Foreword - Geographical AssociationSome of the ideas in this unit of work were originally adapted from an article by Geraint Thomas, and complementary item by C.F. Willmot titled ‘Footnote

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Foreword by Bronwen Perry

Sports Geography: The Athens GamesISBN 0 9578047 1 7

Published by the Australian Geography Teachers’ Association Limited503 Burke Road (PO Box 2066) Camberwell South VIC 3124Website: <www.agta.asn.au>

© Australian Geography Teachers’ Association Limited 2004

DisclaimerThis publication has been prepared for the members and professional associates of the AustralianGeography Teachers’ Association Limited. The opinions expressed in the publication are those of theauthors and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGTA, its affiliates or the editors. While all reasonablechecks have been made to ensure the accuracy of statements and advice, no responsibility can be acceptedfor errors and omissions, however caused. No responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person acting onor refraining from action as a result of material in this publication is accepted by AGTA, the authors/writersor the co-ordinating editor.

This document is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticismor review, no part may be reproduced by any process without permission of the Australian GeographyTeachers’ Association Limited, except under the following circumstances:Permission is granted to an individual teacher or group of teachers within a school to reproduceappropriate extracts provided that such materials are not for use by other schools and provided that thematerials are not for resale or for any form of commercial gain.

AcknowledgementsThanks go to the three unit writers—Judy Mraz, Jeana Kriewaldt and Bob Digby—for their innovative andthoughtful contributions. Also to Catherine McKeon for her clever illustrations, to Fatima Basic (Universityof Melbourne) and Chris Crook (Country Cartographics) for their excellent cartography, and to Deb Doyle,Jeana Kriewaldt, Margaret McIvor and Lila Rait for proofreading, comments and feedback on the manuscript.

Tallying the medals (pp. 14–23)Some of the ideas in this unit of work were originally adapted from an article by Geraint Thomas, andcomplementary item by C.F. Willmot titled ‘Footnote to Loadsamedals’, in Teaching Gegraphy (GeographicalAssociation, April 1989), and further developed by Marilyn Wiber (Interaction, Geography Teachers’Association of Victoria 1992) and John Stewart (Interaction, GTAV 2000).

The Olympic Games are the world’s greatest sporting event. Not only are they a global celebration(‘festival’) of athletic achievement but also a showcase for urban regeneration, environmental initiatives/sustainable development, technological achievement and national pride—an opportunity for host cities toreinvent themselves. In August this year, the world’s attention will focus on Athens (Greece), the site of thefirst modern Olympiad in 1896, and the host city for the 28th Olympiad. The Games return to the Greekcapital after an interval of 108 years. In that time there has been phenomenal growth in the scale of theOlympics; from 241 competitors representing 14 nations in 43 events and 9 sports in 1896 to an expected10,500 athletes from 202 nations competing in more than 300 medal events across 28 sports in 2004.

As a hallmark global event, the Olympic Games has a unique complexity and presents many themes forgeographic study by students at all year levels. The ready availablity of data, maps, graphs/charts, mediacommentary and written reports (both in hard copy and via the internet) provide the background materialfor such investigations.

Sports Geography: The Athens Games includes four comprehensive units of work with activities and resourcesrelevant to a range of year levels from upper primary/junior secondary through to senior secondary level.These units of work address four key themes: travelling to Greece, getting around Athens and attending theGames; measuring success at the Olympics and understanding the medal tallies; assessing the sustainabilityof the Olympics as a mega sporting event; evaluating values and attitudes in sport.

Additional material and suggestions for extension activities including a comprehensive media archive,weblinks, and .pdf versions of figures (maps) will be loaded on the AGTA website in the lead-up to theGames in August. See <www.agta.asn.au>. Let the geographic Games begin!

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IntroductionThis unit is about sustainability and the Olympics.The focus on sustainability in achieving theworld’s first ‘Green Games’ in Sydney in 2000 hashighlighted environmental or green issues.Sydney 2000 was regarded as a major achievementin the adoption of environmental criteria inplanning for future games. How far has Athensachieved similar principles for 2004?

