The Olympic Games are well-known to people around the world, but its history sets it apart from other global games. The history of the Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 B.C. in Ancient Greece (Jessica, 2016). The games were a dedication to the Greek god Zeus and just as we do now, the games were held after a four-year cycle (Olympiad). The games were banned in 393 A.D. after they were banned by Emperor Theodosius I (Jessica, 2016).
However, the games were again revived in 1896 when the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens (Jessica, 2016). The formation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ensured that the games did not suffer the same fate as in 393 A.D. Since then, the games have been held consistently after every four years with several competitions being added to the Olympiad (Jessica, 2016).
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The Olympic Games symbol also sets it apart from other global games. The symbol is made up of 5 rings each representing the unification of all the five continents. The Olympic rings were the work of Pierre de Coubertin’s and despite several changes they have maintained the original outlook provided by Coubertin (“The Olympic Rings”, n.d.). The symbol is composed of five rings that are interlaced and appear in five colors, blue, yellow, black, green and red.
Despite the unification and the benefits, the Olympic Games bring, there is also harm that comes with hosting the games. The unification of five continents makes up the Olympic Games televised and watched by millions of people. The social impact placed on the people can be somewhat daunting. The scrutiny of social issues surrounding the buildup and launch of these games have had a major impact across the globe.
Social Issues Plaguing the Olympic Games Hosts
Hosting the Olympic Games has always been associated with profits made and several other benefits. However, there are downsides to hosting this global event. One of the most evident downsides is the financial burden that these host countries must deal with. Social issues also plague the events and are often forgotten once the games end. These issues range from forced evictions to social injustices and are discussed below.
The Olympic Games and Displacement Issues
The construction of new facilities for hosting the Olympic Games often results in the displacement of poor families. The displacement of these families is often because low incoming housing areas are considered dispensable. During preparations for the Rio Olympics, several residential areas were demolished to pave way for a network of roads that would be used to access Rio’s Olympic Park (Waldron & Maciel, 2016).
The demolition of Vila Autódromo is what exposed the displacement of poor families in Brazil. Vila Autódromo had been neglected by the authorities in Rio and despite several promises nothing was done to change the living conditions in the favela. In 2009, the favela was demolished to prepare for the Rio Olympics despite several protests from the residents. By the end of the Rio Olympics only 20 families were left in the area and over 500 families displaced.
Loss of real estate is also another issue associated with hosting the Olympic Games. Host cities often invest in the construction of Olympic Villages to host the athletes. A lot of money is used in constructing state-of-the-art residential complexes. However, whenever the games end, these complexes are left vacant and abandoned as they are likely to expensive for the city’s residents to rent.
Vancouver’s Olympic Village is a great example of lost real estate. Vancouver’s Olympic Village was a billion-dollar investment, but it did not profit the city. After the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics the residential and retail complex did not attract any residents and those who had bought some of its units complained that its construction had been shoddy (Mackin, 2016). In 2010, the City of Vancouver put the complex for receivership (Mackin, 2016).
Vancouver’s Olympic Village complex was eventually bought in 2014 but at a loss. The building whose total investment cost was $1.1 billion was bought at a price of $91 million (Mackin, 2016). This sale was considered a tax loss by many business analysts who saw its construction did more harm than good for Vancouver. This tax loss meant that the taxpayers were the ones who lost in the investment.
The Olympic Games and Social Justice
Hosting the Olympic Games might put a city on the world’s radar, but its residents suffer several social injustices. The displacement of several families for the construction of roads or sports facilities is a violation of human rights. These families are often poor and already live in squalid conditions. Forcefully evicting them from their homes only worsens their living conditions and does less to reduce their poverty levels.
The demolition and forceful eviction of the residents of Vila Autódromo is not an isolated issue. According to a report by the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions of Switzerland, over 2 million people were displaced during the Summer Olympics held between 1988 and 2008 (Waldron & Maciel, 2016). These violations of human rights cannot simply be labeled as the byproducts of the Olympic Games but are the products instead.
