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Political Legacies of the Olympic Games

Moderator:
Fkrou Kidane
Former Director
Department of International Cooperation and Development
International Olympic Committee
Ethiopia

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 The Political Legacies of the Olympic Games:
Barcelona 1992

Enric Trun
Member of the Standing Committee
Barcelona 1992 Organizing Committee
Spain

1. T h e n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l political c o n t e x t

When the Barcelona Organising Committee began the bidding process, our country was going through
a transition from a dictatorship to a democracy. In 1978, a new democratic Constitution was
introduced. It was also the start point of a consolidation process of a new Spanish territorial
organization through the autonomous communities.

Some aspects were important to understand in this pre-Olympic process. An economic crisis took place
prior to the Games, and the Spanish Government had to also deal with the issue of the Basque
terrorists. The same political party was in power in the Central government and in the Barcelona City
council during the whole period from 1982 to 1995, which helped a great deal (a different political part}'
was in power in Catalonia). The entry into the European Union in 1986 was also positive to collaborate
in this process.

In Spain there were four major projects in 1992: the 500 th anniversary of the discovery of America by
Columbus, the Universal Exhibition in Seville, the European City of Culture in Madrid and the
Olympic Games in Barcelona. T h e main question for the central government was to try to control all
the processes. From the Catalonian regional government and the City government point of view, the
priority was to give a Catalan form to the Games.

The international context was also very complex. This international political context included a major
economic crisis in the US, the disintegration of the USSR and Yugoslavia, the German Reunification
and the re-inclusion of South Africa into the Olympic Movement.

All this had a big impact on the Olympic Games in Barcelona which hosted 10,000 athletes from 172
countries, some 11,000 journalists and were seen by 3.5 billion television spectators.

2. T h e t o p - t e n objectives of B a r c e l o n a '92

The priority objectives set by the Barcelona Organising Committee were the following:

1) first of all, to organise the best ever Olympic Games. This commitment had an special importance
because the President of the I O C was a citizen of Barcelona and it was the fourth time that
Barcelona had made a bid for the Games;
2) to use the Olympic Games as a catalyst for developing of the city;
3) to not only prepare the city for the Games held over 15 days, but to work for the future, the day
after the Olympic Games;
4) to open up the city to the sea;
5) to balance the territory, to counter-balance the forces of the market and to make investments and
locate facilities in the right place;
6) sharing the Games with 17 other cities in the region;

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7) to develop the idea of public and private co-operadon at all levels;
8) to develop the leadership of the local public sector since the project was born in the city. This
leadership meant that the city council and the city decided where the facilities should be built and
what kind of development was needed for the city;
9) the special relationship between Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain is very political, but for the people
of Barcelona, Catalonia is their nation and there has always been a continuing political struggle
between centralism and federalism. The Games constituted an important occasion to try to resolve
this, and to work together;
10) finally, another objective was to promote sports development since the Games were a major
opportunity to involve numerous people from within sports and to promote sport for all.

3. T h e Olympic Organizing Committee

Like other cities, we had many operating tools, with the difference that the President of our Organising
Committee was the Mayor of Barcelona, who worked in excellent collaboration with the Chief
Executive Officer and his staff. You will find bellow some figures describing the organising committee
and the Barcelona Games:

Master Plan: 37 programs, 441 projects

Budget: 1,050 million euros
Employees: 5,956 (during the Games)
Volunteers: 34,548
Security and service enterprises: 44,590 employees
Sponsors: 3 1 % income
Sub-sites: 17
Facilities: 44 for competition and 76 for training
Three million euros profit which were used to prepare for the Barcelona Olympic Museum.

The volunteers were an important factor to explain the success and why many people was involved in
the Olympic Games. In fact, over 9 1 % of the population of Barcelona were favourable to the Olympic
Games when Barcelona was selected to organise the Games.

4. T h e u r b a n d i m e n s i o n s of t h e p r o j e c t

The Games were held in four Olympic areas, in Barcelona and also in its metropolitan area. The main
area was in Montjuc including the stadium, the swimming pool, the main sports hall and the University
of Sports of Barcelona. The existing stadium, built in 1929 for the second candidature, was completely
renewed. Four new sports arenas were built, and 5 km of beaches were renewed with the idea opening
up Barcelona to the sea.

4,500 flats were built in four Olympic Villages and a new Barcelona ring road of 35 km. The airport was
enlarged and a leisure port construction (Olympic Marina), different cultural facilities (museums, etc),
two telecommunications towers as well as an optical cable network were created on the occasion of the
Games.

Finally, the Hotel plan set up for the Games created 5,000 new rooms in Barcelona.

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 5. Investment

Six million Euros from both private (53%) and public (47%) sources were invested. In relation with the
public investment 1 8 % came from the City Council, 9 % from the provincial and metropolitan
institutions, 3 2 % from the Catalonian Government and 4 1 % from the Central Government. This
represented 2 0 % of all the investments in the region made by the public sector during this period.

6. T h e legacy of B a r c e l o n a 1992

Barcelona, I believe, found its place on the world map on the occasion of the Games and ten years
latter still keep it. Also it has gained confidence and self-esteem. N o w , the city is ready to tackle
anything and it has learned how the private and public sector can work together. This was the main
legacy of the Games.

International recognition has improved for Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain after the Barcelona Games
and the city has now become a major tourist and conference destination.

Since 1979, the same political party, a combination of socialists and minor parties, has been running the
Barcelona city council. T h e Mayor of Barcelona, as I have mentioned, was President of the Organising
Committee for the Games, which was of considerable assistance from a continuity point of view.
Today, the city is undergoing a second phase of urban transformation in that we are completing the
work on our seafront. O u r political legacy means that we still preserve the leadership role of the city
council and we are organising a new world big event, the Universal Forum for Culture in 2004.
Obviously, problems exist since the city has new realities to face, for example the balance of power
with Madrid which has been attempting to centralise government for the last six years, leading to
confrontation.

The organisation of the Games meant, at the same time, reorganising the city council, modernising it
and changing its mentality. Today, Barcelona has a balanced budget with a new investment capacity.
However, it is difficult to move ahead without the full and energetic support of the Spanish
government, which at present is offering strategic support for Madrid alone. This provokes controversy
regarding whether to adopt a centralised or decentralised system, or a network-type model such as that
in Germany, with a network of cities.

The increase in international renown for Barcelona is also an important aspect of the legacy of the
Games. Following them, the Mayor was elected President of the European Regional Council. He is
now the President of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. T w o months ago, Barcelona was elected as the
new headquarters of the World Cities and Local Authorities, which has an important relationship to the
United Nations. By the way, the current Mayor of Barcelona, was the first Mayor in history to take the
floor at a General Assembly of the United Nations last year, representing the world cities movement.

