Belarus spent much more on European Games than planned

In 2017-2019, Belarus spent about 840 million BYN (about 420 million USD) on the 2nd European Games, First Deputy Prime Minister Alyaksandr Turchyn said on the air of TV channel "Belarus 1".

"The money came from different sources: budget funds, bank loans, sponsorship. About 70%, that is, about 600 million, were investment costs. One can ask a question: is this money that went to the games, or, if it hadn't been for them, would we still be spending it?" First Deputy Prime Minister specified.

The official mentioned the student hostel on Dzyarzhynsky Avenue, the unfinished construction site in the campus, as well as new buses and electric buses for Minsk transferred to the regional car parks.

According to Turchyn, 240 million BYN (120 million USD) was spent directly on the games. "About half of this amount was spent by sponsors. They were used, among other things, to accommodate athletes and pay for their meals," he explained. According to him, this way the profit was received by catering companies and service providers.

The official said that the final financial analysis of the 2nd European Games will be conducted in January 2020.

By the way, at the end of 2016, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that only $50 million would be allocated from the budget to the 2nd European Games. The rest of the costs were supposed to be compensated by international sponsors. However, as a result, the forecast was exceeded eight times.