With the start of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last week, I once again started to think about the Olympics, and the last time I was so excited to watch them. The last time the Olympics really got my attention was in 2012, at the Summer Olympics in London. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, as well as the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, failed to get me to watch closely. In fact, the 2016 Rio Olympics were known not for their events or their opening ceremony, but rather the issues that bogged down the whole event. With problems ranging from an unstable federal government in Brazil to polluted seawater in the Guanabara Bay, it was a miracle that the Rio Olympics were not just cancelled. In my opinion, they should have been cancelled and many people agreed with me, but the Brazilian government went past the point of no return as soon as they began laying the foundations for the Olympics.
Hosting the Olympic games is no easy or cheap task, as it requires a massive workforce to construct the arenas, the Olympic Village, as well as the transportation system and roads that are required. Most countries that host the Olympic games greatly exceed the budgets that they put aside for the event. For example, China spent 45 billion dollars on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, more than twice of the estimated budget. Another example is Rio, where the estimated budget was around 14 billion dollars, but the whole event ended up costing 25 billion dollars.
However, the issue is not resolved when the games end. Once the Olympics move on, numerous problems that remain, one of which is the presence of structures built specifically for the Olympics. Once the games are over, the Olympic-specific buildings are not demolished, but are instead left to deteriorate, causing the land they were built on to lose value. There is no way of dealing with these structures without a deficit. Demolishing them will cause a deficit for the government, while having the buildings remain there will affect the land they are found on and the land around them negatively in the long-term.
Another concern is the International Olympic Committee. Every two years, cities interested in hosting the Olympics make bids to the IOC, which in turn always pushes for, and prefers, more expensive plans. The IOC is known for having a history of corruption; one example (out of many) came just last fall when Carlos Nuzman, former president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, was arrested for bribery in connection to the selection of Rio for the 2016 games.
Beyond the issues of corruption and misuse of public money, more localized problems arise within each country that hosts the Olympics. The governments usually have to make space for all of these new structures that will be built for the Olympics, while also trying to improve the image of the city that the games will be held in due to the expected tourist traffic. However, due to the strict timeline they are on, the removal of citizens from certain areas of the cities could be rushed and violent. The best and most recent example of this is the Rio Olympics, where the Brazilian government sent in authorities to remove people from the favelas.The whole process resulted in riots, protests, and the Brazilian government building a highway directly from the airport that had walls surrounding it, to prevent tourists from looking at the favelas and the riots.
All of these issues raise one question: What could a solution look like? First of all, I believe in eliminating the bidding process in favor of reusing existing facilities.
The location for each year’s games could be chosen by a simple raffle. Another solution could be that countries are given even more time to build and prepare for the Olympics, and also have to include plans on how they would relocate their citizens and how they will regulate the infrastructure of the cities. These plans could be reviewed by a separate committee, comprised of city planners and architects.
After reviewing all of this, it is easy to say that the Olympics bring more harm than good both for the countries that host them and their populations. However, despite all of their deficits, the Olympics are the times where the entire world unites to see their best athletes compete in a myriad of sports, and where the best of the best are rewarded.
Personally, I will never forget the time where I saw Michael Phelps dominate most of the swimming categories during the summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008, and how it spiked my interest in the sport of swimming. That is another reason why the Olympics should not be discontinued: To raise a new generation that saw the best athletes during their childhood, and aspired to become even better ones.
