailed problem prompt, clarifying questions, structured framework, and expert recommendation. Part of ProHub's 835+ consulting case library.
ProHub Comment
This case pushes candidates beyond typical profit maximization into governmental and public sector thinking. It requires analyzing tangible revenue streams (tickets, broadcasting, concessions) alongside intangible benefits (city reputation, infrastructure) while managing complex social, environmental, and operational risks specific to a government entity rather than a business.
Estimated Time
37 minutes
Difficulty
Hard
Source
Bauer
30
/ 100
Your client is the Mayor of Houston who has reached out to you to help them determine if they should bid on the 2028 Summer Olympics and how they should think about the process. What factors should they consider in determining if they should bid or not? If you do decide they should bid, how much should they bid for?
Clarifying Information
- Houston doesn’t have a specific goal, they said they hired you to help them determine what they should be looking for in bidding for the Olympics.
- Dozens of other cities are also bidding - from Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Paris, Cairo, Beijing, to Tokyo. The process is very competitive and every country wants in.
- Houston would have full control of the games with guidelines from the Olympics. Essentially, the Olympics would give Houston instructions on what to do and Houston would implement the Olympics’ instructions.
- Houston does not have a cap on maximum to bid.