The True Costs of the Olympics
Every two years the Olympic Games take place on the world’s stage. People are mesmerized as they cheer on their home team. Whether it be the summer or winter games, for two weeks, biannually, people are inundated with the games. But, many may fail to realize the competition and game behind the Games. This is the never ceasing game of the bidding process and subsequent creation and construction of new Olympic venues as newly selected host cities prepare for their opportunity to host the Olympics. But this little known game has only a few select winners, and their prize is not a medal, rather it is huge financial gains. The losers are many, and they are the most vulnerable inhabitants of the city, the poor; they are not simply losing out on a medal, they are losing their homes.
It is evident that the Olympic Games are popular and have worldwide support, but one cannot ignore the lead up to the games in which host cities spend exorbitant amounts of tax dollars to revamp areas of the city that leads to many forced evictions. While some may acknowledge that some people are indeed displaced due to new construction, and there is a lot of money spent up front for the games, they may counter that the monetary and societal rewards reaped later will be huge. But, this paper will rebuke those claims by providing examples that exhibit that the oft asserted financial gains rarely come to fruition and that the societal impact is anything but rewarding. Lastly, even though any change is unlikely, two proposals, which could curtail some of the negative impacts brought on by the Olympic Games, will be offered, which are either create a permanent Olympic site, or hold the games less frequently, on a rotating basis,...
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...cive to hosting the winter games, and the other area suitable for the summer games. Since the International Olympic Committee has the funds, and the final say in location, they should pay the costs associated with establishing and constructing a permanent Olympic site. There could also be a fee paid by each nation to participate in the Olympic Games, and this money could go towards the upkeep of the facilities. As stated above, the International Olympic Committee makes a great amount of money just by selling broadcasting and licensing rights, and the income generated from this could be used to pay all other costs associated with maintaining the games.
However, the major problem with this proposal is that all the nations that would not be chosen would take issue with the decision. Cities and nations compete vigorously for their chance to host the Olympics, and thi
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
The IOC over its history has had to balance two different spheres. One of those being its morals and ideas of "Olympism," and the other being the generation of funds to allow their programs to be financially solvent, and have a wider world impact. As the Olympic Games continue on year over year they have seen rising costs in putting on their events which in the past had led the host cities to incur substantial amounts of debt and threaten the games ability to continue. This issue has forced the International Olympic Committee to engage in commercialism, and compromise on their want to be a perfectly moral organization. Through the IOC 's Olympic charter Olympism as "a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good
The economic rationale for cities' willingness to subsidize sports facilities is revealed in the campaign s...
In the past the Olympic games were used as a way for the Greeks to honor their gods. Today the games are not an honoring but more of a social gathering. What’s great about the games today is that everyone has equal opportunity to compete. No matter your gender, size, ethnicity, or wealth, all you have to do is work hard and
Close, Paul, David Askew, and Xin Xu. The Beijing Olympics the Political Economy of a Sporting Mega-event.. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis, 2006.. 34-35
I have elaborated elsewhere* my view that hosting the Olympics is a mug’s game, and the fact that cities all over the world vie with each other to volunteer for the self-sacrificial role of host is just another example of the tragic human tendency to be guided by hope over experience. In London’s case the only tangible gains for the billions spent are a pleasant enough public park in Stratford E and a stadium so surplus to any meaningful requirement that the government has been reduced to letting West Ham play around in it. The intangible effect, which is far from being a gain, is the perception that the British public is utterly enthralled by
In order to host the event Atlanta had to make sure it had all the facilities to be able to provide athletes places both to practice and perform. Although the city had fairly adequate facilities already, there were improvements that needed to be made. By making sure facilities were up to scratch for the athletes, they were also improving facilities for citizens, because ultimately once the Olympics were over, these new and improved facilities would still be there.
