Should the Olympic Games be discontinued?

1. 70

   That Grrlposted 12 years ago

   Should the Olympic Games be discontinued?
   
   Hosting the Olympics is nice for national pride and tourism but the cost of the event has become staggering. Building sports facilities, Olympic villages and the temporary drain to have extra security, transportation, city maintenance and etc. Another cost is finding and buying land in order to place the Olympics inside already congested cities. Very few countries/ cities can afford to host the Olympics now. Has the original point of the Olympics, bringing the world together in peace, been lost? Have the Olympics become too exclusive and outgrown their reason for being?

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2. 61

   sradieposted 12 years ago

   The added problem is that often the facilities created for hosting the Olympics are abandoned or under utilized following the event, leading to huge upkeep expenses or decay until they no longer have any value. But I still believe the Olympics can and do help bring some unification to the nations and peoples that compete. It's just that, like so many other sporting events, over commercialization has greatly diminished their value. In my opinion they could be broken up into smaller interrelated competitions spread over more years and bring greater benefit to both the athletes and the hosts. It just takes planning and the will to make it happen.

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   1. 70

      That Grrlposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I wrote a Hub post about the abandoned and decaying Olympic sites of the past.
      
      Even if they break up the Olympics, as they have for the Winter Olympics, there are still over 200 countries and their athletes to be given food, shelter, etc.

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3. 81

   Sarah Christinaposted 12 years ago

   I do believe just like many things that started out as a great concept (i.e. Christmas and other holidays) have become way too commercialized, and the Olympics is no different. I've also spoken to a few Brazilians about Brazil hosting in 2016 (along with the World Cup in 2014 - 2 major events back to back) and the consensus seems to be that many Brazilians don't want their country to host the Olympics. The reason is summed up by a comment I found online by a Brazilian citizen:
   
   "We Brazilians have no choice, the games are coming here on 2016. It will be an excellent opportunity for politicians to steal more money than they already do. One shouldn't forget that shortly before going bankrupt, Greece hosted the Olympics."
   
   The common Brazilian is unhappy with their government, and this apparently includes the government's bid to host the Olympics. As they see it, they may get national attention and tourist dollars, but ultimately that money just ends up in the pockets of the greedy politicians instead of the people. Therefore, they see no benefit in hosting the Olympics...and they kind of make a good point.
   
   So my answer is yes, because the Olympics is no longer what it started as. It's now all about the $$$ and commercialism, with "bringing the world together in peace" in the backdrop. It has indeed become too exclusive. I wold actually go as far to say elitist, even.

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