The demolition of Techwood Homes in Atlanta is also another example of social injustice. Techwood Homes was a “federally subsidized public housing object” and the first of its kind (Waldron & Maciel, 2016). In preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympics the homes were demolished, and Atlanta’s housing authority revised its eviction provisions so that residents could be evicted for ““minor lease infractions” (Waldron & Maciel, 2016).
The billions of money spent on hosting the Olympic Games is also an issue. Lately, hosting rights for the games have been awarded to developing nations (“The Social and Cultural Impacts”, 2016). These developing nations are already facing various socio-economic issues and hosting the Olympic Games comes with an added financial burden further deteriorating the country’s economy.
The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece has been blamed for the city’s recession. The city invested in new facilities that were to be used during the games, but these facilities now remain unused. These 24 venues are now referred to as “white elephants” by the resident (“The Social and Cultural Impacts”, 2016). This reference is fitting as these facilities are expensive to maintain.
Brazil’s spending on the 2016 Summer Olympics has also been highly criticized. The city spent a $1.5 billion to construct its Olympic Village (Mackin, 2016). However, during the preparations the city was faced with financial problems that even led to the scaling back of some projects (“Rio 2016”, 2016). These investments were made despite Rio’s residents living under squalid conditions.
The Olympic Games and Security Issues
Security is always an issue of concern for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The host country is always expected to put in security measures during the games. This measure is taken to ensure the safety of all participants and the spectators. More security means more spectator and participants. This is the reason host countries also spend a lot on their budget to ensure there is security at all the games venues.
The 2018 Winter Olympics held in PyeongChang, South Korea, had twice the number of security personnel when compared to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The main reason behind this large investment in security is the potential nuclear threats from North Korea (Allen & Gutman, 2018). Therefore, South Korea employed about 60,000 security personnel which also included 50,000 soldiers (Allen & Gutman, 2018).
South Korea’s security measures employed the use of attack drones for the first time. These attack drones were used as a measure against any enemy drones carrying bombs (Allen & Gutman, 2018). South Korea also invested heavily on over 800 surveillance cameras to ensure the public’s safety. However, tough security measures seem to be only applied during these global events and at the end of it all, everything goes back to normal.
Rio de Janeiro is an example of a city whose security was only beefed for the sake of the Olympic Games. Rio has faced an increase in crime rates for a long time. This problem had not been addressed by the mayor who admitted that the country was doing a terrible job to reduce crime (Adhav, 2016). It was only during the games that security measures were put in place not to protect the residents but the athletes.
The security measures put in place during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games failed terribly. These failures highlighted the conditions Rio residents had to put with to survive. One of the most troubling security failures during the games was the raid of a hospital by over 20 gun-wielding assailants (Adhav, 2016). These assailants were even able to free a suspected drug kingpin who was being treated at the hospital under police surveillance.
Summary
Summary of Findings
Evidently, there is more to hosting an Olympic event than meets the eye. Hosting the Olympic Games comes with a lot of pride, but it also has its consequences. Those who suffer the most are the residents of the host cities who must put up with city authorities that are insensitive to their plight. These people have been forgotten and still do not benefit from the Olympic Games their cities host.
Hosting the Olympic Games has robbed people of their homes. Forced evictions and displacement always rock the preparations for these games. Protests do little to alleviate the problem as people’s homes are demolished and families displaced. Even worse is the loss of real estate put up during the games. These residential complexes are eventually sold at a loss and the taxpayers suffer the ones to suffer.
Overspending on Olympic Games budgets also drives the host nations further into economic recession. Rio’s preparation for the games was rocked with financial problems. Athens also faced economic recession after using billions in preparation for the games. Security measure are also only put in place for the games while on other occasions the cities’ residents must deal with rising crime rates.
Critical Reflection
The societal issues plaguing the Olympic Games reflects how the meaning of the games has evolved over the years. Initially, the International Olympic Committee had to look for hosts but lately the search for hosts has been turned into a bidding process (“The Social and Cultural Impacts”, 2016). The games have become profit driven as the host nations seek to make high returns on investment from them.
There have been success stories from other host cities. For example, Los Angeles made so much profit during the 1984 Summer Olympics that even after giving 60 percent of its profit to the U.S. Olympic Committee, it remained with $93 million dollars (“The Social and Cultural Impacts”, 2016). This is not the case for all cities and those that do not benefit from hosting the events are faced with societal issues that have long-standing effects.
