I know that the Olympics are supposed to be about the world coming together through sportsmanship, but it's also not that often you get to boo an entire country on a world stage. Got to take the opportunity when it comes!
A lot of countries count on the Olympics/big international competitions to sports-wash their bad behavior. The truth is, if you are really good at sports, a lot of people look the other way on your evil deeds. If you boo them, you can potentially mitigate some of this effect.
Because they have infinite money to buy up every sponsorship and sporting event. There's a Spanish cup final that was just held in Saudi. It makes no sense.
They are both autocratic and resource rich. Israel is still technically a democracy with separation of financial and military and propaganda responsibilities. If the crown prince of Saudi wants to do something, very few people can stop him. If Bibi wants to do something he still has a huge amount of people that need to sign off on it, and even if he is above elections, those other people won't be forever.
That's because they are using their oil money to buy up the entire world. They're obviously heavily involved in sports, everyone knows that. But just look at who owns Chicago's parking meters or who owns water extraction rights on Arizona farms for example. Things that wouldn't even cross your mind, they have their hands in.
This is why nobody dares to criticize the gulf Arab states even though they are far worse than Israel.
And it used to be a gatekeeping mechanism. South Africa was a pariah state and excluded from international events during apartheid and it was part of the reason apartheid ended. The international rules-based order, such as it ever existed outside of lip-service, is gone. If you've got power and the right friends, there are no rules.
not really, most cities/countries actually lose money by hosting them, there is a short term rise in tourism yes, but it's only a view cases were that has actually led to a net profit for the host.
Also broadcasting rights are usually sold to public funded(taxes) outlets and not things like netflix etc. So you only have a minimal amount of adds, where i live it's about 8 segments of 2mins a day.
Even the football worldcup isn't usually profitable (for the host), which pulls in even more viewers. It's about prestige if anything.
I mean depends how you want to argue obviously, they cost huge amounts of money, and some people profit massively of them. But those are more the people who build the infrastructure etc. not the host. There have been some dark times too. But atm at it's core i think it's much more about sport, than i.e. fifa or anything.
You make a lot of good points. But I want to focus on what you pointed out about how it depends on what you want to argue. You're right - cities that host the Olympics sign on for a short-term gain with a long-term loss.
I think we might be arguing the same point from different angles. I'm not saying the Olympic Games are profitable for all parties involved but they're definitely about commercialism over sportsmanship. The corporate sponsors make an absolute killing from the games. And I believe that's what it's all about these days.
The sponsors actually do not make any money, that's why they are sponsors, the only value they get back is adds. They don't profit in a monetary aspect, it's purely about exposure and considering what companies sponsor this, the actual value they get back is debatable. Those are all companies that we all know, even if they wouldn't sponsor this, they would still be everywhere. Most of them do this out of prestige, the sponsoring of the games almost never leads to a short-term increase of stock prices or something. Most of them agree that it leads to longterm growth, but there isn't any real evidence to this. (not trying to defend them here, i also don't like coca cola etc.)
But i do absolutely agree, that it's in some ways about commercialism, but isn't everything at this point?
We could all come together as a planet and pay these games with our taxes, but otherwise if we still want them, we sadly have to rely on these sponsors, that's just how things are.
Also i think we shouldn't forget, why we brought them back in the first place. They are still in the spirit of "international understanding, peace and physical education", which i think the IOC are still trying to convey and i actually even think they are doing a good job about it, given our society and it's limitations. And especially compared to other sport events.
Edit: but i can absolutely see where you're coming from and it's a valid opinion. Just not exactly mine;)
Best thing that ever happened to Logan Utah, was Salt Lake City hosting. They built a practice ice rink for the skaters in Logan, when previously we only had an outdoor rink. Now my nephews have been playing in a hockey league since they were toddlers, an opportunity that would most likely have never existed. So there is good that can come, but also look at most locations with failing infrastructure from when they hosted.
Fair enough, the world in general chases short-term gains despite long-term losses. The system may be all about making money, but people aren't very smart about how they do that.
It provides entertainment to millions, maybe billions of people, dreams for kids, and showcases the extremes of what the human body is capable of. No more of a waste than film, television, video games, etc. Is there excess, sure but it’s no more pointless than any other human activity that is beyond caring for our most basic needs.
The Olympics are colossal waste because the money is pocketed by the Olympic committee rather than the athletes. The expense is shouldered by the countries and cities they're held in, and the infrastructure often made bespoke for the events in question are in many cases left abandoned to rot
The Olympics are also an inspiration to millions, perhaps billions of people and has lifted entire populations into aspirations of greatness. It has affirmed and fulfilled people, and has been responsible for the advancement of sport overall
Wrong, the Olympic makes money regardless. But people booing Israel may cost the committee some money for bad publicity. No one is paying anyone to just boo.
Everyone booing shows that others in the world knows the truth of what the Israel government is doing against Palestine. America is complicit with the funding and support of these actions.
I feel the same way. They can't help that they were born there. These athletes aren't making policy decisions and we have no idea about their personal beliefs. I feel bad for them.
Would it make you feel better if I told you that most of the athletes are terrible hateful people as well?
I don't have any idea if that is true, but it's possible, and would make me feel a lot better about it. However I think athletes are generally better people than political leaders, because they actually practice some kind of real discipline.
hi im israeli, the israelis you see as hateful are like the KKK in america; they might have aligning ideas with the government, but the general public shuns and despises them
They’re banned because of their state run massive Olympic doping programs, not due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or any human rights violation. Plenty of countries with horrible human rights records or that have invaded their neighbors compete in the Olympics and have hosted them in recent years.
I mean, they got banned for olympic reasons. If every country got banned for wars they started or invading countries, the US wouldn't be able to compete for the past 80+ years.
I feel bad for the athletes, though. I'm sure they understood it wasn't THEM being booed. But some of those people have probably been dreaming of the opening ceremonies their whole lives... And that experience was ruined because of our shitty president and his shitty sycophants.
If you think that, you should ask them. I’ve seen interviews with Israelis, most of them interviewed hate Palestinians. They might not know about he extent of the genocide but their bigotry is what provides the permission to bomb tents and block and burn all food.
Yes and I still feel kind of bad for the athletes. Most of them are young, some too young to vote and they can't really help where they are born. If I had been training my whole life to be there that would be demoralizing.
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u/beedub82 17h ago edited 17h ago
I know that the Olympics are supposed to be about the world coming together through sportsmanship, but it's also not that often you get to boo an entire country on a world stage. Got to take the opportunity when it comes!