In the popular culture of the 21st century, the word ‘Olympics’ generates an image of something grand, big and very flashy. It symbolizes festivity; it signifies something grander. The Olympics are perhaps the greatest and the most vital sports extravaganza that happens every four years. They have been sustained and have continued for over a century. The usefulness of the Olympics, apart from the showcase of sporting talents, is about different cultures coming together (Claim). The Olympics demonstrate the true sporting spirit. The essay thus aims to prove the relevance of Olympics despite all the claims that the Olympics have failed or they might just crumble under their own weight. A demonstration of the usefulness of the Olympics can help people analyze and indeed realize how the Olympics, over time, have helped human beings come closer despite various differences, how they have helped in demonstrations and understanding of cultures and how they have imbibed brotherhood and peace (Grounds). Unless too much politics and economics are applied to the Olympics, they are very useful and relevant (Qualifier). Garcia succinctly addresses the Olympics and their cultural importance when she states, “As well as a sports event, the Olympics are a cultural phenomenon, with a history spanning more than 100 years and supported by a global network of organizations with an educational and intercultural remit that defines itself as a Movement and aspires to promote Olympism as a ‘philosophy of life’ headed by the International Olympic Committee” (1).
Since their beginning to the present day, the Olympics have focused on elements of culture such as unity, human values, sportsmanship spirit, culture, ethics, equality and competition. The Olympics have contributed to our world and have made it a better and much more equal place to live in. For example, the Olympics fought for gender equality in earlier days, when some countries sent only male teams to compete. The Olympics were used as a platform to push for equal opportunities for women athletes, signaling that women could be as competitive as men and deserved equal opportunity to showcase their athletic prowess. It helped the world understand racism better, as well. Most people are familiar with the stories of the Olympic Games that were held in Berlin prior to World War II, at which Adolf Hitler proclaimed that Aryan athletes would triumph over other, supposedly inferior, ethnic groups. And yet an African-American athlete had a major triumph at those games, making Hitler’s claim appear ridiculous. The Olympics have also helped many new and unexpected quarters of the world make their achievements known. Since its inception, the Olympics have served as a potential stage for developing and underdeveloped countries to compete with the best in the world and to showcase their own talents. Thus, the Olympics have acted as an ambassador for a much more equal and understanding world.
Because of their nature, the Olympics are in true sense an amalgamation of sports and culture. The Olympics have been a boon to every aspect of the host as well as participating countries, from their cultures, economies, tourism, and development to the discovery of the hidden potentials of individual athletes. The Olympics have emphasized fairness with their strong and strict anti-doping norms. The creation and use of these regulations point to the intent exercised through the Olympics. As noted by one commentator, “The implementation of anti-doping requires strong moral justification, a clear definition of doping and methods of control which are deemed to be reliable, objective and valid” (Reinold 2012). As the Olympics have evolved, they have strongly promoted sports ethics that address critical issues in sports. For example, Hsu states, “Sports ethics has been one of the most important research topics in sports philosophy in recent decades, including such substantive issues as cheating, sportsmanship, drug taking, violence, fair play, coaching, gender and child protection issues” (2002). Without the Olympics, one could easily argue that sports ethics would vary from nation to nation, instead of there being an international consensus on what constitutes ethical and unethical behavior in sports. For example, during the recent doping scandal involving Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France, people from different countries agreed that performance-enhancing drugs should disqualify someone from winning. While individuals may disagree over what constitutes a performance-enhancing drug, the various athletic groups agree that there should be a level playing field when it comes to athletic competition.
The overall benefits of the Olympics are diverse. While the economic benefits to the host city are important, on a global scale the most important benefits are somewhat intangible benefits. These benefits include cultural benefits, social benefits and ethical benefits, primarily. In terms of cultural benefits, the host country gets to showcase its local culture, traditions and values to the world. Olympics since the very starting have helped in mingling and gelling up of people from different cultures and countries. The world is exposed to the local art forms. The principle of holding an arts festival in parallel with the celebration of sporting competitions is embedded in the foundations of the Olympic Movement (Garcia 2008). In the days leading up to the opening of the Olympics, for example, it is quite common for sports and news shows to give detailed information, pictures, and videos of the host city and country. Doing this allows viewers to see what the country itself looks like and to get a sense of what it is like to live in that city and country.
