Did you know that during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, all of the Olympic committees were present for the first time ever? It is surprising when things happen in one’s own backyard which have influenced and shaped history. There were many elements that made these Olympics so memorable. They were the world’s participation in the events, the outstanding sponsorship of the community and businesses, and the platform for women's rights beginning a standard for the world. Incredible record breaking demonstrations of both strength and perseverance in Olympic and World records, as well as the centennial celebration of the rebirth of the original Greek Olympics distinguished these events from past games. However, the event that shook the community and the Olympics, was the bomb in Atlanta’s Centennial Park. However, the determination and courage demonstrated by athletes in the games was reflected in the community as the olympics had a strong finish.
As one of the biggest events the city has ever hosted, the games in Atlanta rang in at over $5 billion. Hosting the largest participation ever in Olympic history added to this expense. Recruiting the participation of the community and business sponsors like CNN and Coca-Cola were crucial to funding the games and their exorbitant costs. Among the more costly parts of hosting this event is the production of the opening and closing ceremonies. As a centennial celebration of the rebirth of the Olympics in 1896 from Athens, Greece, Atlanta did a special tribute to that as part of the opening ceremony.* It was quite spectacular and highlighted some of the Greek gods and the original competing games from the ancient Olympics which were held in Olympia. President Bill Clinton, who was in of...
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Rosen, Karen. "London 2012 Olympics: Atlanta's dismal mascot 'Izzy' represents an all-time low." The Telegraph. 18 May 2010. Telegraph Media Group. 13 Mar. 2014 .
Sack, Kevin. "OLYMPICS PARK BLAST KILLS ONE, HURTS 111; ATLANTA GAMES GO ON." The New York Times. 27 July 1996. The New York Times. 12 Mar. 2014 .
Sutherland, Mary, and Michael T. Wise, eds. Chronicles of the Olympics. New York, NY: D.K. Pub., 1998.
Young, Gayle. "Rights groups want Olympic ban on nations barring women athletes." CNN. 10 Sept. 1995. Cable News Network. 17 Apr. 2014 .
Sommers, C. H. (2010, August 12). Take back the sports page? The American Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.american.com/archive/2010/august/take-back-the-sports-page/
In December of 1979 Soviet forces began to invade Afghanistan and make their first attempt at grabbing new land since World War II. Jimmy Carter, who was the president of the United States at the time did not support the Soviet’s invasion of Afghanistan and decided to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics hosted by the Soviets in Moscow. He revoked the passports of all American athletes, did not allow any U.S. Olympic athlete to attend the summer games and encouraged other countries to do the same. However, Jimmy Carter’s choice to boycott the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow was ultimately a failure because it failed to gather a large amount of support, it was ineffective in having any influence or impact on the Soviet Union’s involvement in Afghanistan,
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.
In the summer of 1996, Atlanta Georgia played host to the 23rd modern Olympic games. It was easily the greatest thing to happen to Atlanta in the 90's and there were many benefits brought its way as a result. Of all these benefits, the most significant ones were (1) the legacy of all the facilities built for the event, (2) the revitalization of the downtown area, (3) the exposure it gave to the city and (4) the economic benefits it gained as a result of all this.
The Penn Museum site on the Olympic Games in Greece presents a well-organized home page that entices the viewer in. It compares, in the first few sentences you see, the similarities between the ancient Olympics and today’s Olympics. As a reader, I am already enticed to learn more because of the comparisons made, it feels relatable and relevant to me. It is organized into five sections, the games, the athletes, the women, the politics, and the commercialism. Bentley and Ziegler present information on the Olympic Games very differently. The information is a small paragraph within the books chapter on Greece; it does not go into any real detail but rather offers an idea of what the Olympic Games were. The paragraph simply states that the Olympics started in 776 BCE as a part of the PanHellenic festivals; it gives a short list of some events, and says that winners were heroes and it happened every four years. In contrast, the website has many details and small interesting tidbits of information that make the viewer want to read more. The first section, the games, focuses on where the games took place and some common misconceptions about the Olympics in regards to the marathon, nudity, and the Olympic flame. The next section, the athletes, discusses the athletes and amateur vs. professionals and prizes, and rewards. I learned that in anc...