Regarding cultural legacy, the Mayor of Barcelona always used to say: "sports of course; but we cannot
forget culture". The city council promoted a cultural programme including new cultural facilities built in
the period prior to the Games and one of which was completed before them. These are the new
auditorium, the national theatre, and the opera. The opera houses in Barcelona and Venice burned
down within three months of each other: the one in Barcelona was re-opened two years ago, although
that in Venice has not yet been completed.

As far as legacy for Catalonia was concerned, we held major discussions regarding how to market our
region with a view to the Games. Our language, Catalonian, was an official language during them and
this was of great importance for our 8 million speakers. I believe it w: a satisfactory form of co-
existence between symbols of Catalonia and Spain. Its is known that 8 5 % of Catalonia agreed to this

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co-existence, but some radicals advocating independence from Spain were angered because they felt
too many Spanish flags were in evidence at some of the ceremonies. The major right wing paper in
Madrid in turn complained that there were too many Catalonian flags being displayed during the
Olympic Games, which they saw as being Spanish Games.

As a small nation and culture, we are now facing a major new challenge: that of integrating those w h o
come to setde here. Like other major European cities, Barcelona is experiencing the arrival of a large
number of immigrants from throughout the world, which although an opportunity also represents a
challenge.

As for our sports legacy, all the facilities built for the Olympic Games are being fully used. There is
considerable growth in the total number of users and affiliated members of clubs. The level of the
sportspersons is progressively improving and new sport competitions will be held in Barcelona in 2003
as the Swimming World Championships and the European basket final-four.

In economic terms, Barcelona was the 11 t h city in Europe in the 1990s according to a survey carried out
amongst 500 businessmen. Today, it has risen to sixth place after London, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt and
Amsterdam. Barcelona has the lowest unemployment rate in Spain. The city hosted in 2002 the largest
European real estate trade fair and is being involved in new public infrastructures investments as the
harbour enlargement, the high speed railway connecting Madrid with France and the new track landing
and new terminal in the airport.

As far as tourism is concerned, Barcelona is of course a new and attractive European destination. T h e
figures shown bellow comparing Barcelona's situation in 1990 and 2002 clearly show this:

1990 2002
Overnights 3,795,000 8,100,000
Cruisers 93,000 690,000
Conventions 105,000 270,000
Airport 9,050,000 21,600,000

Finally, I would Eke to give you some words about the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004 launched by
the City Council after the 1992 Olympic Games and which will be held in Barcelona from 9 May to 26
September 2004. This is a new kind of event which looks the meeting of the world civil society through
big exhibitions, arts festivals, meetings, conferences and other events. Organised with U N E S C O as a
partner, its main aims are the Culture of peace, the Sustainable development and the Cultural diversity.

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 T h e Political Legacy of the Olympic Games:
From Los Angeles 1984 to Salt Lake City 2002

C i n d y Gillespie
Vice President
Salt Lake City 2002 Organizing Committee
Responsible for Federal Relations and Torch Relay
USA

There is a certain irony to a discussion on the political legacy of the Olympic Games, because the first
requirement given to the political representatives of a host country is to make every attempt to keep all
politics out of the Olympics. However, this requirement can only be achieved if the host committee
and its political supporters have considerable political power. Thus, the great irony is that one has to be
politically powerful to keep politics out of the Olympics. This is a difficult process.

The evolution of the political power of the Olympics in the United States was rapid during the period
1984-2002. T h e first period of this evolution began with the Los Angeles Games in 1984. Those
Games established a strong political legacy partly due to the United States President's involvement in
the Games and partly because of their financial success. As a result of the Los Angeles Olympics, the
Games became identified within the American political establishment as a strong platform for carrying
a political message, and this message was tied to patriotism. It also became viewed as an economic
"plum". The U S D 350 million profit posted by Los Angeles sent a signal to the other cities and
countries that obtaining the Olympic Games was a wonderful economic development activity. Whether
these facts were true or not became irrelevant from 1984 onward, they were taken for granted.

This political legacy was built upon over the next several years. A convergence of factors expanded the
political capital of the Olympics in the United States: the growing dominance of athletics and sport in
the U.S. media and the resulting effectiveness of athletes themselves in corporate marketing, the
Olympic bureaucracy establishing a permanent place hold in Washington, D . C , the growth of sports
lobbying and the resulting increased involvement of federal government and federal monies in
international sporting events, and the increased profile of the bid process on the national level in the
United States. All these separate elements combined together to keep the Olympics as an active
element within U.S. politics, even though n o Games were held during in the United States during this
period. Thus the political capital and profile of the Olympics continued to grow.

The political capital and the political challenges of the Olympics in the United States increased when
Atlanta won the Games in 1990. With this decision, the issue of " H o w to keep politics out of the
Olympics?" resurfaced. Other, more basic, political issues also surfaced for the Adanta Games. Perhaps
the most direct was simply the coordination of the three Olympic entities in the United States - the
International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), and the Adanta Committee
for the Olympic Games. All three had established operations in Washington, D.C. and needed to
answer the basic questions of "how are we going to operate together?", "who will be dominant?" and
"what political role will each of us play?"

During this second period from 1993 to 1996, all three of the Olympic entities in the United States
developed a proactive approach to establishing their political profile. The Adanta Organizing
Committee and the USOC, for the first time, established full-time operations in Washington D C and
both aggressively took on the effort of establishing a political profile and developing a full-time political
element in the US. Initially, these two entities had different messages in Washington. Adanta was
concerned about involving the Federal Government as much as possible since they needed support,

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funding, and help with everything from visas to customs they needed a dominant involvement by the
US government. The USOC, on the other hand, did not want the Federal government to get involved
in the development of athletes in the country. They wanted to keep the US government out of the
process as much as possible. At this point, the I O C had a part-time operation with a more international
message. The lack of coordination during the first two years resulted in some confusion within
Congress and the Federal Government, since different messages being given by the three parties. This
was quickly addressed and the three different messages worked very well once they were synchronised.
We were able to distinguish between " G a m e s " , which needed a lot of G o v e r n m e n t involvement,
"athletes", w h o did not need a lot of G o v e r n m e n t involvement, and the "International Movement",
which needed the US to act in respect of the Olympic ideals.

The biggest advantage for the Games in Atlanta was that the incoming President (Bill Clinton)
immediately recognised, upon his election, that the next Games in 1996 could be a major element in
whether or not he would be re-elected. His election was in N o v e m b e r 1996, and the Games were held
in August. If the US electorate were happy with the Games, then the chances were that they would
view him positively. The Atlanta Games had an enormous amount of political capital due to their
timing. The Clinton Administration and the Olympic City worked together to build the political profile
of the Olympic Games. Right from the outset, the Clinton Aclministration decided that it would raise
the profile of the Games and make the Games a success because they were likely to be a re-election
factor. The Games became politically elevated and handled at a very senior level within the White
House. The Vice President of the US was given the day-to-day responsibility for them. Every week, for
three years, meetings were held at the White House. It was even planned that the torch relay would
come to the White House with the President, the Vice President and the entire Congress taking part.
The Games were brought into numerous additional programmes ranging from youth drug abuse and
fitness programmes. Athletes were invited to the "State of the Union" speech.