In addition to providing a glimpse of local culture, the Olympics also enable viewers around the globe to see many other cultures as well. As noted by James and Osborn, “Total aggregate audiences are said to reach up to 4.7 billion viewers” (410). This huge audience sees athletes from not just their own country, but many other countries as well. Viewers can become invested in a team in one sport or another, identifying with them even though the team is not from their own country. They hear the national anthems of other countries. They see the hard work and dedication these athletes have put into attaining their goals. People from another country are now seen as actual faces; they are no longer just nameless, faceless residents of a country that the individual viewer may not know much about. For example, even during the Cold War, American viewers could observe and admire the expertise of female gymnasts from the Soviet Union and other Communist countries. This process helps promote a more global cultural awareness and appreciation. Simply put, when we as humans stop thinking of people from another country as “other” and “foreign” and instead regard them as similar to ourselves but with somewhat different local cultural attributes, we can become less ethnocentric and more comfortable with global diversity. On a long-term basis, raising awareness of global diversity and portraying it in a positive light may lead to fewer conflicts based on cultural differences.
The Olympics also lead to shared cultural moments. Few people who were adults then will forget the horror of the 1972 games in Munich, when a team of Israeli athletes was kidnapped and murdered by a terrorist group. On a more positive note, viewers can experience the thrill of seeing an athlete achieve greatness, such as watching Michael Phelps set Olympic records. Also, viewers can become aware of different aspects of culture, such as listening to classical music that is played during some ice skating competitions, or simply becoming aware of sports that were previously unknown to them. For example, a typical American viewer might well know what ice hockey is but have no idea of what curling is. Watching the Olympics affords viewers the opportunity not just to reinforce their own culture but to expand their cultural knowledge.
In addition to the cultural benefits described above, the Olympics have many social benefits as they promote gender equality and equal opportunities for all participants. The Olympics eliminate disparity based on any irrelevant factors such as race, color, or creed. The Olympics have also contributed to the development of socially excluded groups in the host community and hence have done great service for not only those groups but mankind overall. One historical analyst describes this benefit by noting, “In Sydney Games (2000) it was an explicit aim to encourage the participation of indigenous peoples in the preparation and staging of the Games through artistic, ceremonial and sporting activities. Two organizations have played a role in the achievement of this aim: NSWALC: New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council; and NIAC: National Indigenous Advisory Committee” (Minnaert n.d.). The Olympics have often stood for environmental sustainability and have made the world much more aware about the environmental issues it faces. For example, promotional advertisements have addressed minimizing the effect on the local environment when the preparations for the games are being made. These social benefits obviously impact the culture as well, often serving as inspiration to achieve gender and ethnic parity.
Finally, the Olympics also have considerable ethical benefits since they promote fair play, have zero tolerance toward doping, and stand for equal opportunities for all. It is critical for the Olympics to have the highest ethical standards because viewers want to feel that the competition is fair. If viewers feel that one or two countries have an unfair advantage because of judges being bribed or biased, or for other reasons, they will not respect the results. To avoid this problem, the Olympics have held themselves to very high standards of ethics so that scores area based on merit. For this same reason, the Olympics disallow performance-enhancing drugs and will disqualify contestants who test positive for those types of drugs. By promoting impartial judging and making sure contestants do not have unfair advantages through drug use, the Olympics serve as a model for international ethical behaviors and practices. Their way of conducting the games can inspire individual countries to do the same, encouraging ethical behavior among the population of many countries. For young viewers, the ethical benefits can be perceived as a sense of fair play, which can stay with them as they mature.
Each part of the Olympics provides examples of benefits to culture. The Olympics has established steps and events that demonstrate the value of the Olympics to popular culture, beginning with the bidding process and ending with the closing ceremony. Examining these steps and events will provide a useful overview of how the games function and which benefits the various steps and events are involved.