“It is universally accepted that 776 B.C. was the year the festival at Olympia, in honor of Zeus, became known as the Olympics, and the period of four years between celebrations became an Olympiad (Zimmerman 1984).” Yet the precise circumstances surrounding the creation of the ancient Olympics are still shrouded in mystery. Several myths encompassin...
Hill, Christopher R. "The Cold War and the Olympic Movement." History Today. History Today, 1999. Web. 18 May 2014. .
Theme: Many events of The Nazi Olympics surround this sporting festival to make it one of the controversial events in sport history. Not only does Mandell cover the 1936 Olympic Games themselves but he gives insight to the history of the modern games, participation by the United States, the role of the games in the Nazi propaganda efforts and portrays heroes and key figures. Mandell wrote about the intersection of sport and politics and how world leaders set the agenda, not the athletes. The Nazi’s used the 1936 Olympic Games as a way to reinforce their political and racial goals. Although they were founded as part of a vision of world peace, the 1936 games became a stage for political disputes. The Nazi Olympics takes an in depth look at the efforts the Germans made to show the rest of the world that they had again become a powerful nation under the leader of Adolf Hitler. The events that followed the games in Germany, mainly the Holocaust and World War II overshadowed the Berlin games. However, it is very important to note that a world gathering like the Olympics took place in a country that was in the process of eliminating an entire race of people. The games were a huge success in regards to the Nazi regime, they were able to fool the world and prove to Germany that they were a peaceful and stable nation.
Kindersly, Dorling. The Olympic Games: Athens 1896-Sydney 2000 Chronicle of the Games, 1 July 2000
Modern Day Olympics are a huge tradition that sweeps the screens of televisions across the world. Competitors take the arena with uniforms that dawn their countries colors and designs that are meant to resemble their designated flag. For months the news is centered around the games; the preparation, the athletes, and of course the competition. Countries aren 't obsessed, they are inspired and full of pride seeing athletes from their country compete and show their incredible skill. This tradition dates back to ancient Greece where the games began. Tony Perrottet writes about the traditions of the ancient game in his book The Naked Olympics.
Hosting the Olympics comes with many perks for such as, prestige, the creation of new facilities and countless amounts of benefits. With so many things the Olympics has to offer, there can be numerous reasons why countries compete to be elected as the hosting country for the Olympics. The most common reason countries want to host the Olympic is because of its potential ability to improve the country’s economy significantly. With the entire world participating in the Olympics, the hosting country can market...
Many people would question if the cost of the Olympics is worth it. Billions of dollars are used to make the Olympics what it is, and a lot of money is spent on manufacturing medals, and building arenas for the sports events. The arenas also require lots of money to maintain during the Olympics, as well as afterwards if they are to be recycled as sporting event centres. Housing for the athletes also takes quite a few million to create, even though they are only used for athlete housing for a couple of weeks. So much money was put into things like accommodation, but there were many complaints from everyone residing there that most parts of the building were incomplete or malfunctioning. The 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi’s original budget was twelv...
Whether it was driving past the Broncos stadium on I-25, attending various Rockies games throughout the summer, or watching the X Games in Aspen, it was undeniable to me from an early age that sports mattered in Colorado. I would often speculate how the athletic atmosphere in Colorado rivaled that of other cities from around the world. One fall afternoon, I rode in the back seat of my Dad’s car, mindlessly gazing out at the window as the familiar static of NPR vibrated from the speakers. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had narrowed down the potential candidates to host the 2018 winter Olympic games, one again provoking my curiosity as to the potential legitimacy of a Denver bid. With little hesitation, I leaned close to my Dad’s ear,
... able to be the competitors of the Olympic Games, this is an internationally recognized action for them. If the IOC did not co-ordinate this event well, believe that the development of Olympic Games may not be as well as today.
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.