The Olympic Games Mr. P. Leighton Socio-Cultural Studies

Today’s Session will look at… The Establishment of the modern Olympic games by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The Key people involved. The principles behind the Olympics. The BOA and the IOC. London The Olympics as a vehicle for nation building.

Baron Pierre De Coubertin. Believed that sport was the ideal way to educate young people and bring together people in an “International Understanding” His work enabled the first “Modern Olympic Games” to take place in 1896 where 211 male athletes came from 14 countries to compete in 43 events. But where did the Olympics begin?

The Ancient Olympics… These Olympics involved the trio of… –Sport –Religion –Music This helped inspire the “Modern Day Olympics” as we know it today…but where else did the inspiration come from?

1600: The Cotswold Olympics. Robert Dover founded this version of the Olympic Games after his studies of Ancient Greece at Cambridge University. These games were also known as the “Dover Olympics”. They were stopped in 1852 due to the rowdiness and dangerous events Revived and are celebrated annually in Chipping Campden: Close to Coopers Hill where Cheese Rolling is done!

The “Modern Olympics”: A Start… William Penny Brookes invited De Coubertin to the Much Wenlock Games in Shropshire. Brookes, A Doctor who devoted his life to the people of Much Wenlock, founded the games to… “Promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock”.

Then… During his trip De Coubertin visited the Public Schools… What did he see? De Coubertin saw “Sport Obsessed” youngsters; learning through sport and developing towards leadership roles in society. De Coubertin wanted this for the French and the rest of the world!

Finally… After experiencing the Wenlock games; which included an opening ceremony, athletics, football and cricket as well as rural country games Brookes and De Coubertin discussed the re-invention of the Olympic Games. Brookes died at the age of 86, 4 months before the realisation of their dream: a modern Olympics. The Wenlock Olympics still survive today!

The Principles, aims and philosophy of the Olympics. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the BOA (British Olympic Association) have fundamental principles. Read these extracts on page The “Olympic Creed” also tells us that… “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”.

The Aims of the Olympics… Baron De Coubertin himself explained himself that his restoration of the Olympics was… To enable and strengthen sports. To ensure their independence and duration. To Enable and fulfill the educational role of sport in the modern world. To glorify the individual athlete. To maintain the general spirit of competition.

The Philosophy of the Olympic Games… The “Olympism” philosophy promotes… –The balance of body, mind and will –Effort: And the joy it can bring. –Role Modeling to educate and inspire others. –Tolerance, generosity, unity, friendship, non- discrimination and respect for others.

What does the Olympic Symbol mean then? 5 interlocking rings: bringing together 5 continents. White background: Peace.

The IOC. Founded in Paris, June 23 rd Now based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation and receives no public money. It is funded from marketing and TV rights. Athletes, Lawyers and Journalists are involved. Members are ambassadors.

The IOC continued… The IOC’s main responsibility is to supervise toe organisation of the Games. It tries to ensure that the commercialisation of the games is well managed and does not exploit events to the detriment of the whole games. It decides locations i.e. London It owns all rights to its symbols. The rest are on pg 316: read it!

The BOA. Part of the IOC. The pivot around which Team GB revolves before and during the Olympic Games. The BOA, like the IOC receives no funding and gains monies from international sponsorship i.e. Lucozade, View From etc.

The Commercialisation of the Olympic Games… Los Angeles 1984, the first games to be seriously involved with commercialism. A crucial turning point in marketing and sponsorship that of what is now a giant media and commercial spectacle. So what changed?

Amateurism… Amateurism and fair play was synonymous with the Olympics: from the beginning when practicing and training was seen as cheating- you were an amateur for the love of the game not for the winning! Amateurism in the modern Olympics, however, caused serious problems.

Continued… Athletes from the USA were college scholarship funded whilst the athletes from the Soviet Union were heavily backed by the government. British athletes were starting to struggle. In order to compete they needed to commit more time to training which was now accepted. Commercialisation soon followed!

Commercialisation… The IOC eventually accepted commercialism. Other cities such as Montreal nearly went bankrupt due to the strain. Peter Uberroth was appointed to make the 1984 Olympics both possible and practical for LA and the IOC. TV was building a huge global audience which was also attractive to sponsors and individuals. The “Shop Window Effect” was born!

What did Uberroth do? Charged huge sums of money for rights to advertise products at the games. Persuaded private companies to build major facilities. Invited sponsors to invest; this allowed companies then and now to become… –Official Sponsors. –Official Suppliers. –Official Licensees.

The “Top” Programme… Allows major products to use the Olympic logos when advertising their products. Gives worldwide marketing opportunities. Gives major companies first choice in advertising slots. Companies include…

The problems however… The amount of professional athletes, wealthy investors, keen sponsors, large venues and thousands of spectators involved now mean that the smooth running of the Olympics is a huge challenge for host cities.

More money must be invested in sport at every level if we are to successfully host the games and compete realistically. Money from UK Sport and the UKSI centres will directly benefit our athletes. Funding is also needed to build world class competition and administrative facilities. Throughout Britain facilities will be improved or build as training camps, which will be left as a legacy to the games. Which country is based at LSV?

So what are the benefits to Britain? Health- Massive opportunity to improve physical and mental wellbeing- get more people involved in sport at all levels. Media Coverage- special features, children’s TV campaigns etc- Role models to inspire sport and clean living. Feel Good Factor- a carnival atmosphere which could inspire podium success.

Commitments to Britain promised to improve public transport and communication systems around London. This will allow competitors, judges, officials and spectators to move around safely. Facilities can make or break the visit! FACT: The Olympic Park is being serviced by trains running every 15 seconds!

Impacts on the UK… Tourism should be huge throughout the summer- money to the economy. The Paralympic Games should raise the profile of UK Disability sport and enhance attitudes towards it. There are opportunities to improve the NHS system, both in London and in the regional “purpose build” camps.

Benefits and Drawbacks… Benefits: see diagram. Drawbacks: –Soaring costs of the facilities could leave us in a situation like Montreal –Council Tax rises. –Lack of long term job opportunities. –Increased housing and rental prices in the local area. –Elitism Vs. Participation. –London is centre stage- regional areas will receive little if any benefits i.e. Cornwall, Lakes. –Nationalism can result in Discrimination.

Showcasing and politics… “The shop window effect?” When the games have been in Athens or Sydney they could be described as grand spectacles- when they were in political nations such as Tokyo (1964) Seoul (1988) and Beijing (2008) did they have political implications?

Beijing 2008: China. 1 party Communist state. Sport is controlled, funded and encouraged by the government. This is to increase morale and improve sporting prestige in the workforce. However- human rights are a sticking point in China. International opinion was split. –Those who thought the event would help reforms in the country. –Those who thought the games legitimised Communism.

Political Links. Sport is not universally recognised as being linked to politics. Eastern block countries in the 70’s and 80’s exploited this: with both functional and dysfunctional outcomes. In Communist Russia the entire population was tested- talented children were coached, fed and even given drugs to ensure international success and political superiority. Athletes were given token jobs so they could train constantly. In this system the minority prospered while the majority suffered.

The Olympics Political History… Berlin 1936: Hitler and Jesse Owens. Helsinki 1952: Cold War begins. Mexico City 1968: Black Power salute. Munich Israeli athletes killed. Moscow countries boycott due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. L.A Soviet Union boycotts. Seoul public demonstrations help bring about democracy in Korea.

That’s It!!! Use your text book when preparing- the examiners need to be fair as this is the first new style exam. Try and read the exam tip boxes as they give you information regarding the exam. Use your time wisely- I’m available most days for a chat or a tutorial. Don’t panic- well done!