The FloridaLympics

 

The Florida Olympics

            The summer Tokyo Olympics are set to go as planned at the moment. Which plan is that? I do not know either. Just like most people who spent way too much time online I came across the idea that Florida could possibly step in to host the summer Olympic games. Granted that has no merit and bear with me I am trying to make a point here.

            There is a pandemic going on which has revealed a lot about those in power. The grossly incompetence is obvious by how nations are handling or ignoring the situation. However, what it also has revealed is that the old ways were just as bad. Which makes sense given to how inadequately prepared the world was when confronted with this virus. This failure of the world can be seen through the lens of the Olympic games.

            Full disclosure I love sports. I dabble a bit in sport history, but I enjoy watching sports, reading about them, and when it was of the time before participated in them. The Olympics are special and fascinating topic to study, both ancient and modern games. My studies were shaped by professors who are experts in the field and emphasized the importance the games along with the short comings of the Olympic legacy.

            The modern games are the Florida Olympics. The games were supposed to be held in 2020, but due to the pandemic they were eventually postponed. But even prior to pandemic the games were not necessarily without scandal. Hosting the games are expensive and the International Olympic Committee is not free from bribery scandals when it comes to awarding a city the games. Andrew Zimbalist breaks down the economic components of the games really well in Tokyo 2020 and Its Postponement: An economic Prognosis. To summarize, Zimbalist reiterates what is already well known, the myth of economic prosperity of the Olympics.

            A few key interesting takeaways from Zimbalist’s work come to no true surprise other than the magnitude on how expensive the city and country have to spend just to prepare for the games. The 2013 estimates from the government of audit board had the cost at $7.43 billion and increased to $13.43 billion in three years. That is the cost that excluded building a new stadium that had an estimate cost of $2.4 billion. A study from the University of Oxford found that the average cost overrun since 1976 is 252%. I know, I had to look up “cost overrun” just to make sure my mind was blown proportionally only to realize this is a lunatic amount. If that isn’t enough add in that the IOC moved the marathon to a different city without consulting the governor and the head of the Tokyo Organizing Committee resigned due to a bribe paid to the IOC in the range of $2.3 million in 2013.

            But hey, this isn’t Florida, right? I sincerely do not mean to bash on the state of Florida and only tend to use its American societal connotation as a comparison to the leadership and accepted practices of the Olympic Game preparations and bidding process. I do not know what or if the games will happen in 2021. I am not sure if I even care if they do or do not. My heart goes out to the people of Japan and the athletes around the world who have trained and worked so hard only to be screwed over again.

(below is the link for the Zimbalist’s paper)

https://olympicstudies.org/tokyo-2020-and-its-postponement-economic-prognosis/