Instead, the kudos and honour attached to staging an Olympic Games or soccer World Cup can easily outweigh the cash required to host the event, reports the Guardian Unlimited website.
"I do not think you would find that anybody who has staged a major event would consider it a poisoned chalice," John Bevilaqua, of sports strategic planners Sequiam Sports, told the inaugural International Sports Security Summit in London, held in association with media partner SportBusiness.
"Look back to Euro '96 in England. A lot of the money from that event was spent improving football grounds," he added.
"Or the Cricket World Cup in 2003 in South Africa. A vast amount of money was spent upgrading the stadia in the provinces. South African stadia are now among the best in the world.
"Look forward to the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean. After that event they will have some fantastic sporting arenas in the region."
The 2004 Athens Olympics cost almost 10 billion euros ($12.72 billion), more than double the original target.
Part of the reason for ballooning costs in staging events like the Olympics is the need for hi-tech, improved security due to the heightened risk of terrorism.
Jonathan Ticehurst of sport event insurance specialists Long Reach International had a role at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and said: "Back then security was an afterthought. It was a side issue... more of an annoyance than anything else.
"Nowadays, in this climate in our industry, it is a primary consideration."
Ticehurst said that, for this reason, it was getting to the stage when only a number of wealthy nations and cities would be able to afford to stage an Olympics or a World Cup.
