The Reasons Behind the Increasing Commercialism of the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a world wide event, held once every 4 years. It
is the most important event amongst the elite athletes of today. It is
viewed on television by billions of people across the world, by
satellite transmission (started in Tokyo in 1964). This worldwide
viewing attracted sponsors as they realised that by supporting the
Olympics their product would be advertised on every product sold, as
they would be the 'official sponsor'. The advances in technology has
played a fundamental role in the increase in commercialism, as large
sums of money are put forwards for television rights over the Games
from companies such as Sky, the BBC and ABC.
Sponsorship plays an essential function in the running of the
Olympics. Money from sponsors is used for administration, travel and
accommodation for the athletes and officials, communication and
equipment. In the Barcelona Olympics of 1992, there were 44 companies
included in The Olympic Programme (TOP). The commercialisation or
Americanisation of the Games involves many multinational companies
like McDonald's, who have been involved with the Olympic Movement
since 1976 when it became an official sponsor of the Olympic Games in
Montreal. McDonald's joins The Coca-Cola Company, Kodak Company, Sema
Group, TIME/Sports Illustrated, Xerox, and VISA as TOP V sponsors, to
name a few. A spokesman for McDonald's, Jack Greenberg, believed that
McDonald's were a "unique company, capable of bringing the fun and
excitement of the world's premiere sporting event to 43 million
customers every day."
However the real reason behind this sponsor was chosen as it was
offering the Olympic Committee millions of dollars in sponsorship.
McDonald's, as an example, wanted to exploit the Games, using it as an
advertising tool, to imply their company has a clean, reliable and
idealistic image like that of the Olympics.
The Salt Lake Organising Committee received approximately US$ 1,390.5
million from Olympic marketing programmes, but a question asked by
many is
Where exactly does all the money come from?
There are many factors that have shaped the cutting edge Olympic development from 1892 to 2002. The unique objective was to make a global group through games rivalry. Much like the Ancient amusements between Greek city-expresses, the recreations were made to advance solidarity. Be that as it may, as time passed numerous overall occasions, for example, the Cold War and ladies' suffrage adjusted the objectives of the Olympics. Political perspectives and developments started to shape the Olympics. Furthermore, economic increases and interests turned into an essential part of the Olympics. The cooperation of countries amid the twentieth century included patriotism, and additionally social, political, and economic purposes behind joining and taking
that rules would be abided by and so the games were to be held in
ABSTRACT: The purity of the Olympics has been smeared by scandal, corruption, boycotts, political disputes and even acts of terrorism. Sadly, politics have taken control of the Olympics and turned it into a political and money-making extravaganza. Olympic boycotts became a way for countries to protest each other. Hitler tried to use the Games to prove his belief of racial superiority. Wars interfered with the Olympics. Bloodshed even covered the Olympics, in the 1972 Munich Games where terrorists killed eleven Israeli Olympic members. Unfortunately, throughout Olympic history, politics have overshadowed the true focus of the Games. They were "intended to unite the countries of the world through friendly competition" not segregate them through politics (Siggers 1).
Since the first Olympic Games in 1896 winning the Olympics meant more than just a medal, it showed the power that the winning country possesses. Although the Olympics are meant to show peaceful amiability between all counties, geopolitics is still a factor in the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee President states “sport can only contribute to development and peace if it’s not used as a stage for political contest, have the courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful direct political dialogue and not on the backs of athletes.” Many historians ask if geopolitics was a factor in the Olympics during the Cold War era. The answer isn’t an opinion; geopolitics has never been absent in the Olympics and that is especially true for the Cold War. The Cold War was a battle for political power that will dominates the rest of the world. The idea that this was a battle for power explains the arms race, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Logically, this need to upstage the opposing super power leaked into international sports competition. With all this competition whirling around during the Cold War, the Olympics became a literal race against communism or democracy. As geopolitics played such a major role in the Olympics during the Cold War era, athletes’ fates were ultimately altered.