O n e year before the Games, the President visited Atlanta and the entire Atlanta team and gave them a
speech stating that they were doing this for the US and in order to make the US look good. This had
never happened before. From this perspective, the Games were heavily politicised. At the same time,
Congress also became more involved in the Olympic Games. Even though they had had an oversight
role only before this, they now began to hold regular hearings on different Olympic activities, since the
funding for these would need to be passed by Congress. This produced numerous investigations and
reports, and even though sometimes negative, it increased the political profile of the Games. The more
that the Games were connected with politics and government, the more capital the Games had. The
result was that it became necessary for the Games to be considered in many of the political decisions
made in Washington. If a decision were to be made, the impact on the Olympic Games would have to
be taken into account. This increased the presence of the Games dramatically.

The US was very lucky to have two editions of the Games following one another. For the Clinton
Administration and the Congress, attention simply turned from one Olympics directly to the next. The
political capital and influence of the Atlanta Games transferred to the Salt Lake City Games of 2002.

The relationship between the U.S. federal government and the Olympic Games continued to develop
during the years 1997 - 2002. From this point onwards, the impact on the G a m e s were a routine part
of much long-range decision making in the White House, the State Department and the related Federal
Agencies. All the relevant committees of the US Congress had Olympic staff whose role it was to
ensure that Olympic needs were taken into account. And for the first time, the federal government also
placed Federal employees into the Salt Lake City Organising Committee.

Lessons learned from the Atlanta Games were shared not only with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee,
but also became challenges for the US Government. Both Congress and the White House were adamant
that they did not wish to see some of the security problems re-appearing, nor a repeat of the
transportation problems. The White House felt that this had reflected adversely on the image of the US

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and therefore had to be corrected for the next Games. This implied that the Federal Government would
have to be very involved. O n the one hand this made it easier to get the support that was needed for Salt
Lake City, but on the other hand it meant that the oversight of the US Government was much stronger.

This situation progressed well until the allegations of bid impropriety arose for Salt Lake City. At that
point, both the White House and the Congress recognised that the problems reflected on the US, and
that they could not distance themselves from the success of the Salt Lake Games. As a result, a much
stronger commitment to the Olympic ideals emerged. The level of outrage and anger was very high, but
the underlying belief was that the Olympic Games represented ideals that were important to the world
and therefore those ideals should be maintained. The steps taken by the Salt Lake Organizing
Committee to restore the image of the Games and to ensure a successful Games had the full support of
the Government. The Organising Committee emerged much stronger as a result of those problems,
since there was 100% support behind making the Games successful.

The Sydney Games increased the pressure, as they were viewed worldwide as having been extremely
successful. Sydney became a visible reminder to the US political world that failure in Salt Lake City
would harm the US internationally. T h e pressure to be successful increased, and the support and
commitment of the U.S. Government increased correspondingly.

In January of 2001, the Presidency of the United States changed hands. President Clinton stepped
down and President George W. Bush was sworn in. For eight years, planning for Olympic Games in
the United States had been conducted under an Adrninistration that had shown strong commitment to
the Games. It was uncertain whether the new President shared that commitment.

That uncertainty was dispersed almost immediately. Within a m o n t h of taking office, the new
Administration had appointed a senior official to oversee the Government's Olympic activities, with a
clear directive that the Games must be a success. Regular leadership meetings began in the White
House and the new President's first budget proposal to Congress included Olympic security funding.
This action was unprecedented - no US President had previously proposed Olympic security funding.
Until this time, Congress had supplied all the funds.

The attacks on September 11 t h 2001 had an enormous impact on planning for the Salt Lake Games. O n
September 12' , meetings were held in Washington to discuss what resources were needed to ensure
that the Games would go on, and what steps needed to be taken to ensure that the public and athletes
felt safe. The full commitment of the US Government was never questioned. Salt Lake City was
immediately designated to receive a level of protection that had never existed in the US. The next
months showed the speed at which the processes in the Government could be carried out. Issues
relating to the likelihood of a second attack, shutting down airline travel and increasing internal security
were discussed in connection with the steps that could be taken to ensure that the Games would be
held. Radical steps such as the US Government providing air transportation for athletes were also
discussed. At this time, there was a general belief in the US that it was more important than ever that all
the nations of the world came together in peace for a few days. Even those who had been critical of the
Games aired the belief that at such times it was important that the Games be held. It became a serious
commitment to do whatever was necessary to have a period of peaceful competition. It also became
important to show that while the world had changed, there was hope that it had not changed forever.

In February of 2002, the Salt Lake Olympic Games were held. The Games were conducted under high
security, but with a spirit and focus on the athletes that embodied everything the Games organizers and
the government of the United States had hoped for. In a time of war, a message of peace and of the
power of the human spirit to inspire the world was broadcast on every continent.

And, in keeping with the original requirement given to the organizers, politics were kept out of the
Games. Yet, ironically, the Salt Lake Games because they were not political made the most
powerful political statement of 2002.

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 The Olympic Truce:
An Ancient Concept for the New Millennium

Stavros L a m b r i n i d i s
Director
International Olympic Truce Centre
Greece

I have been asked to speak exclusively on something that has to do with the modern Olympic Games
and with the International Peace Movement, which dates however back to antiquity. Something which
the International Olympic Committee, the United Nations, Greece, and many others believe may
b e c o m e a catalyst for conflict-resolution in the future.

As we examine the roots of the Olympic Legacy, we should be mindful that the Olympic Games served
in the past as a real time for peace. And let me just say a few words of the history of the Olympic
Movement. You may have heard this, you may have not, but I think it is useful.

It is a story that comes from ancient Greece and from the times when the Olympics were created.
Approximately 3,000 years ago, in the Ploponnse - a region of Greece that was divided among
several city-states that fought each other almost continuously.

O n e day, the King of one of these warring states, Iphitos of Elis (from the region of Ilia in today's
terminology, where Olympia is located), asked the oracle of Delphi that is where people used to go
for their think tanks, to get their consulting work done - about how to end this cycle of violence. A n d
the oracle said that they should organise an athletic and cultural festival every fourth summer. A n d
during this festival, there should be declared a sacred haven of peace. And while these games were
being held, all hostilities among all states should cease. Warriors should lay down their shields and
weapons outside the stadium walls. All states should declare Truce or in Greek "Ekecheiria", which has
b e c o m e the Olympic Truce.