Rationale for the unitThis unit aims to increase student understandingof sustainability and its implications fordevelopment. In this unit, students are asked toconsider:a. The criteria for sustainable development and

what is meant by ‘sustainable’.b. The extent to which the Sydney Olympics can

be considered ‘sustainable’.c. How far the Athens Games in 2004 have met

similar criteria.

How to organise the activitiesActivity 1: Assessing the meaning of sustainability(1 lesson)For this lesson you will need copies of ActivityResource C1: ‘What is meant by sustainability’ (page25) and C2: ‘Assessing sustainable development’(page 26). Introduce the lesson as the first in asequence of activities about the Olympics:• Ask the class to brainstorm the kinds of

developments that a city like Sydney or Athenswould have to build in order to host the Games.

• Get feedback. They should realise that thereare huge costs for the development of newstadia and competition venues, athletes’village, media centre, etc.

Explain that, in the early 1990s, Greenpeacejoined forces with the New South Walesgovernment to present the world’s first ‘GreenGames’.• Ask the class what they think this means. Ask

for responses to judge how well theyunderstand this.

• Ask students to form pairs and spend fiveminutes brainstorming what kinds of thingsmight contribute to ‘green’ development.What might it mean for the stadium? Thevillage? The land on which other Olympicsfacilities would be built?

• Get feedback, then distribute copies of ActivityResource Sheet 1 ‘What is meant bysustainability’ and ask them to consider the 14criteria for sustainable development. Explainthat the next few lessons are to be spent inexploring how successful Sydney was inmeeting these criteria, and in comparingAthens’ achievements to date.

Activity 2: Assessing the sustainability of theSydney Olympics (3 lessons)For these lessons you will need copies of ActivityResource Sheets C3, C4 and C5 on pp. 27 to 29.For each lesson, you need to:• Introduce the activity, its purpose and aim, and

explain what students have to do (5 minutes).• Allow about 15–20 minutes for completion of

each activity.• Allow time for feedback and debriefing the

activity. It can be laborious going throughevery criteria or statement, but allow time fordiscussion about as many statements as youthink concentration will allow. At the end,allow time to ask students what they think theyhave learnt about economic, social orenvironmental principles in development.

• Set written work using either the questionsgiven or your own.

Activity 3: Assessing the sustainability of theAthens Olympics (1 to 3 lessons)For these lessons you will need copies of ActivityResource Sheets C6 and C7 (pp. 30 to 32), pluscopies of the sustainability criteria on page 25.This will require a lesson using the Athensolympic venues map (page 30) and ‘How welldoes Athens match the Green Games criteria?’(page 31) about the Athens Olympics, togetherwith Activity Resource C2 on page 26.

How sustainable are the Olympics?by Bob Digby, University College School

HOW SUSTAINABLE ARE THE OLYMPICS? THE ATHENS GAMES

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• Introduce the activity, its purpose and aim, andexplain that students should spend timestudying the Athens venues map (page 30) andreading the resources on page 31 (5 minutes).

• Allow about 10 minutes for students to work inpairs reading the resources.

• Hand out the sustainability criteria (ActivityResource C2 on page 25). Remind them ofthese, and tell them that you want them tocompile an assessment of how well they thinkAthens has done so far. Explain that it may notyet be possible to get answers for all the criteria,but to judge as best they can (15 minutes).

• Allow time for feedback and debriefing theactivity. Again, it can be laborious going throughevery criteria or statement, but allow time fordiscussion about as many statements as youthink concentration will allow (10–15 minutes).


• Now explain to students that next lesson theyshould prepare some research about any oneor two aspects of the Athens Olympics.Depending on time available or ability range,this could be homework or classwork. Referthem to the websites listed under ‘FurtherResources’.

Depending on time available, allow students topresent their findings using either oral feedbackor PowerPoint presentations.

After feedback, ask students to complete a finalscore for Athens. You could use theenvironmental score card (Activity Resource C2on page 26), so that students can compare scoresfor Sydney with those for Athens.

What is meant by ‘sustainability’?Sydney’s Olympic Games in 2000 were the firstto be designed on environmental or ‘green’principles. Sydney made its bid for the Gamesin the early 1990s based on a proposal for theworld’s first ‘Green’ Olympic Games. It beganwith a design competition for the olympicvillage, organised by architects, planners,housing associations and the local council. Oneof five winning entries was from GreenpeaceAustralia, which based the whole Olympicdevelopment on ‘sustainable’ principles.

