Economic and Social Impacts of the Olympics

Every two years, millions of people around the world turn on their TV sets and watch the greatest athletes in the world compete for the greatest achievement any athlete can reach… The bronze, silver, and gold medals of the summer and winter Olympics. Those millions of people cheer mostly for their country and wear their favorite athlete’s jersey. They plan parties for their favorite events and make memories with every game. With all the hustle and bustle, people don’t stop to think about how the Olympics affect the town, city, state, and even world around it. How does it benefit? What does it cause? What does it leave behind? Who does it impact? So many questions can be thought up about how the Olympics impact the world. The two most talked about topics are the affects it has economically and socially. To find out where the entire hubbub began, one must travel back to the 6th century B.C. in ancient Greece.

What other culture to be the history of games where people compete athletically for medals in front of tons of people other than the Greeks and their magnificent gods? That’s right. The history of the Olympics is rumored to start with the famous Hercules and the mortal woman Alcmene founding the games. However, the first written records were in 776 B.C. when a cook won the 192 meter footrace and became the first Olympic champion. The games, known as the ancient Olympics, were held between August 6 and September 19 every four years while a religious festival was held honoring the great Zeus. The games became so popular that the people of Greece started measuring time by the four years between each Olympics. A set of the four years was called an Olympiad. The name “Olympics” came from the town that the games took place, which wa...

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...dal in his country's history.” (Coles)

Works Cited

“After The Party: What happens when the Olympics leave town?” The Independent. n.p. 19 Aug. 2008. Web. 29 March 2014.

Chernyshenko, Dmitry, and V. Sadovnichy. “The Olympic Games Impact.” OGI Digest. 2013. Print.

Coles, Terri. “Famous Olympic Quotes To Get Inspired About The Games.” Huffington Post. 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 31 March 2014.

History.com Staff. ”The Olympic Games.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2010. Web. 28 March 2014.

Malfas, Maximos, B. Houlihan, and E. Theodoraki. "Impacts of the Olympic Games as mega-events." ICE, 2004. Print.

Rishe, Patrick. “How Does London's Olympics Bill Compare to Previous Games?” Forbes. n.p. 5 Aug. 2011. Web. 28 March 2014.

Wilson, Stephen. “Size, scale and cost of Sochi Olympics pose challenge for future Winter Games.” Fox News. Associated Press. 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 29 March 2014.