King Iphitos, a wise king, accepted the oracle's suggestion. H e made peace with his enemy states of
Sparta and Pissa, they actually signed an agreement they decided that the site for this festival would be
Olympia, the site of the ancient athletic competition. And there we begin with the Olympic Games.

So, in fact, what is interesting here is that we did not have an athletic festival that then helped peace,
but that it was the actual purpose of the Olympic Games, u p o n their creation, to bring a brief break to
conflict in ancient times. And the Olympic Truce was actually followed as a "sacred tradition" for over
one thousand years.

There was a call before the Games, when people would announce that now the Games are to begin, wars
would stop, the athletes would leave the battlefield if they were on the battlefield and go to Olympia
where the Games would take place. And in fact, we do have even statues commemorating peace that was
made between different warring states during the Olympic Games.

Returning now to our modern times, in July 2000, I O C President Samaranch and George Papandreou,
the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs, inaugurated the International Olympic Truce Centre in Athens.
This is an international non-governmental organisation within the context of the Olympic Movement. It
has its liaison offices in Lausanne and symbolic headquarters in Olympia. And it is designed to promote
the Olympic ideals and a culture of Peace, an international cease-fire, during all future Olympic Games.
T o make a powerful, albeit symbolic, call.

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T o some, this sounds a little bit Utopian. And maybe they are not unreasonable. But I would also say
that, in 1896, when Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games, that initiative then was seen as a
very strange, if not "cra2y", idea. A n d more than a hundred years later, it has become the pinnacle of
international athletic events, a worldwide celebration of humanity.

So, this is not simply a "romantic" idea, but one, which may be able to mobilise and become a real
spirit of our new world, which we are creating in this new millennium. And while it is n o panacea, it is
certainly also no Utopia.

The Olympic Movement is a non-political movement. It has no means of enforcing the truce, nor does
it portend to be able to bring peace where governments, international organisations, or religions have
failed. But it is making a powerful symbolic call for the Olympic Truce, a call for breaking the cycle of
violence for a few days during all future Olympic Games, and hopefully beyond. A call to create a
window of opportunity for longer-lasting peace, which can then be placed in the hands of all those in
the world whose job it is to attempt to negotiate peace.

Let me just say a few words on some of the actions we are organising, trying to use truce both as a
valuable time to construct bridges of communication amongst adversanes, to provide humanitarian
support and comfort on regions, and also to allow young people from all over the world to participate
peacefully in the Olympic Games.

There already have been some substantial results since Juan Antonio Samaranch began with this idea,
and Jacques Rogge powerfully now leads it, bringing it back to life some years ago. What are the
specifics? First of all, the Olympic Movement was able in Bosnia, during the war, to have at least one
day of truce during the Lillehammer Games in Norway in 1994. And U N I C E F then could utilise this
window of opportunity to inoculate thousands of children during that one day of truce: Muslims, Serbs
and Croats from all sides.

Second, there was a truce held in Nagano when there was a possibility of a new conflict with Iraq
because of non-compliance with the U N resolutions on nuclear inspections. And then, Kofi Annan was
able to use those two weeks during the Nagano Games to actually hammer out an agreement with the
Iraqi government.

Third, we have the Sydney Games, where both the North and South Korean teams marched into the
stadium together, under the same flag. I cannot imagine of any other world event that would have given
the two Koreas the incentive to make that remarkable symbolic march other than the Olympic Games.

These are just some of the small or large examples of what might happen when this inspiration does
take hold and does create the possibility for a moment of peace.

But we also have, out of this idea, more and more support worldwide. We have a special paragraph
supporting the Olympic Truce in the U N Millennium Declaration in September 2000, signed by over
160 leaders from around the world.

During the Sydney Olympics, the I O C , and leaders from Greece, Japan, China, Israel, Russia, the
United States, all sent appeals for the observance of the Olympic Truce. We have the Pope of Rome,
who in September 2002 made a plea, an appeal for the respect of the Olympic Truce in the Athens
2004 Games and beyond.

The 15 leaders of the European Union in the Nice Summit put in a paragraph in support of the
Olympic Truce. The US Senate, in a unanimous 6 September 2001 sense of the Senate Resolution
supported the Olympic Truce, and then, the United States submitted a UN resolution in support of Salt
Lake Truce in December 2001. And this was clearly not an easy decision, taking into account the
situation that the world was facing and the developments in Afghanistan.

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Finally, we have begun a signing of a Declaration in support for the Olympic Truce by personalities
around the world. Over 160 political, religious, cultural and other leaders have already signed it, and I
urge you to visit the International Olympic Truce Centre site, at www.olympictruce.org, to see all the details.
Significantly, the first to sign was George Papandreou, w h o is also Vice Chairman of the International
Olympic Truce Centre, with his Turkish counterpart, Ismael Cem. In June, Nelson Mandela and 23
renowned personalities from the world of Culture added their signatures to the Truce Statement in
Athens, launching a worldwide signature drive from personalities in the Letters and the Arts.

We have thus seen some very important concrete developments on an idea that first began as very
much a romantic idea. We are also developing a n u m b e r of programs for implementation throughout
the four-year period in between the Games, which are based on three pillars of action. T h e first one is
to sensitize and educate public opinion around the world, especially decision makers and opinion
leaders, to begin making the Olympic Truce a household phrase. T h e second is to engage the younger
generation, educational institutions, and other critical publics and opinion-makers (athletes, diplomats,
etc.) in educational and grass-roots truce activities all around the world, but particularly in conflict
regions, and we are at this point developing Truce Action Kits for schools around the world. Finally,
we are trying to develop a policy of actually helping conflict regions follow the truce during the
Olympic Games.

This major effort will culminate in 2004, but hopefully 2004 will only be the beginning of a real
movement around the Olympics for Truce in all other upcoming Olympic Games. W e are very happy
to work closely with the 2004 Organizing Committee, as we have agreed to use also the Olympic
Torch, which will go around the five continents from Olympia before it gets to Athens, to spread as
well the message of Truce.

In particular, we have decided to attempt to enable this Torch to go through some of the most difficult
conflict regions of the world. But under one precondition: that all sides agree to uphold the idea of
Truce while the flame is within their borders and during the Olympic Games. So, in fact, what we are
trying to create is a momentum and an incentive for many people to support this idea and for it to
become a reality. W e will engage, of course, in similar discussions with the Turin and the Beijing
Organizing Committees.

Finally, this is an attempt to revive the spirit of what the Olympic Games were in the ancient times.
With the 2004 Olympic Games coming back to their home, it is appropriate that Greece spearheads
this attempt, always in close partnership with the I O C . It is n o t simply an attempt to revive the
Olympic Truce but to revive and further strengthen the ideals of the Olympic Games. A n d there are so
many very important ideals of fair play, of human measure, of a meeting of different cultures, different
societies and different countries all working together in a peaceful and beautiful event.