What should sustainable development be like?‘Sustainable development’ can be defined asthat which does not compromise quality of lifefor future generations by current practice. Itmeans that any new development should bejudged against criteria, such as publictransport, affordable housing, quality of lifefeatures such as parks, and a mix of work andhousing, which avoids long commutes.Unsustainable development includesenvironmentally destructive features such astraffic pollution or which use volumes ofenergy. The figure opposite shows the criterianecessary for a sustainable or ‘green’development.

14 criteria for sustainable developmentA development should:1. Use or adapt existing facilities, rather than build from

scratch.2. Be financially viable.3. Be environmentally friendly in its building and design.4. Minimise adverse impacts on nearby residents.5. Should protect and encourage native vegetation e.g.

forests, wetland, fauna.6. Be constructed on ‘brownfield sites’, i.e. those

previously used as industrial and commercial sites,leaving ‘greenfield’ (or undeveloped land) untouched.

7. Include an effective public transport system, makingall sites accessible.

8. Minimise waste and encourage recycling.9. Minimise energy use, e.g. use solar power, and avoid

high energy usage such as air conditioning.10.Minimise water use, with stormwater and sewage

recycled for uses such as irrigation.11.Be inclusive, i.e. benefit and include people from

across all communities, such as ethnic minorities anddisabled groups.

12.Allow low-income groups to benefit as well as thewealthy.

13.Have affordable housing and rents, within reach ofeveryone.

14.Minimise pollution; or where pollution exists, it shouldbe cleaned up.

Activity Resource Sheet C1: What is meant by ‘sustainability’?

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Activity Resource C2: Assessing sustainable development

This chart can be used to assess how sustainable the olympic developments in Sydney and Athens are. Use it notonly to assess the Sydney 2000 Games, using the resources on pages 27–29, but also in assessing how sustainablethe Athens Games are likely to be in 2004, using pages 30 and 31.


Uses or adaptsexisting facilities

Is financially viable

Building/design isenvironmentallyfriendly

Low adverse impacton nearby residents

Vegetation is protectedand encouraged

Brownfield site

Effective publictransport system

Waste minimal, andrecycling encouraged

Energy use isminimised

Water use is minimised,with recycling

The development isinclusive

Low-income groupsbenefit as much aswealthy

Housing and rents areaffordable

Minimal pollution

Builds from scratch

Makes a large loss

Building/designenvironmentallyunfriendly

High adverse impacton nearby residents

Vegetation isdestroyed

Greenfield site

Poor public transportsystem

Waste great, and norecycling

Energy use is wasteful

Water use is wasteful

The development isexclusive

The wealthy benefitmore than low-incomegroups

Housing and rentsonly affordable for thewealthy

Pollution is great

Positive Very well +2 Fairly well +1 Average/no opinion

Fairly poor-1

Very poor-2

Negative


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Activity Resource C3: The Economic Impacts of the Sydney OlympicsIn 2001, PriceWaterhouseCoopers undertook a study of the economic impacts of the Sydney 2000Olympic and Paralympic Games. This page shows a summary of their findings. Read the followingstatements and complete the activity below.

Activity1. Consider all the statements and classify them

according to whether:a. they benefited Sydney, New South Wales, or

Australia as a whole.b. they are short-, medium-, or long-term

impacts.Use a table format like the one below. If you needto, you can split the statements up or classify theminto more than one box.

2. How far:a. did the benefits from the Games come only to

Sydney and less to New South Wales orAustralia as a whole?

b. were the Games of short-term benefit only?3. The International Olympic Committee allow a

period of seven years between announcementof the host city and staging of the Olympicsthemselves. Does this seem a reasonableperiod to you? Why?

