The Olympic Games

The aim of this lesson is to learn the history of the Olympic games and what it means to be a host city (Equivalent to UK GCSE Physical Education)

The first Modern Olympic Games were in Athens, Greece in 1896 and were organised by Baron de Coubertin. However, the Olympics have an even longer history, with the first ever Olympic games being held in 776 BC in Ancient Greece! Back then the Olympic Spirit was 'It is more important to take part than to win'

Because the Olympics are such a big event, with so many spectators across the world, they have been used as a stage for many protests, mainly political in nature:

1936 - Berlin

At this time Hitler was the German leader and he wanted the games to prove that white northern europeans were superior. A black athlete called Jesse Owens won four gold medals and Hitler stormed out of the stadium!

1972 - Munich

Nine israeli athletes were kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists. All of the hostages were killed, along with five of the terrorists and a policeman after the rescue attempt went wrong

1980 - Moscow

These games were boycotted by a lot of countries (including the USA) to protest about the soviet invasion of Afghanistan

1984 - Los Angeles

The USSR boycotted these games because the USA had boycotted the Moscow games. This was referred to as tit-for-tat. These games were also highly commercialised as many international corporations sponsored the games which for the first time in history made a huge profit!

1992 - Barcelona

South Africa were allowed to enter a team for the first time since 1964 when they were banned because of the apartheid regime

2008 - Beijing

There were protests during the torch relay in the run up to the games over Chinas human rights record

Hosting the Olympic games should bring more advantages than disadvantages:

Advantages

Prestige from hosting the games attracts trade and tourism
The facilities which are built for use during the games can be used for the cities population for years to come
Businesses in the city see a massive increase in trade during the games (like hotels and restaurants etc)
The organisers can try to make a profit out of the games

Disadvantages

It is getting really expensive to host the games and more difficult to make any profit from it
Any problems could mean the organisers lose money rather than make it
Security must be a top priority to prevent terrorism and hooligans disrupting the games
A cities infrastructure (transport and communication system) must be excellent to cope with the influx of visitors

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