In fact, in this global world that we are creating, one sees that there is a real and very strong search
from our societies, from societies around the world, on a quest for the values that unite us as mankind,
for the values that will bring us together. The Olympic Games are represented by the Olympic Rings,
the most recognisable symbol in today's modern societies around the globe.

So, as we watch with inspiration the extraordinary achievements of the athletes, their skill, their grace,
their strength, we also might do something more than simply watch. We could become beacons of the
Olympic ideals and of this idea. We can try to be educators by example. Please support this idea of the
Olympic Truce, even if it is only about talking about it with others and becoming, therefore, modern
day heralds, as there used to be in the ancient times.

For this, we are motivated by a very specific vision: conflicts in the world will not cease overnight. But
if we can stop fighting for sixteen days, maybe we can do it forever.

264
 T h e Olympic G a m e s and Sport
as an Opportunity for Peace and Development

Katia M a s c a g n i
Project Manager
Department of International Cooperation and Development
International Olympic Committee
Switzerland

As we have heard from the previous presentations, there are numerous links that bring together sport
and peace. The international dimension of sports events has gained, over the years, the power to break
through boundaries, thereby promoting unity and peace.

Of course it would be simplistic to think that practising sport is the same as working for peace.
However, as Pierre de Coubertin said in 1935 in a commentary enrided "Sport is a peacemaker",
" . . . sports are good for everyone and under all circumstances. Sport will not make angels of brutes, but
there is a great possibility that they will temper that brutality, giving the individual a bit of self-control.
That, at least is something!" 1

We have witnessed several examples of sport-diplomacy that were a mere contribution to dialogue and
building bridges between communities at odds. In fact, sport generates not only a physical culture, a
culture of excellence and performance, but it also supports the creation of a culture of friendship,
solidarity, understanding, and of truce, values that are at its very basis. Civil society has a crucial role to
play in this context.

The Olympic Games have shown that cooperation and dialogue can be further fostered among nations,
provided that there is a will to achieve them. F r o m theory to practice, the I O C , as a non-state actor, has
increasingly been able to play an international and recognized role in this field and has had an impact
on domestic or foreign policies.

Based on its fundamental principles and mission, on the importance that sport has gained as a social
phenomenon over the years, on the symbolism of sport generally, as well as on the global political
reality in which sport and the Olympic Games exist nowadays, the IOC decided to revive the concept
of "Olympic Truce".

The objectives of this project are mainly twofold:

1) to further protect, as far as possible, the interests of the athletes and sport in general;
2) and to offer the contribution of the sports movement to strengthen understanding, build
partnerships and encourage diplomatic and peaceful solutions to conflicts which confront our
society. The dimension of the Truce goes, in this case, well beyond the period of the Games,
although the Games are its highest momentum.

A first project was launched in 1992 following the break-up of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and
the inclusion, for the first time, of sport as an element of sanctions against this country. T o defend the
athletes, protect the Games and consolidate the unity of the Olympic Movement, the I O C launched an
appeal to all States and international organizations for the observance of the Olympic Truce and
negotiated with the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee to allow all athletes of the region to take
part in the Games of the XXV Olympiad in Barcelona.

' Pierre de Coubertin, Olympism. Selected Writings, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, 2000, p. 240

265
This first initiative led to the historical adoption by the U N General Assembly in 1993 of the first
resolution on the Olympic Truce Since then, several resolutions have been unanimously adopted by
the Assembly in recognition of the IOC's work and contribution for world peace and in support of a
real commitment to the Olympic Truce 1994 was also proclaimed as the International Year of Sport
and the Olympic ideal by the U N , on the occasion of the centenary of the Olympic Movement The
I O C President had the opportunity to address the United Nations General Assembly

Needless to say that proclaiming the Truce will not necessarily lead to peace The situation in the world
as we speak today, clearly demonstrates the limit of such an assumption However, in the quest for
peace-building, any possibility, any contribution and potential positive framework must be investigated
Sports competitions, sport culture and Olympism are among them

In parallel to its call in favour of the Olympic Truce and of other initiatives mentioned in the previous
presentation, the I O C has undertaken other activities to promote peace-building A World Conference
on Sport for a Culture of Peace was organized in cooperation with U N E S C O in Paris in July 1999, to
prepare for the celebration of the International Year of a Culture of Peace in 2000 Preliminary contacts
were made among the participants w h o came from the five continents, mainly from countries
confronted with war

In 2002, the I O C organized 6 round tables with the representatives of National Olympic Committees
whose countries have been or are still in a conflict situation The aim of these meetings was to
exchange views on two themes:
- how sport and the Olympic ideal could effectively be used in their countries as an instrument to
promote a culture of peace, and build-up inter-community trust and cooperation; and
- what concrete actions the Olympic Movement should entry out nationally in this regard

Bearing in mind the difficult political situation that the participating countries are facing, it was per se a
success to seat around the same table top sports officials from Palestine, Israel and Lebanon, Greece,
Rwanda and Burundi, Turkey and Cyprus, India and Pakistan

Many recommendations on how the Olympic Movement could support national peace-building
measures were drawn from the discussions that were held But maybe more importantly, we managed
to witness that the sports movement in these countries is not only ready for cooperation; it already
cooperates in the sport field with neighbouring countries; often goes beyond political obstacles and
foreign policies constrains, and even lays positive ground for dialogue and diplomacy on other subjects
Exchanging athletes for training, exchanging coaches, organizing joint sports events are some of the
activities

More specifically, the round tables triggered a series of activities by the N O C s , such as the organization
of peace walks and peace-dedicated competitions between communities in conflict, national broadcast
of educational messages on peace promotion through sport, support by Heads of states for national
campaigns, symposia and lectures in educational institutions and schools to raise awareness among the
population and the academic world, publications and other communication elements

But the most successful follow-up of these meetings is certainly the signature of a cooperation
agreement between the United States and the Cuban Olympic Committees Concrete steps have been
taken since to begin dialogue in the sport field, which is already a victory in itself

266
Some final considerations about "What legacy of the Olympic Games?"

1) The Olympic Movement is an integral part of society, and therefore has a duty to take initiatives in
the area of peace and social development.
2) The I O C and the Olympic Games enjoy international recognition as a non-governmental
organization and have the possibility to use the sport network and the symbolism and social values
of sport for the promotion of peace.
3) The Olympic Truce has henceforth been taken into account in the decision-making of the political
authorities, at least during the Olympic Games, although we are realist and see that national
interests of States prevail.
4) T o create a culture of peace, reinforce social integration and intercommunity dialogue or interstate
cooperation, is a long and difficult endeavour that our society has to work for. It is a matter of
education, of awareness raising and strong commitment.
5) As an extension to this, the Olympic Truce and peace-building initiatives can be a valuable
contribution of the sports movement to the community. They can serve as a basis for numerous
initiatives seeking diplomatic solutions to the conflicts that beset our society and offer a
mechanism or a tool to face social problems. This goes beyond peace promotion. Sport can be
used for the socio-economic development of disadvantaged communities and groups:
development projects in rural areas and refugees camps, disadvantaged groups like women and
girls, preventive education messages against drug abuse, AIDS, malaria, for healthy and active life-
styles, for a sustainable development.