4. On this basis, would you recommend that acountry should bid to host the Olympics infuture?

Statements1. A$3 billion worth of business investment and production came to Sydney. This included A$2 billion worth of

sports facilities and venues that would last well beyond the Games themselves.2. Nearly 20 per cent of all Olympics investment went to businesses located in regional NSW.3. Over A$6 billion was invested in infrastructure developments in New South Wales.4. Over A$1.2 billion worth of convention business will have been brought into NSW between 1993 and 2007.5. Tourists to Australia spent over A$6 billion during 2001—a record amount.6. The Games and associated publicity gave Australia a huge boost to its business image thanks to A$6.1 billion

worth of international exposure on TV.7. The Olympics have given Australians greater expertise and confidence in competing for large-scale projects,

making them more likely to gain business after the Games.8. The Sydney Media Centre hosted 5,000 journalists and 55,000 visits for briefings, story leads, images and

information on New South Wales and Australia.9. Transport and construction projects resulting from the Olympics included a A$2 billion Sydney airport upgrade,

A$700 million Eastern Distributor (road network) in Sydney, and a A$320 million beautification of Sydney CBD.10. The Games provided enormous benefit to tourism and retail, including: A$6.1 billion worth of international

publicity, and A$6 billion in spending from an additional 1.6 million visitors during 2001.11. The Sydney Convention Centre hosted 210 events between 1993 and Games time, attracting more than

250,000 delegates and injecting more than A$1 billion into Sydney’s economy.12. Income from the Games brought huge benefits including A$1.1 billion from the sale of broadcast rights to the

Games, A$680 million in sponsorship revenue, record ticket sales of over A$600 million, and assistance fromsponsors, including equipment, training and know-how.

13. Sydney’s Olympic costs were greater than for Los Angeles in 1984 or Atlanta in 1996, but less than Seoul 1988or Barcelona 1992.

14. The total economic benefit from the Games ranks among the highest for recent Games.15. As a result of the 2000 Games, Australian businesses have competed successfully in providing services for the

Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002, and for the Athens Olympics in 2004, as well as the Asian Games in 2003and 2006 and Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Benefits for ... Short-term Medium-term Long-termSydneyNew South WalesAustralia


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Activity Resource C4: Social Impacts of the Sydney OlympicsAlthough the following statements refer to Sydney in 2000, similar occurrences took place in theAtlanta Games in 1996, and are taking place in Athens 2004.


Activity1. One way of analysing impacts for events such

as the Olympics is to consider whether they are‘costs’ or ‘benefits’. Complete the diagrambelow as follows:

a. Take each statement in turn. Decide whether itrepresents a ‘cost’ or a ‘benefit’ of the Olympics.

b. Make a copy of the table then complete,adding costs and benefits as you go.

Discussion and debate1. ‘Economic benefit, but at a social cost’. Debate

in class how much you agree with this statement.2. While Australia is a very sports-focused nation,

relatively few ‘ordinary Australians’ actuallyparticipate in sports. Increasing numbers ofchildren are diagnosed as obese, largely due tophysical inactivity. Should more money beinvested in sport and exercise at local level,rather than at the elite professional level in‘big’ events such as the Olympics?

1. Australian children participated in Olympic-themed cultural activities, design competitions, and were issued witha range of Olympic and environmental education packages.

2. In Sydney, the main urban aboriginal suburb, Redfern, was subject to greater numbers of police raids (HelenJefferson Lenskyj, 2002). Police drug raids escalated during August just before the Olympics. On 27 August 2000,120 police stormed the area and laid over 55 charges. Witnesses allege that firearms were pointed at residents,including young children. 10,000 Australians participated in the Olympic torch relay across the country.

3. 40,000 volunteers helped during the Games.4. In Bankstown, western Sydney, a local park was lost to become a permanent bitumen car park at the Olympic

Velodrome. Meanwhile, residents of Rushcutters Bay suffered increased boat and car traffic, and noise, and nevergot a park promised to them by the government. There were protests in Bondi at the loss of the beach andcommunity centre during the construction of the Beach Volleyball Stadium.

5. Local residents were exposed to dust from building and possibly toxic wastes during the Olympic clean-up.6. Rent increases were rife in Sydney. Between 1995 and 2000, rents within the ‘Olympic corridor’, a 12 km line of

suburbs between Sydney CBD and Homebush Bay, rose up to 7 per cent above inflation each year, and in somecases by up to 24 per cent. In 1998 alone, some areas suffered average rent increases of 40 per cent. Many ofthese were in areas that housed low-income families.

