Transcript The Olympic Games - The National CofE Academy

The Olympic Games
Contemporary Issues Section
AS Socio-Cultural Studies for PE
Lets Check the Spec..
Candidates should be able to:
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
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the background (vision of de Coubertin)
Principles, aims and philosophy of the modern Olympic movement
summer and winter format
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and British Olympic Association (BOA)
• explain the commercialisation of the Olympics: pre- and post-1984 (Los
Angeles)
• describe the opportunities and implications for sport and society in the UK
arising from 2012:
– impact of being a host nation on sport and society
– benefits and drawbacks including potential for increasing participation and
promoting healthy lifestyles particularly among young people
• explain how the Olympic Games is a vehicle for nation building, e.g. China;
the ‘Shop Window’ effect; government control and funding of sport; sport
as a political tool.
The Olympics – An Introduction
• Baron Pierre de Coubertin was an
influential, wealthy young
Frenchman when he had a vision of
using sport to educate young
people and bring them together as
a way of increasing international
understanding
• In April 1896, the first modern
Olympics were held in Athens,
Greece
• Spectators filled stadiums to watch
211 men from 14 countries
competing in 43 events
The Olympics – The Background
• Ancient Olympics were festivals combining sport, religion and music that
took place in the Mediterranean region, mainly Greece (BC)
• INDEPENDENT RESEARCH:
– Do some reading into Robert Dover’s Cotswold Olympics and William Penny
Brookes’ Wenlock Olympian Games
• William Penny Brookes founded the Much Wenlock Olympian Games in
1850 as a way of promoting moral, physical and intellectual improvement
to the people of Wenlock
• Brookes invited de Coubertin (then 27) to the Wenlock Games in 1889 to
observe they games. While in England he visited the games obsessed
public schools (who used sport as a vehicle for promoting courageous
gentlemen who will step into leading roles in society)
• On seeing this, de Coubertin wanted the same for the young people of
France, and later the world
The Olympics – De Coubertin’s Vision
• De Coubertin attends Wenlock Games in
1890 – sees an opening ceremony as well
as traditional English sports – he was
inspired
• A discussion between Brookes and de
Coubertin followed about a mutual
ambition of reinventing the Ancient
Olympics in Athens
• De Coubertin set about establishing the
games for 1896 – Brookes dies aged 86, 4
months before the realisation of their
shared vision
Much Wenlock Games
Principles of the Olympic Games
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
states the fundamental principle of the
Olympics are:
Aims of the Olympic Games
• De Coubertin explains this perfectly:
• Task: with a partner, rewrite the above into more modern
English – use bullet points if you need to
The Philosophy of the Olympics
• Known as Olympism, the philosophy promotes:
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Balance between body, mind and will
Effort – for the joy it can bring
Role-modelling to educate and inspire others
Tolerance, generosity, unity, friendship, non-discrimination
and respect for others
• The Olympic logo rings are a representative of the 5
continents of the world coming together, on a white
background, symbolising peace
The Philosophy of the Olympics
• Amateurism
– Not being paid to take part
– Must be ‘gentlemen’ by birth, so the Olympics were exclusively for the middle
and upper classes
– Back then, it was only them that could afford to participate
• Fair Play
– Practice or training was considered as bad as cheating (Valued winning
more than taking part)
– Cheating, prize money or Professionalism was unheard of in the
beginning
• The Oath
– This is said by one athlete and one judge of the host nation
– This reinforce the philosophies and principles for all participants
The Olympic Format
• Has summer and winter events
• Held every 4 years
• Until 1922, summer and winter games were
held in the same year - now 2 years apart
• Great Britain is one of 5 countries to take part
in every summer games since 1896, and one of
3 to have taken part in every winter games
since 1924
• London hosted the summer games in 1908,
1948 and now 2012
• After 2012, Great Britain and Greece will have
hosted the games 3 times
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
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Founded in Paris, 1894, now based in Lausanne, Switzerland
It is an international, non-profit organisation, receives no public money
Funded b profits from marketing and broadcasting rights
Members include athletes, administrators, journalists and lawyers –
ambassadors in their countries
IOC responsible for supervising the organisation of summer and winter
games
Ensures commercialisation of the games is well managed
Makes decisions about future games and any changes to the Olympic
format or charter
Works in areas such as sport science and medicine and environmental
issues affecting sport
Supports and supervises the running of games by National Olympic
Committees (e.g. BOA)
Owns rights to the Olympic flag, motto, anthem, the games itself!
