Should The Olympic Games Continue To Be Paid?

Over the past few decades, the necessity and requirement of money is often underestimated, especially for the funding of the Olympic Games. This event, which is known to be the largest and longest lasting sporting event, has been able to unite over 200 nations. Originating as a religious and athletic festival in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 393 AD, . The rebirth of the Games, which was initially presented by Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin, took 1503 years to be brought back in the light. Since 1894, when the International Olympic Committee was created, it was also the beginning era of the modern Olympic Games. Cities would have to put forth a bid, also known as a request, to become the host city and nation of the upcoming Games. This

More specifically, the unnecessary costs of bidding and the low ticket sales in previous Games results in a greater risk in the potential loss in profits. To be granted the chance to host the mega-sporting event, the host city and nation must prepare a bid to the International Olympic Committee. According to Sant and Mason (2015), in theory every city must prepare justification that the potential of social, environmental, and economical benefits is greater than others (pg. 42). This process, not only takes several years of preparation but is quite costly. Noted by McBride (2018), the bidding process prepared by the International Olympic Committee is known to encourage “wasteful spending, by favouring potential hosts who present the most ambitious plans” (para. 27). However not all bids are successful and take several tries before becoming successful. Also mentioned by McBride (2018), Tokyo had several attempts at bidding, most notably in 2016 where they almost spent $150 million in this pre-phase (para. 10). Although the price to gain the chance of the Olympics is often too heavy, many believe that the revenues from the Games would help balance out the cost. However, it was mentioned by Preuss (2004) that the importance and significance of ticket sale revenue has declined ever since the 1970s (pg. 167). This is largely due to spectators unwilling to pay for the high prices and wanting to watch comfortably at home rather than travelling to the venues to watch. As a result,