The bidding process for hosting the Olympics is very unique from bidding done for other sports events. It is a two-staged process which considers different parameters of the applicants before choosing a final host. The process is not just about choosing a country with maximum budget or the highest bid. Many factors such as a Cultural Quotient of the city and the country, economic development made in recent years and contribution of the country to sporting culture hold a very important position in the entire bidding process. That is the prime reason why in some cases in the past, countries that did not have the highest bids have won. Moreover, since hosting an Olympics results in greater and increased economic activities such as tourism, infrastructure development and greater foreign investments, countries with increased scope and potential are often given preference over the others. The example of China hosting the 2008 Olympics reaffirms these principles. More and more, developing countries are getting chances to showcase to the world their economic prowess, hospitality and culture, which shows how the Olympics stand for equality for all. The instance of Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian city, getting to host the next Olympics in 2016 is another masterstroke and another feather in the cap of IOC in holding the values of Olympism and the spirit of Olympics to the highest order possible. This clearly demonstrates that the Olympics are not just about the richest and the developed countries, as many of the detractors of the games have pointed out in the past. The Olympics are about equal opportunities for all regardless of the continent which a country belongs to or solely its economic status. The bidding process completely explains why Olympics have been important and how they contribute to World Culture. They provide a huge audience the opportunity to see countries that have not always maintained high profiles, and thus the audience can come to appreciate the culture of the host country and learn more about it.
Once the host city has been selected, work can begin on building the necessary housing. The Olympics Village is a specially designed and constructed place, where all the athletes participating in Olympics stay throughout the tenure of the games. Olympics villages hold a very important place in the entire Olympic movement and are responsible for truly upholding the values of Olympism such as brotherhood, equality and increased tolerance. Olympians or athletes from all the countries get to stay as a family for the entire duration of the games. Every Olympian regardless of his/her country of birth, color, race, creed, gender gets equal treatment in the Olympics Village; nobody has more extravagant quarters than anyone else. People from different faiths, countries, and religions get to interact with each other, understand each other and foster long-lasting bonds. The participants, after the games conclude, have often become more polite, tolerant and considerate toward people from other countries and different cultures. The practice again emphasizes the ‘Equality’ principle that the Olympics have cherished since the very inception. Athletes from the poorest of the countries get to share equal facilities and opportunities with the ones from the most prosperous nations. IOC and Olympic spirit have always maintained strong policies against any kind of discrimination based on race, color, country or virtually any factor. The athletes are treated just like sportspersons and all other factors are put on a back burner during the games.
The practice of enforced equality has helped the sports fraternity and the world at large in numerous ways. It has taught many important lessons to the humanity. It has taught to the world that money, caste, color, and race do not differentiate people, but it is the abilities of the people which are most important and that should be accredited maximum value and weight. The practice, at the very heart of Olympics, shows why the Olympics are almost imperative and necessary, for every four years they teach these athletes the lessons which are much more essential than the economic factors often talked about while coming down on Olympics. These practices help our world evolve as a better place.
After the construction of the Olympic Village and the other necessary buildings occurs, and after the athletes, other participants and visitors arrive, the opening ceremonies mark the beginning of the mega sports event. As a parallel to the opening ceremonies, the closing ceremonies mark the end of the games. These ceremonies are often defined as the reflection of the host country to the entire world. These are often the most cherished and celebrated parts of the games. The participants forget all their differences or the other factors that set them apart, come together and enjoy during these ceremonies. Marked with lots of music, colors, crackers and local culture, these ceremonies are akin to a festival but most importantly a festival sans boundaries. The boundaries, if any, disappear and it necessarily results in fruitful fraternal exchange. They put the richness and depth of the host country’s culture at display. The people of the country connect themselves to the world by the display of their culture through television cameras. It has been described this way: “Olympic Ceremonies follow on from each other without any resemblance because they are marked by the spirit of the place where they are held. Culture and folklore, Fine Arts and traditional arts join together to shape a spectacle which sets the tone for sixteen days of sporting exploits that follow” (MacAloon 11).
