Are Olympcis Worth the Cost?

The recently concluded Olympics in China have been hailed as a huge success, may be the most successful Olympics in modern history. The colorful and extravagant opening and closing ceremonies and off courses the athletics events certainly added to the buzz about this been a very successful Olympics.

But my question is, was the $43 billion spent by China preparing for this event worth the cost of hosting an Olympics? Was the money spent in renovating one city, Beijing, worth the effort? What about other areas in China which are predominantly poor and starved for infrastructure? How will the Olympics benefit these areas? And finally how is the success of the Olympics judged? Is it just by the glittering opening and closing ceremonies, the successful athletics etc? With China setting the bar of $43 billion to stage the Olympics, should the future hosts also spend that much or more to have a successful event?