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Hard Strategic Decision Making Government/Public Sector Merger & Acquisition

Olympic City Choice

#Non-profit #Media & Entertainment

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
34 / 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Houston does not have a cap on maximum to bid.
Mock Interview
Interviewer

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?

You

Thanks. Before analyzing, I'd like to clarify a few key questions...

Interviewer

Good question. Let me provide some background information...

You

Based on this, I suggest analyzing from these dimensions...

AI Score
Structure Analysis Communication Business Sense Quantitative
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Practice this case with AI Mock Interview

The Mayor of Houston needs strategic guidance on whether to bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics and how much to bid. The analysis requires framework-building on decision factors, revenue estimation from multiple sources, risk assessment across economic/social/environmental dimensions, and strategic bidding approach selection.

Key Insights:

  1. Distinguish between return-based bidding (bid lower than expected tangible returns) versus competition-based bidding (bid to win regardless of cost)
  2. Recognize that Olympic returns include both direct revenue (tickets $315M, broadcasting $16.1B, concessions $21.4M) and indirect benefits (tourism, infrastructure, city branding)
  3. Government entities must weigh intangible public sector benefits differently than corporations - including city reputation, infrastructure legacy, and relationship building for future events
  4. Critical risks span economic (infrastructure), social (political tensions, safety), and environmental (carbon emissions, water usage) dimensions that affect the entire Games, not just operations
  5. Historical precedent matters: Beijing 2008 underperformed relative to London 2012 due to economic conditions, market maturity, and cultural differences in sport engagement and spending behavior

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