Guangzhou’s Asian Games is scheduled to finish Saturday, with the city spending more for the two-week event than London’s budget for the 2012 Olympics, Bloomberg reported. The city spent some US$18.3 billion in preparation for the games, including infrastructure such as metro lines, roads and stadiums. Total spending was equivalent to 13% of its GDP in 2009. By contrast, the UK has set aside US$14.7 billion for the 2012 London Olympics. The Asian Games are expected to draw about 650,000 visitors to Guangzhou, who are expected to spend about US$120 billion. Guangzhou’s city council has also expressed interest in hosting a future World Expo. Shanghai’s 2010 World Expo led to US$44 billion in investments.
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