7. Boarding house accommodation is important to people with disabilities, to the elderly, or to those living on socialsecurity. 76 per cent of Sydney’s boarding houses were converted to backpacker accommodation in the 1990s. InSeptember 1999, the operator of twenty boarding houses for low-income people evicted 20 residents as part of aconversion to backpacker accommodation.

8. The cost of the Games diverted funding from health and hospitals, education, and public transport; there was a‘freeze’ on staff recruitment in government departments throughout 1999.

9. Homelessness increased in Sydney during the Olympics period. Surveys up to 1999 showed that two-thirds ofpeople registering as homeless had never used sheltered accommodation before. Increased numbers of these hadpsychiatric disabilities, and over half were from the ‘Olympic corridor’ suburbs.

10. Welfare groups suggested that attempts were made to remove homeless people from Sydney streets to improvethe city’s image during the Games.

11. Many Sydney and country police stations closed during the Games so police could be deployed to Olympic venues.12. In the lead up to the Games, new security laws restricted freedom of assembly and allowed military incursions into

society.

Costs Benefits


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Activity Resource C5: The Environmental Impacts of the Olympic Games, SydneyIt is often said that economic development comes at environmental cost. From the start, Sydney’s aimto hold the world’s first ‘Green’ Olympics was intended to show that this need not be the case. TheGames were a model for future ‘sustainable’ development. The criteria on which such developmentshould take place are shown in the figure below, together with how far these were achieved.

How well does Sydney match up?Homebush Bay was an industrial area, though many former industries had closed. Much of theland was derelict in 1993 when Sydney won the right to host the 2000 Olympics.

Building foundations were recycled concrete and masonry from the demolition of an old abattoiron the site. During the construction of Sydney Showgrounds, 95 per cent of waste was recycled.

Where practicable, non-toxic materials were used, e.g. natural fibres, or non-toxic paints,glues, etc. CFCs, HFC and HCFC-free coolants were banned, as well as chlorine-based productssuch as PVC and bleached paper. Building materials were selected for thermal insulation,ventilation, and recyclability; air-conditioning was avoided.

Most sports were located on one site, as well as the Olympic Village. The Barcelona Olympics in1992 brought the city to a standstill, the result of coaches and athletes travelling to venues. InSydney, most amenities and accommodation were on-site.

Renewable energy sources were used. The Games aimed to compost or recycle 80 per cent ofwaste generated during the Games. Compostable paper plates, packaging, cutlery and bin liners,and recyclable PET plastic beakers, wine ‘glasses’ and food packaging were used.

The flagship of the Sydney 2000 Games was to restore Homebush Bay, once labelled ‘thesouthern hemisphere’s most polluted site’. Mangrove and salt-marsh areas near Olympic Parkwere protected and extended, and habitats were restored for Green and Golden Bell Frogs—thesymbol of the clean-up.

A new rail link was built to Olympic Park, and a new ferry terminal at Homebush Bay.Admission tickets included the cost of public transport to the Games from up to 200km awayfrom Homebush Bay. 6.7 million tickets were sold in this way. Cycle routes and pedestrian waysformed part of the system. Public transport usage in Sydney continues to be higher thancorresponding pre-Games levels.

Olympic Park is serviced by Australia’s first large-scale water recycling plant. Using filteringtechnology, sewage and stormwater from Olympic Park and the athletes’ village was used inirrigation and toilets, so that half the water on parts of the site was storm- or recycled water.Pool water was ozone-filtered to reduce chlorine.

All 665 permanent houses at the athletes’ village had photovoltaic solar energy cells, and allpermanent houses had gas-boosted solar hot water heaters, making the village one of theworld’s largest solar-powered suburbs.

Next to Olympic Park, 450 hectares was set aside and restored to form the MillenniumParklands, a public recreational and ecological area, with salt marsh, mangroves, wetlandsand other wildlife habitats.

‘Green’ rules1. Use ‘brownfield’, not‘greenfield’ sites fordevelopment.

2. Use or adapt existingmaterials, rather thanbuild from scratch.

3. Design environmentallyfriendly buildings.

4. Minimise adverseimpacts of Olympicevents on residents.

5. Minimise waste, andrecycle wherever possible.

6. Protect nativeecosystems, fauna orflora.

7. Make Olympic sitesfully accessible by publictransport.

8. Manage watersustainably.

9. Use energy efficiently.

10. Create a localamenity and access forpeople.

Score /10

How ‘green’ were the Sydney Olympics?