Sport, its legacy and impact are at the same time an achievement and a tool for a broader development
of our societies.

267
268
 VI

Cultural, Social and Communication Legacies

of the Olympic Games

Moderator:
Jean-Louis Meuret
Head of the Communication Department
Fdration Internationale de Natation
Switzerland

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270
 Cultural Legacy: T h e Olympic Games
as "World Cultural Property" 1

J o h n J. M a c A l o o n
University of Chicago
USA

Culture is not just one aspect of Olympic legacy, it is the ultimate source of all other forms. When the
Olympic Games leave behind public improvements, sports installations, tourist facilities,
communications infrastructure, foundation funds, or permanent art, they do so because the Games are
first and foremost accumulated cultural capital which political, commercial, social, and sports actors
have been permitted to invest in their own local projects. Indeed, this is an analytic definition of being
"an Olympic host." Therefore, from a systems point of view, the most important part of what each
Olympic Games leaves behind is its contribution to increasing the accumulated cultural capital that will
attract bids and hosts for future Games. Stadiums, subway lines, and telecommunications towers are
forms of local, tangible Olympic legacy. Sports history-making, ritual performances, political developments,
cultural festivals, national imageries, transnational symbolic forms, structures of feeling: these are the
global, intangible Olympic legacy. Under certain circumstances and interests, local legacies can be
transformed into global legacy after all, what else is this conference summoned to discuss? and
there would be no local legacy at all were it not for appropriations of Olympism's global symbolic
capital. T o understand these relationships and this circulation of value, however, the distinction
between the two types of legacy must be kept in mind, as must a second distinction between legacy and
heritage.

1. L e g a c y , heritage a n d culture

legacy simply anything left behind is not the same as heritage that which is widely held to be
significant in what is left behind. Most of the labour, exchange, and representation occasioned by an
Olympic Games disappears with them (or else is appropriated as private profit). Only a portion of the
material and symbolic meaning-making produced by each Olympics enters into and is preserved as
transnational human heritage. Like humanity itself, this process is both inefficient and absolutely
necessary. What we call "tradition" is nothing other than past cultural performances selectively
transcribed and entered into culture history, and nothing can be maintained as heritage unless it is
repeatedly renewed in cultural performance. This is why each new Olympiad is simultaneously a
depiction of the global present, a recapitulation of the past, and a rehearsal of the future of the entire
Olympic heritage. Anything that is insufficiendy embodied, repeated, and renewed in transnational
speech, representation, performance, and monument is in danger of being forgotten, of disappearing
from Olympic heritage and therefore of decreasing the value of that Olympic cultural capital which is
required to generate new global and local legacies that actually matter as heritage. 4

1
Prepared for the Symposium on Olympic Legacy. Olympic Museum, Lausanne. November, 2002. Though I am not sure
he will agree with anything I have to say, this paper is inspired, in respect and solidarity, by the contributions of Fkrou
Kidane to the Olympic Movement.
2
See John MacAloon (1984), "Cultural Performance, Culture Theory", i n j . MacAloon, Ed. Rite, Drama, Festwal, Spectacle:
Rehearsals Toward a Theory of Cultural Performance. Philadelphia, pp. 1-15.
3
The mass media play a large if generally unwitting role in this recapitulative renewal. Far from merely "reporting the
Games" as they like to say, print journalists in particular spend a great deal of their publication space in "establishing the
context for readers to appreciate current events."
4
In this paper, I am following my late colleague Pierre Bourdieu (e.g. Distinction. Paris, 1989) in discriminating among social,
economic, cultural, and symbolic capitals, though I am unable here to be as systematic as in a technical publication.

271
Culture is understood here according to the definition now dominant in the international human
sciences, 5 in international cultural organizations like U N E S C O (as I shall show), and in most national
ministries of culture. Indeed, under the leadership of H e Zhenliang, this progressive definition of
culture as the sum total of historically transmitted symbols and meanings by which social groups make
sense of their worlds is at last making its way into the discourse of the Olympic Culture and Education
Commission. This understanding of culture sets itself determinedly against older parochial and elitist
notions of culture, most notably the European bourgeois notion that preferentially associates culture
with high art and other forms of cultivation and connoisseurship available only to "the civilized." 6

N o t since Nikos Nissiotis has the upper level of I O C leadership had, to my knowledge, a person as
sophisticated, informed, and internationally visible as H e Zhenliang is in matters of contemporary
debate o n cultural and intercultural issues. At the same time, the retirement of Fkrou Kidane has left
the top staff echelon at Vidy notably bereft of such a person. The I O C 2000 Reform Commission
recommended and the I O C Session passed a resolution calling for a separate and professional I O C
administrative department concerned with cultural affairs and heritage. This resolution has
subsequently been ignored or else overridden by executive fiat. '

Perhaps Olympic heritage matters are being treated as exclusively museological concerns by the I O C
executive and staff. If so, this is regrettable, if understandable. T h e Lausanne Olympic Museum has
dedicated leaders and a solid technical staff. But, this conference notwithstanding, the Museum has
shown little interest in publicly debating its own operational understanding of culture and Olympic
heritage in light of worldwide debates on cultural protection and multi-culturalism. Indeed, it would be
hard-pressed to do so since, while periodic use is made of outside advisory groups like the Research
Council of the Olympic Studies Centre, the Museum itself has no one in executive position
professionally trained and internationally visible (outside of the "Olympic Family") in these matters. 8
Thus, unlike most major museums today, there is no internal person present to challenge the stance
that, say, an Australian aboriginal art exhibition here or a Navajo one there is sufficient to prove that
the Olympic Museum is not in fact a machine for erasing cultural differences in the name of some
"universal Olympic" (read modernist Great Atlantic) culture.