Finish, Finish, Go, and Go you just set the new world record. Every four years lots of people gather around a pool cheering for Olympians. It is a very noisy place. A lot of Olympians that are part of the summer Olympics are very athletic, they swim all year around. The swimming Olympic history and background is very interesting. They have done so many new things over that past couple of years. They come out with new rules every year to make things more fair and challenging. There are a lot of events and tons of records that have been broke. A lot of Olympians have set future goals to stride for. I was swimming the 200 meter fly I was at a really good time when I had 50 meter sprint left at the end all I could think about was I’m going to set the new world record. Olympic swimming is a very fun sport it is very athletic. Every year in the summer time every one always sits around a TV watching this it is very famous in America. Swimmers from all around the world come and here and compete. There is a lot of competition there I have found out a lot about the history of swimming. There are a lot of events and tons of records that have been broke. A lot of Olympians have set future goals to stride for.
Holding the Olympics is not easy; Utah figured that out in 2002. The first problem they ran into was seating for spectators. The Olympic Committee turned to the University of Utah. They were going to use their stadium but it only had 32,000 seats when they needed 50,000 chairs. The university got to work and added about 18,000 seats. Then the committee realized that the athletes needed a place to stay. Again the University of Utah built all new dorms for the athlete’s village. Those are only 2 of the many problems Utah overcame to host a fantastic Olympics!
The Olympic Games are held every four years with the main intent to “promote people’s physical and psychological level, likewise to promote different country’s people, have more communication and to help maintaining world peace” (official website of Olympic movement). However, there are many risks in hosting the Olympic Games, for example the effects of an economic downturn after the closure of a host country’s
The Olympics is a mega sport event which is presented once every four years and it has become a golden opportunity for hosts to emerge as a strong country. Hosting the Olympics is a big thing for every country and they receive worldwide attention from the preparation period until the actual event. However, hosting the Olympics comes with heavy stakes and experts tend to argue about the appropriateness for the countries to host it. There may be people who oppose with hosting the Olympics, however, the country rebranding, the economy hike and also the pride and patriotism of citizens just demonstrate the need of hosting the Olympics for the development of the country.
Abstract: The Special Olympics not only give special athletes athletic skills, they offer more opportunity, encouragement, and dexterity to survive in society than the public school system alone. To understand the differences and similarities between handicapped athletes and their non-handicap peers is the first step in creating a program that best meets the child's needs. There were no community programs that catered to the mentally and physically challenged, so Eunice Kennedy-Shriver created "special games" in her back yard for her handicapped child. Shriver established the Special Olympics in 1968. Today there are more than one million special athletes competing in 140 countries. There are some problems with relying on the public school system to seek a child's full potential in the special education programs. The Special Olympics, however, have found an effective method of preparing children, teens, and adults for society through sport. The diverse selection of sports, their rules, and physical demands, is an advantage when there is a huge range of disabilities. There is a program offered for almost everyone. People who benefit from these games range from the athletes themselves, the officials, coaches, caregivers, parents, to the spectators and on-site first aid staff. Mrs. Kennedy-Shriver said this in regard to special athletes, "through sports, they can realize their potential for growth." Over and over this fantastic organization has demonstrated integrity, good sportsmanship, and goal oriented programs that work!
In every major sports event, like the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics, there’s always a huge celebration and a positive vibes surrounding such events. Hosting these events are usually a great honor to the selected countries and bring a lot of favorable consequences with it. However, no one realized that whenever these big sporting events occur and are hosted, brings as much negative consequences which counterbalances all the good things that comes with it. So, the question remains, is the Olympics a Cash Cow or a Money Pit to the hosting countries? In my opinion, the Olympics could actually bring more benefit that loss to the selected countries to host it, which are to bring positive economic and cultural benefits, either a Legacy or a Money pit for the hosting countries, hosting this event could promote development for the educational legacy and finally eradicating poverty throughout the citizens.
Introduction Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. Well-known throughout the world the games have been used to promote understanding and friendship among nations, but have also been a hotbed of political disputes and boycotts. The Olympic games started thousands of years ago and lasted over a millennium.. The symbolic power of the Games lived on after their demise, and came to life again as the modern Olympic Games being revived in the last century. Both the modern and Ancient Olympics have close similarities in there purpose and in there problems.