Olympic Bidding

In class, we’ve talked about the Olympics and the bidding process countries go through to be the host of the Olympics. I never really thought about what all is involved in making a bid for the Olympics Games and much work is really put into it. There are a lot of different elements that have to be considered when deciding on where the Olympic Games should be held, such as: location (global visibility), climate, culture, cost, etc. From reading Nauright’s article, it is very important for cities and nations to market themselves. According to Nauright (2004), “With much of global culture displayed by the media, events, particularly significant sporting ones such as the Olympic Games or the soccer World Cup, have become highly sought after commodities as developed countries, and increasingly some leading developing countries, move towards event-driven economies” (p.1325). Hosting such large events is a huge deal, because nations must spend large amounts of money, and they have to decide if it will all be worth it in the end. Nauright (2004), states, “The number of nations that can spend the necessary resources on elite sporting programmes across the board, however, is limited to a small minority of the over 200 participants in the Olympic Games and nations must often choose whether to divert limited public resources into supporting international sporting success or the attraction of international sporting events” (p.1325). I can see why the Olympic Games have been held in the same place more than once, but I also think it is important to be diverse and give other nations a chance. Nauright (2004), also states, “Ethnicity has become significant in event marketing and destination branding, with bid and organizing committees increasingly seeking to harness previously excluded groups when promoting events” (p.1328).