The Olympic Games

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most

important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have

conquered but to have fought well."

Background

• Ancient Olympics were festivals combining sport, religion and music – particularly celebrated in Greece

• Inspirational in introduction of modern Olympics

• DOVER GAMES and MUCH WENLOCK GAMES also provided inspiration

Dover & Much Wenlock Games

• Robert Dover founded Cotswold Olympics having been inspired by studies of Ancient Greece – stopped in 1852 due to ‘rowdiness and dangerous’ activities

• Revived in 1980 in Gloucestershire (near Cheese Rolling!)

• William Penny Brookes founded Wenlock Olympian Games to promote ‘moral, physical and intellectual improvement’ and wanted to establish an international sporting festival

Baron Pierre De Coubertin

• Influential and wealthy frenchman• Invited in 1889 Much Wenlock Games by

Brookes• Inspired by what he saw there and at the

public school system that promoted sport and the creation of manly young men

• Set up the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the first modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens

William Penny Brookes

Baron Pierre De Coubertin

Principles, Aims and Philosophy of Modern Olympic Movement

• IOC Olympic Charter:

“To contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play”

• The Olympics is about bringing together people from different countries to compete together in a friendly environment under the banner of sport

• Philosophy of the Olympics:– Balance between body, mind and will– Effort– Role modelling– Tolerance, generosity, unity, friendship,

respect

Amateurism

• Modern games used to be for ‘amateurs’ only who took part for love of sport and to compete against others

• Amateurs were gentlemen by birth – only middle and upper class competed

• Only people who could afford the time and money

Fair Play

• Practising or training was frowned upon! – this meant you considered winning was more important than taking part

• All very different now, although it has gone too far into realms of cheating (drugs etc)

Summer & Winter Games

• Both held every four years although separated by two years

• GB have competed in every Summer games since 1896 and every Winter games since 1924

• Won 1 medal in 2010 Vancouver Games in Skeleton Bob

1896 -1900 - Paris, France1904 - St. Louis1908 -1912 - Stockholm1920 - Antwerp 1924 - Paris1928 - Amsterdam 1932 - Los Angeles 1936 - 1940 - 1948 -1952 - Helsinki1956 - Melbourne1960 - Rome

1964 - Tokyo 1968 - Mexico City1972 - 1976 - Montreal1980 - Moscow1984 - 1988 - Seoul1992 - 1996 - Atlanta2000 - 2004 - Athens2008 - 2012 - London, United Kingdom2016 -

SUMMER OLYMPIC HOST CITIES

1896 - ATHENS1900 - Paris, France1904 - St. Louis1908 - LONDON 1912 - Stockholm1920 - Antwerp 1924 - Paris1928 - Amsterdam 1932 - Los Angeles 1936 - BERLIN1940 - NONE! 1948 - LONDON1952 - Helsinki1956 - Melbourne1960 - Rome

1964 - Tokyo 1968 - Mexico City1972 - MUNICH1976 - Montreal1980 - Moscow1984 - LOS ANGELES1988 - Seoul1992 - BARCELONA1996 - Atlanta2000 - SYDNEY2004 - Athens2008 - BEIJING2012 - London, United Kingdom2016 - RIO DE JANEIRO

SUMMER OLYMPIC HOST CITIES

Commercialisation and the Olympics

From it’s humble beginnings the Olympic Games has now become a major business enterprise as well as a

world renowned sporting competition.

Original founding “Amateur “ philosophy

“Amateur” is a Latin word meaning “to love”, so the phrase “For the love of sport” is often associated with the principles of amateurism.

Time and money is needed in order to train and compete at the highest level, so athletes found financial assistance appealing.

US introduced the scholarship system in universities, which overcame such pressures, and Soviet Union and Russia, former communist bloc countries, provided state funding of sport.

Countries like GB were being left behind and needed ways to get money to compete

Marketing people were excluded from 1980 Moscow Games due to it being funded by the state, but by the 1994 Games in Los Angeles marketing had become a huge issue in hosting the Olympic Games.

Problems over Funding of Games– Culminating in debts of Montreal

•The 1976 Olympics in Montreal are remembered more as a financial disaster than a sporting success.

•City is still paying off the debts

•Money from the Montreal Games went to pay for venues that in some cases are no longer used for sports.

•The cycling velodrome was converted into an insect museum because it was too costly to maintain and the pool is often covered over and used as a floor for trade shows.

•The Olympic Stadium had construction cranes in place of its unfinished 170-metre tower during the Games.

•The stadium took decades and more than $1 billion to complete.

Peter Uberroth and the 1984 Los Angeles Games

•The IOC appointed to Peter Uberroth, a marketing expert, to make sure the LA Games were a viable proposition, and did not cost the city anything to host.

•He estimated he could run the games for $500 million and make a profit of between $20 million and $50 million.

•He charged $225 million for television rights and over double that amount for radio rights.

•He organised private enterprise to build new facilities and charged for whatever else he could.

TOPSTOP stands for The Olympic Partner Programme. Created in 1985, the TOP programme, managed by the IOC, is the only sponsorship with the exclusive worldwide marketing rights to both Winter and Summer Games.

TOP PARTNERS

In return for investment, TOP companies can use Olympic logo on products and get exclusive worldwide marketing opportunities

Also get first choice of advertising slots on TV