Individual leaders and administrative structures aside, a main problem revealed by my ethnographic
studies of these organizations is that an old-fashioned, parochial, even imperialist notion of culture
frequently remains hegemonic among the I O C membership, the Vidy and Museum staff, and even
members of the Culture and Education Commission. O n e has only to listen carefully to their backstage
discourses to be confronted with this fact. T o be sure, n o one in these organizations would today be so

5
For a leading, internationally influential formulation of this conception of culture see Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of
Cultures. New York, 1973.
6
Those dedicated to fighting elitist notions of culture in the Olympic Movement must contend with certain of their residual
positive effects in the political sphere. See MacAloon J., "Olympic Humanism as Political Necessity?", Quest, Vol. 4, March
1996, pp. 136-145; and Intervalltraining: Haben die Olympische Spiele universale Bedeutung, in G. Gebauer, ed. Olympische Spiele-die
andere Utopie der Moderne, Frankfurt, 1996, pp. 157-193.
7
While the Session passed all of the recommendations of the IOC 2000sub-group on the Olympic Movement and Cultural
Affairs, hardly any have been implemented. As a member of the IOC 2000 Executive Committee and of the Cultural Affairs
sub-group, I should like to be able to provide explanations for this inaction. But no one at the IOC has ever subsequently
discussed the matter with me. (Perhaps my sub-group colleagues He Zhenliang, Robin Mitchell, and Norbert Mueller have
been kept better informed.) The one exception is the recommended merger of the culture and Olympic education
commissions, which I proposed, my IOC 2000 colleagues and the Session endorsed, and the IOC executive promptly
enacted. Cost savings and administrative simplification were the incentives by which we were able to raise, through this
measure, the prestige of the culture and education portfolio on the commission level.
8
For example, though he is devoted to Olympism (and an admired friend), that does not change the fact that the current
director of the Museum's Olympic Studies Centre is a banker, with no professional expertise or experience in research or
international cultural debates. Would such a situation ever obtain in other IOC departments? Would being an enthusiastic
sports fan qualify one to hold Gilbert Felli's job? Is the marketing department being run by a literary critic or legal affairs by
a journalist? If not, then the IOC is giving the public, the museum and cultural affairs worlds, and the academic community
another clear message about what it truly thinks about culture and Olympic heritage.

272
foolish as to declare (front-stage) against Olympic multi-culturalism or to doubt openly that the cultures
of the sporting poor and marginalized or of the non-West are really cultures at all (as opposed to transit
stations on some universal road to "development"). The problem is rather more subtle than that, and it
involves this conference as well. Though they may not realize it, people attending these sessions to hear
the usual well-intentioned but abstract, mindless talk about "art, culture, and values" or the universal
spread of "real Olympic education" are, from the standpoint of world-standard knowledge and debate
in museums and other cultural heritage contexts, seriously backward and afflicted.

There is a further opinion heard in Lausanne that cultural heritage, other than what is concretely
embodied in artworks, archives, and memorabilia, is a nebulous, subjective, multifarious thing.
Moreover, one hears it said that if academic specialists cannot agree among themselves, how can sports
organizations be expected to produce a coherent cultural policy beyond simple museum curation? N o w
it is true that academics cultivate opposing points of view and seek reasoned debate among them. That
is their social responsibility in free societies. But it is certainly not the case that they have failed to join
with major international organizations to generate consensus in very complex and politicized
circumstances of cultural policy. Take the United Nations and its cultural heritage policies.

2. T h e U N E S C O world h e r i t a g e s y s t e m

In the 1960s and 70s, as most of you know, the I O C was extremely war}' of the UN in general and
U N E S C O in particular. 9 Today, the situation is entirely different, as publicly demonstrated by the IOC's
recent publication "The International Olympic Committee and the United Nations System." 1 " In this
text, over eighty pages are required to document the IOC's collaboration with the various UN agencies.
U N E S C O is represented through collaborative conferences in connection with the International Year
for a Culture of Peace (2000), joint I O C - U N E S C O production of a video on "Sport, Tolerance, and
H u m a n Rights," and various activities in connection with the Olympic Truce Foundation. This already
firm collaboration could be expanded in the area of our present subject matter, for U N E S C O has a
strong and internationally established program with respect to cultural heritage.

In 1972, the U N E S C O treaty known as The World Heritage Convention was promulgated, and at this
writing 172 of the 192 U N member nations have signed that treaty.11 National governments vigorously
compete to have their historical landmarks, natural wonders, and archeological ruins added to the World
Heritage list, which today includes 730 sites, including the archeological site of Ancient Olympia. These
designations bring prestige above alL adding to the value and visibility of national and multi-national
cultural patrimony, while generating tourist income, public awareness, and academic attention as well. In
return, nations must accept the concept of "world cultural heritage," that is, that sites within their
territories have, in the language of the treaty, "outstanding universal value." National sovereignty is thus
tempered by a national responsibility of custodianship for the sake of the international community.
Nations accept that they have a duty of preservation, protection, and access guarantee of this global
human patrimony. The Convention affords them the opportunity to appeal for international assistance
when their own resources are inadequate to deal with threats to their World Heritage List sites. At the
same time, governments can expect international pressures should their own national development
policies be the source of such threats. U N E S C O has relied on persuasion, incentives, and publicity and
not on legal actions to influence states and civil society actors to do their duties toward heritage
preservation. Nevertheless, the program has been highly effective, even in cases of serious dispute.

9
In the context of the high Cold War and the Non-Aligned Movement, with the effectiveness of the UN under general
challenge, the IOC was afraid, not without reason, that elements in UNESCO were interested in trying to take over the Olympic
Games. Residual suspicions colored UN-IOC relations well into the 1980s. Today's atmosphere of respectful collaboration
which adds to the prestige and public confidence in both organizations is mainly the accomplishment of Fkrou Kidane.
10
International Olympic Committee, Department of International Cooperation. "The International Olympic Committee
and the United Nations System." Lausanne, 2002.
11
The UNESCO World Heritage website is http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/home.

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Scholars from around the world have assisted in the formation, support, and development of the World
Heritage Program, n o t only in helping U N E S C O arrive at a consensus understanding of "cultural
heritage" and in evaluating proposed sites, but also in undergirding the Convention with new
scholarship on the concept of global public goods, culture and national sovereignty, regional
archaeology and art history, environmental studies, new social movements, heritage tourism,
international organizations, and a variety of additional topics.

