Why host the Olympics?
With Brazil coming out of the 2016 Olympics worse for wear both economically and politically, it begs the question of why countries still bid for hosting the event. The answer is the exact reason Brazil choose to host the 2016 Olympics: the possibility of a post Olympic boom and voter support.
While economically, host cities lose more money than they earn, it is seen as a way to achieve political agendas. For example, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were done as a display of China's economic and governmental abilities. The goal of the 2012 London Summer Olympics was to revitalize a poorer part of London at a faster rate. And for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the government hopes that the games will improve the countries' economy. These bets, while not always successful, as seen through the case of Brazils plummeting economy, provide incentive for countries to host the Olympic games.
Furthermore, there is enormous support from voters to host the Olympics. Surprisingly, Rio's local community was very supportive of the country hosting the Olympics. It was only until the preparations for the Olympics were underway that the community started protesting against how it was being set up. This type of support from voters is seen in almost every country that bids for the Olympics, and is a strong reason why governments choose to bet on the Olympics.
However, the problem with the Olympics is that many thing can change in the time between when the countries win the bid and have to host the Olympics. In fact, the very politicians that bid for the Olympics are often out of office by the time the event itself occurs. This change means that when the event fails, the people who are blamed aren't even the politicians who benefitted from the initial support. In turn, there is no incentive for these politicians to consider the long term impacts of their actions.
Countries host the Olympics for reasons other than the media attention, whether it be because of economic or political incentives. The results of actually hosting the games are often times different from the intent, and some countries come out of the Olympics worse for wear. Despite this, countries continue to bid in hopes of achieving a post Olympic boom that may never come.
Sources :
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/rio-hoped-for-a-post-olympics-boom-instead-it-is-still-mired-in-crisis/2016/12/08/3022d4e0-b1f9-11e6-bc2d-19b3d759cfe7_story.html?utm_term=.263ec145f816
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/09/08/why-would-anyone-want-to-host-the-olympics
https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/ezepwj/a-legacy-of-crisis-rio-after-the-olympics
While economically, host cities lose more money than they earn, it is seen as a way to achieve political agendas. For example, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were done as a display of China's economic and governmental abilities. The goal of the 2012 London Summer Olympics was to revitalize a poorer part of London at a faster rate. And for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the government hopes that the games will improve the countries' economy. These bets, while not always successful, as seen through the case of Brazils plummeting economy, provide incentive for countries to host the Olympic games.
Furthermore, there is enormous support from voters to host the Olympics. Surprisingly, Rio's local community was very supportive of the country hosting the Olympics. It was only until the preparations for the Olympics were underway that the community started protesting against how it was being set up. This type of support from voters is seen in almost every country that bids for the Olympics, and is a strong reason why governments choose to bet on the Olympics.
However, the problem with the Olympics is that many thing can change in the time between when the countries win the bid and have to host the Olympics. In fact, the very politicians that bid for the Olympics are often out of office by the time the event itself occurs. This change means that when the event fails, the people who are blamed aren't even the politicians who benefitted from the initial support. In turn, there is no incentive for these politicians to consider the long term impacts of their actions.
Countries host the Olympics for reasons other than the media attention, whether it be because of economic or political incentives. The results of actually hosting the games are often times different from the intent, and some countries come out of the Olympics worse for wear. Despite this, countries continue to bid in hopes of achieving a post Olympic boom that may never come.
Sources :
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/rio-hoped-for-a-post-olympics-boom-instead-it-is-still-mired-in-crisis/2016/12/08/3022d4e0-b1f9-11e6-bc2d-19b3d759cfe7_story.html?utm_term=.263ec145f816
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/09/08/why-would-anyone-want-to-host-the-olympics
https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/ezepwj/a-legacy-of-crisis-rio-after-the-olympics
Interesting post, Sophia! I remember the controversy surrounding the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, how there was the imminent threat of Zika from the large populations of mosquitos in Brazil, the delayed construction of Olympic arenas, the polluted and bacteria-infested waters where athletes would be competing, and the political riot. In fact, Rio only received $1.5 billion in aid from the International Olympic Committee, meaning the country had to front over $10 billion in other related costs. And even to this day, the debt from those Olympics has been rising steadily, with no clear plan as to how Brazil will pay them off. Ultimately, while some Olympics have been success stories for their respective countries, the Rio Games shows that there's always a risk of political and economic harm in the long run.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://deadspin.com/more-than-two-years-after-the-games-rios-olympic-debt-1832558040
Great post. Host cities obviously will attract people as the games will take place in their cities. With that, it allows people from all over the world to explore that city. Whether it's restaurants, landscape, the city, etc. there is room for people to enjoy that given city which in essence help their economy.
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