The London Olympic Games - Essay Example

The London Olympic Games The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the precious two Olympic Games and identify some trends that the Olympic Games can learn from these examples. The format that this paper will utilize is to first identify the previous two Olympic Games then highlight the positive and negative elements of these national experiences. For the purpose of this paper the focus will be on the last two summer games in Beijing, China and Athens, Greece respectively. Next this paper will draw some conclusions will be drawn as to how this information might be aptly applied to the 2012 summer Olympics in London. The 2004 Olympics in Athens Greece market a significant event for the nation. According to the Longman (2004), the two nations that were short listed for the event were Athens and Rome, and it was the case that Athens beat out its Italian competitor by 66 to 41 votes. According to Hansen (2006) Greece is the historic home to the Olympic Games with the first events being held between city states from approximately 800 BCE to 500 AD. However in the Modern context the first Olympic Games were held in Athens and the return was seen as being significant to the nation. A number of external factors hurt the progress of the Olympic Games in Greece. As argued by Itano (2008) writing for the Christian Science Monitor, the games brought about significant cost overruns that have not paid dividends in the long run. For example the games cost approximately U.S.$15billion which was spent upgrading the transportation infrastructure and to build new facilities yet the Olympic softball stadium arguably stands nearly unused and many of the redeveloped ecological parks developed after the games have been used by Roma as campgrounds. However not all the news is negative for the Mediterranean nation insofar as the nation established a new Airport which can bring with it significant tourist revenues, furthermore new metro infrastructure was built which serves approximately 600,000 people daily. However the financial distress brought about by the games as argued by the Examiner it was indicated that the 2004 Olympics in Athens helped fuel the European financial crisis because Greece had significantly over shot their budgets and had a poor showing in their audiences (Partly attributed to security concerns and post September 11th reluctance for people to fly). This situation made it difficult for Greece to borrow money to pay down other debts accumulated over the years which could be argued is linked to over spending at the summer Olympics. In regards to the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008, according to Wines (2010) it was the case that these Olympics were the biggest and most expensive Olympics to date. It should be noted that this particular Olympics was beset with both criticisms as well as compliments. In regards to criticisms, according to BBC Sport (2007) it is the case that the city of Beijing is plagued by poor air quality. Furthermore it is the case that serious human rights violations brought about significant negative press for the Olympic event which in turn brought with it serious complaints from international human rights groups who (more or less) vehemently protested throughout the entire sporting event by disrupting the torch relay, holding massive demonstrations etc. Building on this point, BBC Sport (2007) also indicated that China was indeed banned from producing any Olympic merchandise for concerns regarding child labor violations. However, it has been argued that the Olympics were a smashing success for the East Asian nation. There is little question that the Olympics sparked a massive revitalization of Chinese infrastructure, prompting significant investments in housing (for the athletes) new sporting venues, transportation infrastructure etc. The result of this action is that the Olympics helped modernize a number of ageing institutions in the nation and what this can do is ultimately bring new life to the business community in China. Furthermore one could present the argument that the thousands upon thousands of tourists, athletes, media personnel, IOC members etc. brought with them a great deal of money which could have directly stimulated the economy of China. In the long term one could also argue that people who would not otherwise be interested in China could have had a pleasant experience and be willing to not only revisit China but also invest in the nation. The question that remains are what lessons should be learned by the British in order to effectively incorporate the good aspects of the Olympics without inheriting all of the negative effects. In the case of Athens the two most significant gains from the Olympics were the upgrades made to the metro and airport infrastructure. In this regard one could expect the same from London, to add new tube lines and make improvements to the hotel infrastructure and Heathrow Airport to incorporate the additional tourists. Secondly the nation can make serious upgrades to their sporting facilities to help create positive long term benefits for the people of London by having new facilities. Some of the negative repercussions of Athens was that many sporting facilities because unused after the events so London should establish a long term plan for all of the facilities, such as if the nation were to build a soft ball field, they should ensure that it could be converted into a field that is better utilized by the local population if they were not to become interested in softball. Lastly, London should pay very close attention to their budgets to ensure that there are no significant cost overruns, and by extension a great deal of marketing should be done to ensure enough tourists come to the events to offset some of the long terms costs. In conclusion it is the case that both of the previous negative and positive aspects. London should consider making improvements to their metro system because in the context of Athens this brought about a positive long term affect on the economy. In the Beijing context London should pay close attention to the air quality along the Eastern seaboard of the country. Much like China, Great Britain should pay close attention to the security and safety of the athletes. Furthermore, London should develop a long term plan for the facilities that are built to ensure that they have long term usage. If for example London were to build a sporting facility for a sport that is not particularly popular in England they should consider converting it after the games. Lastly, London should conduct as much marketing and promotion as possible as this would be a real boost to filling seats. References BBC Sport (August 8th, 2007) Pollution Risk for Olympic Events. BBC Sport. [online] Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/6934955.stm Accessed on March 12th 2010. Hansen, M. (2006). Polis, an Introduction to the Ancient Greek City-State. Oxford University Press. Oxford, England. Itano, N. (July 21st 2008) As Olympic Glow Fades, Anthens Questions $15 billion Cost. The Christian Science Monitor. Longman, J. (September 6th 1997) Athens Wins a Vote for Tradition, and the 2004 Olympics. The New York Times. Page 133 of the New York Edition. Wines, M. (February 7th, 2010) After Summer Olympics, Empty Shells in Beijing. The New York Times. Page WK3 New York Edition. Read More