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Making the Olympic Games truly global, fairer and cheaper to run

By Chris Lewis - posted Wednesday, 21 July 2021


Breaking up the OG to have many locations would allow more bidding cities (and countries) to focus on the sports of their choice with the IOC weighing up various arguments about which cities can host events and maximise interest in the sport.  

For example, certain European cities have the greatest interest in track and field given they host the most Diamond League events and attract the biggest crowds in line with greater public interest.  

Whatever the bidding outcomes for each individual sport, the reality would be that many more cities around the world could afford to host a sport.

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There are many cities around the world that could easily host the OG athletics which is the biggest sport with around 1900 athletes from more than 190 countries competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

There are many more cities, including much smaller ones with population of less than 200,000, that could hold OG sports which will require much less logistics and resources.

Another alternative would be for a continent/region to hold the games with sports spread to different cities, and for the OG to be awarded on a rotating basis between the continents/regions.

While it could be argued that Africa would currently struggle to make a feasible bid, there would be nothing fairer than rotating the OG between Europe, Asia (including Oceania) and the Americas.  

Each of the major continents/regions have many cities that could easily meet the required standards to host just a few sports, including athletics.

My own preference would be for one city to host one sport, which would ensure that the maximum number of cities would get their opportunity for OG participation.

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If not, then perhaps a limit of two or three sports per city.

Some OG sports, such as the popular football and basketball events, could be shared by a country with many cities hosting group and finals games.  

Whatever the option, the IOC and its national affiliates would then ensure that each OG sport is rotated or shared on a fair basis to different cities as long as they meet the expected facility and organisation standards without excessive bids.

I can imagine the day when an OG may include athletics in a European city, Australia or the US hosting the swimming, China holding the table tennis, Japan celebrating Judo and Karate, and the South Pacific islands hosting the rugby sevens. 

Can you?

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About the Author

Chris Lewis, who completed a First Class Honours degree and PhD (Commonwealth scholarship) at Monash University, has an interest in all economic, social and environmental issues, but believes that the struggle for the ‘right’ policy mix remains an elusive goal in such a complex and competitive world.

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