The Olympic Games, hosted in Olympia, Greece, reflected and represented many of Greece 's traditional values in their culture, politics, and social institutions. With the Olympics being the biggest event in Greece at the time, the occasion brought many new ideas and showed what the traditions and customs of Greece were really about. Through this big spectacle people learned about their own culture and went through many experiences ranging from listening to poets and praying at the Temple of Zeus to spectating the sport of “Pankration”, a combination of boxing and wrestling. They would even compete in the nude as a time-honored tradition. “...the practice [competing in the nude] also symbolically stripped away social rank, an extraordinary gesture toward a democratic sporting ideal in the status-obsessed ancient world.”(pg. 7) The Olympics
A very popular and large sporting event that receives an extremely high volume of national media coverage is the Olympic Games. For a number of years, major stations like NBC has provided audiences with an around the clock coverage of the Games. Many other major medias similar to NBC have also done the same by devoted sections solely to the Olympic Games. The Olympics is a time where citizens come together to root for their home country, strengthening their sense of nationalism and pride and cheering for their home athletes to come out victoriously and the country as a powerhouse of the world. Organically, the games give off a sense of war like mentality because countries are competing against each other for the prize, the gold metal. As a competitive college athlete, I can relate to the feeling of pride and nationalism one get before and especially after competing and beating an opponent.
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.
Politics is the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. The Olympic Games is an event held every 4 years, which includes a variety of sport activities in which different countries compete against one another. “Sport is frequently a tool of diplomacy. By sending delegations of athletes abroad, states can establish a first basis for diplomatic relations or can more effectively maintain such relations” (Espy 3). One might think that politics and the Olympics have nothing to do with each other, but in fact they do have a lot in common. How did politics affect the Olympic Games in 1936, 1968 and 1972?
With over two hundred countries participating, the Olympic Games is easily considered as one of the largest multisport event known to history. The Olympics are held at a different country, and even more rarely at the same city. For a country to be chosen to host the Olympics, the country’s National Olympic Committee (the country’s representatives for the Olympics) nominates a city (from the country they represent) that they think has potential in hosting the Olympics nine years prior to when they wish to host the Olympics. It is a two year process that consists of: Application Phase, Candidate Phase and the Election of the Host City. The country that wins the election is given seven years to prepare for the Olympics. (International Olympic Committee, n.d., p. xx-xx) The hosting country expends billions of dollars, usually money they don’t have, preparing for the Olympics. Then the question is raised 'why would a country go through so much trouble and spend an outrageous amount of money to host this event?' Throughout this discussion paper it will address all the pros and cons for a country to host the Olympics. It will also see if a smaller sports event can produce the same benefits the Olympic offers with less cost and risk.
The Olympic Games plays a significant role in the world. The relationship between it and host countries is important to investigate for comprehending cultural studies. According to Xu and Kirby (2008), the Olympic Games has a considerable impact on the expression of national identity. For example, London applied this approach to promote its national identity. This can be discovered from the BBC video called James Bond escorts The Queen to the opening ceremony in 2012 (2012): an amiable identity is perceived by the audience through presenting corgi at Buckingham Palace. Moreover, China is no exception. There is an image about the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, it shows a spectacular drumming performance. In addition, an article about
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.
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.
Commercialization is the process of introducing a product to either a mass or niche market. Owners, often, encourage such commercialization because it helps to expose their team or sport to larger audiences, which will help generate revenue. Commercial sport is something not all people are comfortable with or like. I think that it has its place within professional sports alone. But we are seeing it more and more at the college level with Div. 1 NCAA Men’s Basketball and Football. At an elite amateur level, like colligate sport, I think is where commercialization is a bad thing because it takes away from what amateur sport is really about which is participating in athletics while learning. However, the same cannot be said about professional sports. In elite sport, I think that it is almost a required concept. It’s something that is necessary for the survival of the sport itself. Without commercialization, teams wouldn’t be able to pay the players the salaries of their contracts
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.
The Olympic Games were a vital part of Greek culture which was heavily influenced by athletics. Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest presentation of athletic skill and competitive spirit. Thousands of athletes and spectators participate in this universal event. Revived in 1896, the Olympic Games had their beginnings in ancient Greece, and since then the event is very much comparable to modern Olympic events.