August 23, 2011. (Romereports.com) According to the organizing committee of World Youth Day in Madrid, 50 million euros were spent in organizing the event. This is around 72 million dollars. Seventy percent was funded by the pilgrims themselves and the other thirty percent by the sponsoring companies. The budget was approximately 20% lower than the last World Youth Day in Sydney.


The two million pilgrims that came to Madrid gave a boost to the city's economy of 230 million dollars according to estimates by the Confederation of Employers of Madrid.

In dining costs alone, around 32 million was spent according to Juan José Blardony, the director general of Madrid's hospitality association.

Hotels reported an occupancy level of 70%, which is usually around 40% in August.

The City Council estimates the event brought the Spanish capital 2% of country's tourism revenue for the entire year.

The money generated from World Youth Day was three times larger than that brought by the Champions League final in 2010, which was around 70 million dollars.

The organizers of World Youth Day originally believed the event would only bring in 140 million dollars, much lower than the 230 million they now calculate. These numbers will now be checked again my an external auditor to give the final numbers.  

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