ActivityTake each of the ten rules for sustainability thatwere set for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Scoreeach one out of ten to show how well you thinkSydney met these criteria. Reach a final score outof 100. Discuss what you consider to be the city’sgreatest achievements.

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Activity Resource C6: The Athens Olympics


Map of Athens and surrounding Attica region showing the location of key Olympic competition venues

For photos of Athens Olympic competitionvenues and other facilities go to the MultiGallerysection of the Athens 2004 website at<www.athens2004.com/athens2004/page/multigallery> or search the internet via <http://images.google.com/>for photos of the mainstadium and Athens Olympic Sports Complex atKhalandri, the Olympic Village and other venues.

Nikaia—the new Olympicweightlifting centre withseating for 5000 spectators.

Faliro, a beach suburb south ofAthens, is the site of the beachvolleyball, taekwondo, handballand volleyball. The complexincludes a new stadium seating10,000 and refurbished venues.

The new Olympic village atThrakomakedones, 23km to the northof central Athens, is a complex of2,500 houses with accommodationfor 16,000 competitors and officials.

The main Athens OlympicsSports Complex at Maroussi,north of the city centre,consists of the main stadium,aquatic centre, tennis centre,velodrome and indoor hall.

The new Athens International Airport is18.5 kilometres east of the city. On a sitein a former wine-growing area, the newairport is designed to cater for 50 millionpassengers annually, replacing the oldairport at Helleniko(n) used by about 11million passengers annually. There aretwo runways and construction has takenplace in modules so that capacity can beexpanded as demand increases.

The former airport at Helleniko(n),south-east of Athens, is now thesite of a major Olympic sportingcomplex which will host 7 of the28 sports. The new Olympicsailing centre is also nearby.


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Activity Resource C7: How well does Athens match the ‘Green Games’ criteria?Throughout these statements, ATHOC refers to the Athens Organising Committee for the 2004 Olympics. Usethis page together with the Athens Venue Map (Activity Resource C6) on page 30.


The Olympics and the environment: Athens Organizers Fail Green Test, Groups SayAdapted from a story by Daniel Howden, 6 August 2003, Reuters News ServiceSource: <www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=21744&newsdate=06-Aug-2003>

All sides have hailed the upgrading of the capital’s mass transit system with new metro lines, a new natural gasbus fleet and reconstruction of the tram. But that is where agreement ends. The first flashpoint came in 2001 withthe decision to site the rowing complex at Schinias, north of Athens. Opponents said artificial lakes would damagea rare Mediterranean pine forest and an important wetland bird habitat. ATHOC said the work would help topreserve the area, leading to the creation of a national park.

ATHOC pointed to successes in preserving natural habitats at the equestrian centre. ‘600 ancient olive trees havebeen moved and transplantated as part of a tree preservation program.’ With a year to go, tens of thousands ofpromised new trees, bushes and shrubs to soften the urban sprawl have yet to appear.

The view from ATHOC: The environment—what ATHOC saysATHOC (Athens Organising Committee) has pledged to help the surrounding environment, with the planting of 290,000trees, especially clementines, 11 million shrubs like oleander and a million large bushes.

Public transport: The Athens Metro—new rail linksThe metro will be extended to serve more residential districts. Funding from the EU has extended two new lines tolow-income districts in western Athens. The northern line will also be extended to connect with a light railway to thenew international airport. There are plans to build three more extensions covering the northern and southernsuburbs, as well as another inner city link. Bus lanes will be extended from 16km to 100km.

The social cost? Public sector workers in Greece continue strikesSource: World Socialist website <www.wsws.org/articles/2003/nov2003/lab-n07.shtml >

On 3 November 2003, teachers in Greece began a 48-hour period of industrial action in a campaign for a pay increase, thelatest in national stoppages involving doctors, nurses, lawyers and ferry workers. Teachers marched to protest, resulting inseveral traffic jams. Referring to government claims that pay increases were not feasible due to the costs of Greecehosting the Olympic Games, teachers chanted, ‘We want increases in salaries and pensions and don’t want another pennygiven to the Olympics.’