The ceremonies serve multiple purposes. They act as a window of the host nation to the entire world and through the display of their culture and their traditions and in many cases some important chapters of their history, they establish themselves in the minds of the world audiences. The practice of ceremonies makes people, participants and the viewers much more informed about the values and culture of the host nation. It makes them understand and appreciate the differences in cultures in a respectable manner. It brings people closer and they tend to understand each other in a better manner. They highlight and display the hospitability and warmth of the locals. The Olympians enjoy and cherish these memories and everlasting bonds are often established between players and athletes, officials and visiting delegates which are quite visible in the ‘Thank You’ placards displayed by players and the usually tearful goodbyes by many.
The ceremonies bring out many emotions and connect people across the world, not on the basis of any perceived commonalities, but on the basis of differences between them; something again very unique to Olympism. These things are imperative and vital for human co-existence despite the differences that might exist based on many diverse and disparate factors. Establishing this type of bond across varying cultures can in and of itself justify the existence of the Olympics and the value we as a people place on them.
The play period, the days on which actual competitions or sporting events are held, also immensely justify the usefulness of Olympics. New records are made and human potentials are challenged every day. The actual events have indeed helped athletes improve immensely and pushed them toward betterment of their own records. Olympics help produce sense of competition coupled with sportsmanship spirit, which is very essential to ensure fair games. Olympics imbibe patriotism and evoke emotions. Throughout this period, new dimensions of human capability are explored and touched upon. The usefulness of the Olympics hence is even more significant as it has let sportspersons in particular and human beings in general realize their true worth and potentials. Viewers can see the value of both competition and cooperation, of pushing yourself to achieve your goals and helping your teammates. These values contribute to a shared global culture of both self-actualization and camaraderie.
In conclusion, ample evidence establishes the importance and usefulness of the Olympics to popular culture. There have been many vocal and apparent critics of Olympics who have been critical about the money involved in the games and the so called ‘reckless’ spending, but they apparently fail to understand that the culture and values that the Olympics stand for cannot be weighed as profits and losses. The Olympics have helped humans achieve much more tolerance toward different cultures, better and coherent globalization, fairer and safer games and better sportspersons. Although the Olympics cannot be credited with sole responsibility for these achievements, the Olympics and the Olympic spirit have played a valuable role in attaining these goals. The Olympics, although regarded by many as just a sporting event, deserves to be applauded as a global cultural event that benefits human culture as a whole.
Works Cited
Garcia, Beatriz (2008), " The role Arts and Culture in the Olympic Games From Olympic Arts Competitions to Cultural Olympiads", pp. 1-13, University of Liverpool, Retrieved on 27 November 2012, _2008.pdf
Hsu, Li-Hong (Leo), (2002), " Ethics and Sports Rules", The University of Leeds, School of Philosophy, Retrieved on 27 November 2012,
Reinold, Marcel, (2012), " Arguing against doping: A discourse analytical study on Olympic anti-doping between the 1960s and the late 1980s", University of Munster (Germany), Retrieved on 27 November 2012, BE/ReinoldFinalReportIOC2011.pdf_attachment_.pdf
Kasimati, Evangelia, (2006), " MACROECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF MEGA- EVENTS: EVIDENCE FROM GREECE", University of Bath , Retrieved on 27 November 2012, JF/KASIMATI.pdf
Minnaert, Lynn, (n.d.), " The non-infrastructural impacts of the Olympic Games on socially excluded groups in the host community: A comparative scoping study from Atlanta 1996 to Beijing 2008", University of Westminster , Retrieved on 27 November 2012, _The_non-infrastructural_impacts_of_the_OG_-_MINNAERT_2C_L.pdf
MacAloon, John, (1995), "Olympic Ceremonies: Historical Continuity and Cultural Exchange ", International Smposium on Olympic Ceremonies, Retrieved on 27 November 2012, TX/IOC_Symposium_1995.pdf
James, Mark, and Guy Osborn. "London 2012 and the Impact of the UK's Olympic and Paralympic Legislation: Protecting Commerce Or Preserving Culture?." Modern Law Review 74.3 (2011): 410-429. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.