The British Olympic Association
• The BOA is the National Olympic Committee for the
UK and is part of the IOC
• BOA is not funded or controlled by government, it
has no political
interests
• Dependant on commercial
sponsorship and fundraising
income
• Ultimately, the BOA is responsible for the UK’s
participation in the Olympic Games
• The BOA is involved with various programmes for
Team GB athletes – research into some
Commercialisation of the Olympics
• Eventually the IOC accepted commercialisation
• Previous host cities such as Montreal, Canada
(1976) lost millions and nearly went bankrupt
under the strain of hosting the games
• Peter Uberroth was appointed to make the 1984
games in LA, USA possible and practical
• The shift to commercialisation occurred as TV was
building a huge global audience – attractive the
sponsors
• TV also gave nations and political groups and
individuals a prominent stage or ‘shop window’
effect
• Uberroth charged huge sums for TV and Radio
rights, persuaded private companies to build
facilities and invited sponsors to invest
Commercialisation of the Olympics
• Since the LA games of 1984, multinational companies
wanting to get financially involved might become;
– Official sponsors
– Official suppliers
– Official licensees
• …therefore become appointed companies
Commercialisation of the Olympics
• TOP Programme
– Appointed companies became part of The Olympic Partner (TOP)
Programme
– In return for Investment, companies can use the Olympic Logo on their
products and get exclusive marketing opportunities
– TOP companies also get first choice in advertising slots on TV
– They can showcase products as the games
– Great for business, but pressure on organisers to deliver a safe and
smooth running games
Debate Time!
• Has the Olympic Ideal been ruined by Commercialisation and
Sponsorship? Is commercialisation good, bad, inevitable or
irrelevant?
• Discuss the following points:
London 2012
• When London won the bid, several opportunities and
implications for sport and society in the UK arose
• The games will run for 29th August to 9th September – but
benefits will last much longer
• The Benefits:
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To be successful, more money must be invested in sport
Money for UK Sport and UKSI will benefit athletes
Funding for he building of world class facilities
Training camps to be built and left as a legacy after the games –
benefiting the UK
– Several temporary venues in London will be moved to other parts of
the UK
London 2012
• Benefits continued…
– Sport will have a higher profile
– People, especially the young,
will be excited the games are
being held here for the first
time since 1948
– People should be inspired by
Team GB success
– Our aim is to come 4th in the
medals table at 2012
Benefits to Britain as a Whole
• Provides a great opportunity to improve the physical and
mental well being of people
• Golden opportunity for boosting the number of young people
participating in physical activity
• Promotes a healthy lifestyle – a government aim
• Media coverage will generate interest, aiming to motivate and
inspire before, during and after the games
• UK likely to experience a ‘feel good’ factor and result in a
carnival atmosphere, uniting the nation
• Improvements to our transport system in and around London
– impact on daily commuters as a legacy
Impact and Implications
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Tourism will be huge – boost the economy
The Paralympic Games should enhance general attitudes towards equality
Opportunity to improve the NHS, particularly of sports medicine not only in
London, but at regional training camps
Benefits to local areas include;
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Improved local economy
Businesses attracted to area will increase employment
Social integration will increase by working on projects etc.
Local people will have a chance to develop employable skills, leaving them with a legacy
The Olympic park is being built in a deprived area of London, therefore renewing and
restoring this part of London
• Look over your worksheet to ensure you know the potential benefits to
Sport, the UK and Local area of London 2012
Drawbacks to London 2012
• Critics have made these observations
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Soaring costs and potential legacy of debt (Like 1976)
Rising council tax bills for local people
Lack of long term job opportunities
Increased housing and rental prices
A focus on elitism rather than participation
Too much focus on London – some places receiving little, if
any, benefits
– An emphasis on Nationalism which could result in
discrimination
The Olympic Games and National Building
• Showcasing
– The games is a perfect stage for nation building
(promoting a country)
– The games are a vehicle for gaining publicity,
improving a countries image and increasing
national pride
– It is the ‘shop window’ effect, whereby politicians
use sport to promote their country and political
system worldwide (Kenya)
– Sport is used as a political tool in some cases
China – Beijing 2008
• China, one party communist state
• Sport is controlled, funded and encouraged by
government
• Both government and the public were delighted to
host the games
• Some saw the games as a ‘coming out party’ for
China to highlight its economic rise and emergence
as a world power
• Human rights has been a major issue in China, what
were the government trying to achieve by staging the
games?
Nation Building
Politics
• Sport and Politics are linked
• Eastern European countries in the 60’s and 70’s used sport for internal and
external political motives
• For as long as the Games have existed (and against their Philosophy) the
have been a political as well as sporting scene
Lets Check the Spec..
Candidates should be able to:
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
–
–
–
–
the background (vision of de Coubertin)
Principles, aims and philosophy of the modern Olympic movement
summer and winter format
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and British Olympic Association (BOA)
• explain the commercialisation of the Olympics: pre- and post-1984 (Los
Angeles)
• describe the opportunities and implications for sport and society in the UK
arising from 2012:
– impact of being a host nation on sport and society
– benefits and drawbacks including potential for increasing participation and
promoting healthy lifestyles particularly among young people
• explain how the Olympic Games is a vehicle for nation building, e.g. China;
the ‘Shop Window’ effect; government control and funding of sport; sport
as a political tool.