The Pros and Cons of Hosting the Olympics

Introduction The ancient Olympic Games originated in Greece in 776 BC and were started as a mark of respect to the Greek gods. But the ancient Olympic Games ceased in 393 AD, because the roman emperor Theodosius decreed that the ancient Olympic Games were a pagan cult. The modern Olympic Games started again in 1894 and continue to this day.

The greatest athletes of all time have their names set in stone. Every year a new star comes out of the shadows and becomes the focus of global interest. Nations back their athletes financially to ensure they receive a medal. Winning gold in the Olympics Games is seen as the highest honor an athlete can achieve because of its prestigious image. The Olympics have not always been about the athletes. Nations competing have been victims of political scandals. When one country goes against another country, some people do not only view it as a fight for gold, but as a war amongst nations. Soccer fields have become battlegrounds and players, soldiers. Swimming pools turn into bloodbaths, and tennis court nets as do territorial partitions. Since the early 1900s, governments have used the Olympics to prove that their nation is superior by spending more on athletic ability, more on Olympic stadiums, and more on defeating their rivals. At times, athletes can be pushed so far that they collapse under the pressure of chasing for gold. All of the above will be discoursed from a financial, political, and historical point of view.

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.

Rosenblum , Steven. "Senior Capstone Project ." The Impact of the Summer Olympics on its Host

Over the last 30 years, a paradigm shift has occurred between the International Olympic Committee 's original philosophy and the relationship with its global stakeholders. The IOC, fundamentally rooted in the Olympic philosophy of life, now seems primarily concerned with its own growing commercial prospects. The core ideals of Olympism are that of culture exchange, universal love of sport, championing human rights and enacting social reformations throughout the the global community (Olympic Charter 13). However, due to past financial deficits for Olympic hosts, the IOC shifted their focus to commercialization in order to secure funding for the Games (Pruess 6). Since 1984, the IOC has entirely changed the ways it delivers the Games, in the

During the Cold War, the Olympics were severely influenced by politics, regardless of their original values. Almost fifty countries boycotted in the Moscow Olympic or did not participate in the opening ceremony. The athletes could not fight under the national flag. People cannot call this as the biggest, worldwide sporting event with which we enjoy supporting and cheering on the athletes. Certain Olympic games are indelibly associated with politics (Runciman 39). These relationships severely ruin the original values of the Olympics and cause serious problems. For example, intentional selection of the host countries, unfair judgments and the opportunity to get medals, segregation, and certain problematic actions such as boycotts and controversial performance. Clearly, some IOC members disagreed with the insertion of politics into the Olympics (Whiteside). The Tokyo Olympics will take place in Japan during the year 2020, and the Olympics will last for long in our future. To save and maintain the original values of the Olympics and keep it as a worldwide, enjoyable sporting event, people in the host countries, and all participants of the Olympics, including the audiences should keep their politics out of it.

The following essay provides discussions of the scope and objectives of the London Olympic Games 2012, and identifies event major stakeholders. Work break-down structure, McKinsey 7S, PESTLE Model and other relevant planning techniques will be introduced to demonstrate project requirements such as infrastructures, financial, man-power, technologies, resources, risks management, operations, procedures and more. This essay will also point out the obstacles faced by the project manager during the preparations of the events, and provide solutions adopted that influenced project outcomes.

For the past few years there has been a very controversy issue that has been plaguing the Summer Olympics. The Summer Olympics was first held in 1896, it’s an international multi-sport where athletes around the world come to compete with other athletes from different countries. There are many events that are held in the Summer Olympics ranging from Track and Field all the way to Volleyball and Basketball. In each Olympic event there are medals that earned to the winners, the first place winners get a gold medal, the second place winners get a silver medal, and the third place winners gets a bronze medal.

Not Worth the Price People all around the world watched the 2014 Winter Olympics, which were hosted by the Russian city of Sochi. At first glance, people may have thought that Russia did a great job with it all, making the city of Sochi "great," with new roads, bridges, hotels, ski resorts, and some of the world's best athletic facilities. Some may not realize some of the negative effects of these games; which were the most expensive Olympic Games in history. I’ve done a lot of research on the Sochi Olympics and have determined that the games were a waste of money and not worth the price.

On December 10th, 1893, the Prime Minister of Greece, Trikoupis, went to parliament and stated that the country was bankrupt. Greece had over-borrowed money from other countries and the bankruptcy resulted in a decrease in overseas and state income. About halfway into 1893, about half of the Greek budget was being used in order to get the country out of debt. Eventually the problem became so bad that Greece had to give up their control over their finances to British, French, German, and other commission officials. When the meeting in France about the revival of the Olympics was held, Pierre de Coubertin decided that the first Modern Olympics would be held in Greece, even though the Greeks did not want to hold them. Although Prime Minister Trikoupis