The Centennial Olympic Congress of Paris recognized these problems and incorporated environment as a “third pillar” of the Olympic charter, along with sports and culture. The UN Environment Program (UNEP), now a veteran and influential player in this arena, was among the first to get involved with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to work towards environmental sustainability issues in the Olympics. UNEP has also worked with the IOC to develop an “Agenda 21” for the Olympic Movement based on environmental sustainability guidelines created by delegates at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. In the year 1994 the IOC committed itself to encourage sustainability among its member nations and sports governing bodies by adopting its own Agenda 21. This agenda is being used by several National Olympic Committees for sustainable development work at the national level (Pitts, A. 2009).
The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, are now viewed as the first attempt to create a “green” Olympic Games. Local activists in Lillehammer successfully forced the country’s...
The Vancouver Olympics climate related goals included LEED certified, energy-efficient venues; the use of renewable and green energy for its power needs; and relying on public transit during the Games – all of which were achieved (Vancouver 2010 2009).
Walters, Guy. Berlin Games: How the Nazis Stole the Olympic Dream. New York: William Morrow, 2006. Print.
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
The Reasons Behind the Increasing Commercialism of the Olympic Games The Olympic Games is a world wide event, held once every 4 years. It is the most important event amongst the elite athletes of today. It is viewed on television by billions of people across the world, by satellite transmission (started in Tokyo in 1964). This worldwide viewing attracted sponsors as they realised that by supporting the Olympics their product would be advertised on every product sold, as they would be the 'official sponsor'. The advances in technology has played a fundamental role in the increase in commercialism, as large sums of money are put forwards for television rights over the Games from companies such as Sky, the BBC and ABC.
Being a mega international event, London Olympic Games 2012 must be delivered successfully. This project required strict procedure and management by everyone involved, which very much depended on the working team and the stakeholders. The following Figure 1 demonstrates the relevant stakeholders that contributed to the
With over two hundred countries participating, the Olympic Games is easily considered as one of the largest multisport event known to history. The Olympics are held at a different country, and even more rarely at the same city. For a country to be chosen to host the Olympics, the country’s National Olympic Committee (the country’s representatives for the Olympics) nominates a city (from the country they represent) that they think has potential in hosting the Olympics nine years prior to when they wish to host the Olympics. It is a two year process that consists of: Application Phase, Candidate Phase and the Election of the Host City. The country that wins the election is given seven years to prepare for the Olympics. (International Olympic Committee, n.d., p. xx-xx) The hosting country expends billions of dollars, usually money they don’t have, preparing for the Olympics. Then the question is raised 'why would a country go through so much trouble and spend an outrageous amount of money to host this event?' Throughout this discussion paper it will address all the pros and cons for a country to host the Olympics. It will also see if a smaller sports event can produce the same benefits the Olympic offers with less cost and risk.
The Olympic Games plays a significant role in the world. The relationship between it and host countries is important to investigate for comprehending cultural studies. According to Xu and Kirby (2008), the Olympic Games has a considerable impact on the expression of national identity. For example, London applied this approach to promote its national identity. This can be discovered from the BBC video called James Bond escorts The Queen to the opening ceremony in 2012 (2012): an amiable identity is perceived by the audience through presenting corgi at Buckingham Palace. Moreover, China is no exception. There is an image about the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, it shows a spectacular drumming performance. In addition, an article about
Modern Day Olympics are a huge tradition that sweeps the screens of televisions across the world. Competitors take the arena with uniforms that dawn their countries colors and designs that are meant to resemble their designated flag. For months the news is centered around the games; the preparation, the athletes, and of course the competition. Countries aren 't obsessed, they are inspired and full of pride seeing athletes from their country compete and show their incredible skill. This tradition dates back to ancient Greece where the games began. Tony Perrottet writes about the traditions of the ancient game in his book The Naked Olympics.
Use the 2000 Olympic Games to showcase and implement solutions to global environmental problems, including alternatives to toxic materials and renewable energy.
Starting with the 1972 UN Convention, environmental politics became a phenomena that swept across the world and the EU was not immune to this contagious excitement and began the process with seven unique Environmental Action Programs (EAP). The first program began in 1973 and had three major points: (1) the prevention, reduction and containment of environmental damage, (2) the conservation of an ecological equilibrium, and (3) the rational use of natural resources. This was a very traditional approach and would be expanded upon in the future but a...
The development of environmental regimes involves a five-fold process. The first process is the agenda setting and issue definition stage, which identifies and brings attention to an issue to the international community. Secon...
At Rio several key global plans were initiated: Agenda 21 (a manifesto for development for the twenty-first century), the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Framework Convention on Clima...
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992) The Declaration of Rio on Environment and Development [Online] Available at: http://www.unep.org/Documents.multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=78&ArticleID=1163
Introduction Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. Well-known throughout the world the games have been used to promote understanding and friendship among nations, but have also been a hotbed of political disputes and boycotts. The Olympic games started thousands of years ago and lasted over a millennium.. The symbolic power of the Games lived on after their demise, and came to life again as the modern Olympic Games being revived in the last century. Both the modern and Ancient Olympics have close similarities in there purpose and in there problems.
Agenda 21 concentrates on the urgent problems of today and also aspires to prepare the world for the challenges of the next century. It reflects a global agreement and political commitment at the highest level on development and environment teamwork. Its successful completion is first and foremost the responsibility of Governments. National strategies, plans, policies and processes are essential in accomplishing this. International cooperation should support and supplement such national efforts. In this context, the United Nations system has a key role to play. Other international, regional and sub regional organizations are also called upon to contribute to this effort. The broadest public participation and the active involvement of the non-governmental organizations and other groups should also be encouraged.