The Olympic Games have driven cities to economic recession. The financial burden for host cities can be so huge that the cities fall into debt and can no longer maintain the facilities they built for the games. Athens faced economic recession after hosting the games leaving most of its facilities abandoned. Vancouver had to sell its Olympic Village at a price less than the $1.1 billion spent to build it.
The residents of host cities also do not benefit from these games. Residents are either forcefully evicted or displaced. The residents of Vila Autódromo in Rio and Techwood Homes are perfect examples of how much harm hosting the games can have on people. These residents already lived in poverty and continue to live that way. Those who benefit are developers who are contracted to build the new facilities and the wealthy residents whose homes remain standing.
The money spent in preparation for the games is better put to other uses. It is highly illogical for countries to spend money to host a sports events when their economy is facing inflation. Rio’s budget for the 2016 games should have been used to better the lives of its residents. Continually ignoring the plight of your own citizens does not do a government any good and only encourages protests as seen in Brazil.
Security is not only vital for global games but also for the citizens. Host nations spend a lot to beef up security during Olympics even offering the services of their military personnel. However, when it comes to handling rising crime rates, nothing is done as evidenced by the mayor of Rio. The absence of any security measures to deal with the rising crime rate explains why Rio’s security measures during the games failed.
Conclusion
The hosting problems associated with the Olympic Games must be handled. The games were built on the idea of unifying the five continents. This idea is even symbolized in the Olympic rings. If no changes are made, the games will divide instead of uniting. The popularity of these games is also threatened. These social issues might eventually lead some countries to boycott the events.
The first approach towards alleviating these problems is for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to acknowledge they exist. Acknowledging the existence of these problems does not end there as the IOC must also step in and speak out if people are being oppressed. Keeping quiet only shows they are not concerned. If the IOC is against these social injustices, then host nations are less likely to commit them.
There also needs to be criteria set for the bidding process that limits the participation of countries that lack the financial resources to host the games. These criteria should not be used to discriminate any countries. However, the inclusion of such criteria should be used to ensure that these countries do not drive themselves to economic recession by hosting the games. The IOC also needs to downsize the Olympic Games to make the event less cost intensive for host nations.
The Olympic Games have survived too long to suffer demise because of problems that can be solved. By solving these issues, the Olympic Games will be returned to their former glory. Its unifying role is only effective if it does not bring along with it problems with long-term undesirable effects on the host nations. It is about time the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stepped in to save this global event.
References
The Olympic Rings. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://www.olympic.org/olympic-rings
The Social and Cultural Impacts of Hosting the Olympics. (2016, August 29). Aperian Global . Retrieved March 03, 2018, from http://www.aperianglobal.com/social-cultural-impacts-hosting-olympic-games/
Rio 2016: City ready to host Olympic Games, says IOC. (2016, July 11). BBC Sport . Retrieved March 02, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/36768248
Allen, K., & Gutman, M. (2018, February 08). Intense security measures in place ahead of Olympics in South Korea. ABC News . Retrieved March 04, 2018, from http://abcnews.go.com/International/intense-security-measures-place-ahead-olympics-south-korea/story?id=52925816
Adhav, L. (2016, August 19). 13 of the Biggest Health and Security Flops at the Rio Olympics. Cosmopolitan . Retrieved March 16, 2018, from https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/news/a62849/rio-2016-summer-olympics-security-fails-concerns/
Mackin, B. (2016, August 9). Olympic Village: details emerge of “tax loss” sale. Business In Vancouver . Retrieved March 16, 2018, from https://biv.com/article/2016/08/olympic-village-details-emerge-tax-loss-sale
Waldron, T., & Maciel, E. (2016, August 18). The Olympics Are Always A Disaster For Poor People. HuffPost . Retrieved March 16, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/olympics-poor-rio-atlanta_us_57aa27a2e4b0db3be07bde67
Juliet. (2016, February 16). From Ancient to Modern: The History of the Olympic Games. PyeongChang 2018 . Retrieved March 16, 2018, from https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/blog/From-Ancient-to-Modern-The-History-of-the-Olympic-Games