The Greenpeace view: Greenpeace—0 out of 10 for Athens 2004by Mr. Karolos Grohmann, 24 October 2002, ReutersAdapted from <http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_10225184_25/10/2002_22404>

Greenpeace accused ATHOC of green promises that have not been kept. ‘The environmental bet seems to have beenlost,’ said Greece’s Greenpeace director. He told reporters: ‘Sydney got five marks out of 10, Athens does not even getone mark for environmental issues.’ He said features such as solar boilers, recycling and waste-management systemshad not been integrated in complexes such as the athletes’ village.

‘It’s a scandal not to have solar-powered boilers at the Olympic Village.’ he said. ‘We are a country which has constantsunshine and it’s crazy not to use it.’ The 2,300-home athletes’ village, the largest project in Athens, which after theGames will be handed over to workers’ families, has no infrastructure for solar-powered boilers, a familiar feature inGreek homes. He said essential irrigation systems had not been developed for thousands of new trees, bushes andshrubs planted for the Games. Athens, a congested city of over 4 million people, has two-thirds of its urban area inconcrete and has lost 80 percent of its tree cover over the last two decades.

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How sustainable are the Athens Games?ActivityConsider the evidence presented in the figureson pages 30 and 31 (Activity Resources C6 andC7). Then refer back to your material onSydney’s economic, social and environmentalachievements in 2000 (Activity Resources C3, C4and C5, pp. 27–29).1. Use a copy of the chart on page 26, ‘Assessing

sustainable development’ (Activity ResourceC2). Complete an assessment of how far youthink the Athens Olympics match the 14criteria for sustainable development. You maynot be able to complete all of this, but use theresources to make a judgement as best you can.

2. Now try and reach a score for Athens usingActivity Resource C5: ‘How ‘green’ were theSydney Olympics?’ on page 29.

3. Which criteria do you feel unable to judgeproperly? Use these to devise a research task insmall groups, and present your findings to therest of your class. You may wish to use some ofthe further resources suggested below. Try andcollect pictures of the Athens Olympics to puttogether in a PowerPoint presentation.

4. When you have listened to all presentations,and discussed the issues, try and reach a totalscore for the Athens Olympics. Compare yourscores with others in the class, and considerwhy you think differently.


5. The assessment by Greenpeace in 2002 wasthat ‘If Sydney gets 5 out of 10 for theOlympics, then Athens gets 0’. How far do youagree with:

a. the Sydney score?b. the Athens score?

Further resources1. The official Athens Olympics website

<www.athens2004.com>.2. The Olympic Studies Centre [Centre D_Estidis

Olimpics] at the Autònoma University inBarcelona <http://olympicstudies.uab.es/eng/> have recently rebuilt their website,making their vast resources more accessible.There’s a huge database of articles, especiallysuitable for older students and those interestedin the Olympics generally.

3. Sporting Fever: Staffordshire GeographyLearning Net <www.sln.org.uk/geography/Sporting%20fever.htm >. Gold award-winningwebsite maintained by a UK local educationauthority. It’s worth watching this site in the leadup to the games. The site includes a range oflearning resources on the geography of sport.

4. Just for fun! Athens 2004 ecards, screensaversand wallpapers. Lots of fun, especially foryounger students . . . and their teachers too!<www.athens2004.com/athens2004/page/ecards?lang=en&cid=a828470429149f00VgnVCMServer28130b0aRCRD.

5. Images of the Athens Olympics. Type ‘AthensOlympics’ into Google’s image search forseveral excellent pictures.

Extension and ideas for further research1. Compare the environmental qualities of

Sydney’s Olympics with another major sportingvenue or event that you know. Investigate:

a. How it is built and from what materials.b. How far water, energy and waste are managed

sustainably.c. How far the organisation that runs/presents

it encourages people to use public transportrather than cars.

2. Assess the environmental qualities of a localhousing/residential or industrialdevelopment that you know of.

3. Investigate the environmental credentials ofproposed venue and infrastructuredevelopments for the Beijing 2008 Olympicsand how organisers plan to achievesustainable development criteria.

Documents

Foreword - Geographical AssociationSome of the ideas in this unit of work were originally adapted from an article by Geraint Thomas, and complementary item by C.F. Willmot titled ‘Footnote