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Are Olympics an overall good or bad for the cities where they are hosted?
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The Olympics increase international stature

Hosting the Olympic Games is a phenomenal opportunity to announce to the international community that a country is prepared for increased participation on a global scale as well as the scrutiny that accompanies it.

The Argument

Hosting the Olympic Games is a phenomenal opportunity to announce to the international community that a country is prepared for increased participation on a global scale as well as the scrutiny that accompanies it. Asia, interpreted by many to be a continent on the rise for the past few decades, may see this reflected in its increased participation in hosting the games. Until 2018, Asia had only hosted three games; beginning in 2018, it won the right to host three in a row.[1] For the current biddings, an Asian country is involved for each one.[2] This follows increasing public respect for various Asian countries as a whole including admiration for several countries successful COVID-19 responses. While the games, COVID-19, and economic policies are not all neatly tied together, hosting the games “serves as a credible signal that a country is committing itself to trade liberalization” and general international openness.[3] Furthermore, in 2018, it was announced that for the first time an African nation would host an Olympic event. While not the official games, Senegal is to host the 2022 Youth Olympic Games, the first country to host an Olympic event on the continent.[4] For so many years, the Olympic Games signified an example of Western elitism, with Eastern and African nations largely resigned to competitors or visitors. The increased participation and egality on a global scale not only emphasize the International Olympic Committee’s increasing commitment to inclusivity and diversity, but also emphasize that to underestimate these flourishing countries would be a mistake.

Counter arguments

The Olympic Games are a shallow baseline to announce to the international community that a country is prepared for increased global participation. This should be shown in ways other than something as silly as hosting an international competition. Trade, economy, environmental policies, government structure, quality of life, and more are much better benchmarks to increased respect on an international level.[5] Furthermore, hosting the Olympics Games does not absolve a country of their own future stumbles. The United States have hosted more than a dozen games, yet still deal with violent racism. China, host of the 2008 and 2022 games are facing a humanitarian crisis unlike anything in popular memory. [6] There are much better ways to gain the world’s respect.

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-02-12/how-asia-won-the-right-to-host-three-olympics-in-a-row
  2. https://www.britannica.com/list/7-ways-hosting-the-olympics-impacts-a-city
  3. https://www.nber.org/papers/w14854.pdf
  4. https://www.olympic.org/news/it-s-time-for-africa-see-you-in-senegal
  5. https://www.britannica.com/list/7-ways-hosting-the-olympics-impacts-a-city
  6. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037
This page was last edited on Monday, 26 Oct 2020 at 10:37 UTC

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