Moreover, from the beginning The World Heritage Convention was multi-regional and multi-cultural in
inspiration and formulation, a key source of its rapid worldwide acceptance. Programs for designating
"National Cultural Treasures" in Japan, Korea, and the Philippines, including human and intangible
treasures as well as artifacts and physical sites, were established in the 1950s and 60s. These East Asian
models were later joined with an ethos of heritage preservation emanating from the countries of
E u r o p e and the Americas to inspire creation of the U N E S C O system, beginning with 1972
Convention. The materialist emphasis and properly rights concerns of Western capitalist cultures were
perhaps responsible for U N E S C O beginning with physical sites. However, the system has n o w
recovered its root East Asian models with the designation, on May 18, 2000, of the first nineteen of
"the world's most remarkable examples of oral and intangible heritage." 12

T h e proclamation defines intangible heritage as:

"1) forms of popular and traditional expression - such as languages, oral literature, music,
dance, games, mythology, rituals, costumes, craftwork know-how, architecture; 2) cultural
spaces ... where traditional cultural activities take place in a concentrated manner (sites for
story-telling, rituals, marketplaces, festivals, etc.) or the time for a regularly occurring even
(daily rimais, annual processions, regular performances."
With respect to ritual and festival performances, the first group of designees included the O r u r o
Carnival (Bolivia), K u n q u Opera (China), Kuttiyattam Sanskrit Theater (India), Opera di Pupi (Italy),
Royal Ancestral Rites and Music in Jongmyo Shrine (South Korea), and the Mystery Play of Elche
(Spain). The majority of the nineteen-member jury were professors in the various cultural sciences
(including two distinguished cultural anthropologists w h o have previously contributed to important
symposia on the Olympic Movement in East Asia). 13 They were joined by important writers and
musicians, museum professionals, and government cultural officials.

In bringing the new program into being, U N E S C O asserted that: "the oral and intangible heritage has
gained international recognition as a vital factor in cultural identity, promotion of creativity, and the
preservation of cultural diversity. It plays an essential role in national and international development,
tolerance, and harmonious interaction between cultures." Are these not precisely aspects, intentions,
and fundamental principles of Olympism, as defined in the Olympic Charter and promoted in many
other documents, practices, and discussions within the Olympic Movement around the world? If so, are
we n o t then further justified in recognizing key aspects of the Olympic phenomenon as items of
"intangible world cultural heritage" as presendy defined and accepted in international practice?

12
The official name for the program is "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity." The web address is
http:/'I'210.1'33.70.181/'portal_heritageIlntangible_cultural_heritage. All citations to the UNESCO proclamations are drawn from
this source.
13
These UNESCO jury members Georges Condominas of France's EPHE and Yim Dawn-hee of Dongguk University in
Seoul have given papers on Olympic themes in conferences organized in South Korea by Professor Kang Shin-pyo. In
August 2002, Prof. Yim participated in a meeting organized by Prof. Kang at the new Institute for Olympic Intercultural
Studies at Inje University to discuss plans for East Asian regional Olympic Academies and other specifically regional
Olympic culture and education initiatives. Prof. Yim helped prepare the successful candidacy of the Jongmyo Shrine, which
was visited by the Olympic Rame in 1988 and figured prominendy in that year's Seoul Cultural Olympiad.
14
Carlos Fuentes, Juan Goytisolo, Ugne Karvalis, Olive Lewin, Kwabena Nketia were among the artists; Richard Kurin and
Hayashida Hideki, the museum curators; and Princess Basma, Alpha Konar, the Kabaka of Buganda, the government
cultural officials.

274
Actually the evidence is much stronger, in my opinion; it is already a matter of expressed and
international public will and not only one of conceptual appropriateness.

3. World public claims on Olympic heritage

As the Salt Lake City bribery scandal unfolded through 1999, many I O C members were surprised by
the level of outrage displayed by general publics in their h o m e countries and in the worldwide media to
which they had access. President Samaranch himself repeatedly asserted that, until the crisis, "we didn't
realize that the I O C was so important."

Especially after the I O C appointed, with ill-considered fanfare, a public relations firm to help manage
the crisis, this Samaranch mantra itself became controversial. Obviously, it put a rather positive spin on
a terrible situation. However, I myself never thought this the real vexation, for what else is the
responsibility of the leader of any embattled institution but to try to find moral and prestige capital with
which to rally his constituents? Moreover, private conversations during the IOC 2000 Commission
process convinced me that the president was expressing his sincere reaction to events. H e and many of
his colleagues really did not know, or at least did not understand, how the behaviour of some I O C
members could have turned out to be so significant to so many people around the world, how it could
have excited such moral outrage.

H o w perplexing that leaders of an institution that constitutionally enshrines itself as "the supreme
Authority" over the entire Olympic Movement and has the temerity to assert that "recognition by the
I O C " is the sole "criterion for belonging to the Olympic Movement" 1 5 should in turn fail to "realize
how important the I O C is"! That an organization at that time managed in such a centripetal and dirigiste
fashion, in control of and enriched by an ever-burgeoning Olympic Games, not slow to trumpet its
regular intercourse with world political and commercial leaders and its collaboration with the other
important transnational organizations, and widely known (fairly or unfairly) for its self-importance,
even arrogance should underestimate its own public standing was very strange indeed!

In my judgment, n o useful sense can be made of such an anomaly by personal attacks on the Olympic
leaders in question (particularly when made by critics who have never even met these persons). Certainly,
it is hard to imagine that anyone in the world was better informed than Mr Samaranch about just how
important the I O C was or was not with respect to the IFs, A N O C , the O C O G s , the U N , various
national governments, major media, the corporate sponsor community, and so on. Acquisition and
control of such knowledge was his day-to-day mtier throughout his presidency, even to his detractors
the ultimate source of his power and effectiveness, and to his admirers the essence of his "genius."

So it seems to me that the only way to make sense of the fact that until the crisis Samaranch and his
cohorts by their own admission "didn't realize how important the IOC was" is to recognize that their
surprise lay in discovering that there were many (indeed millions of) people beyond the circle of their
official "Olympic Family" (the Olympic System of sports organizations as inflected by the global sports
industry) who not only pay attention to Olympic affairs, but who regard Olympism and the Olympic Games as
their own cultural heritage and moral property. For there is no mistaking the fact that, at least in several parts
of the world, the outrage was social and moral, and extended well beyond the powers of any media,
politicians, commercial interests, or sports rivals to instigate. In other words, the reaction to the scandal
gave strong evidence that there does indeed exist an Olympic Movement in the strict sense of the term,
and that within it are many millions of people who expect the I O C to be just what their founder said
they should be: "Trustees of the Olympic Idea." Or, in the up-dated language of the current
international conventions we are discussing, "Guardians of a Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of
Humanity."

13
Olympic Charter (in force as from 17June, 1999). Fundamental Principles 8, and Chapter 1.1.1.

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 4. O l y m p i c c e r e m o n i e s as w o r l d i n t a n g i b l e cultural t r e a s u r e s

The Olympic Movement is therefore much bigger than the I O C and so not everything should be left
for the I O C to do by way of preservation and development of this cultural heritage. Ancient Olympia is
already a U N E S C O World Heritage Site. The Olympic Museum and Studies Centre are not alone in the
world in curating Olympic archives, memorabilia, and artwork. Why should we n o t then propose that
the Olympic rituals at least the flame relay, opening and closing ceremonies be nominated for
inclusion on the U N E S C O list of the Intangible Cultural Treasures of Humanity?

Like the cultural performances already so enshrined, Olympic rituals clearly fall within U N E S C O ' s
definition of intangible heritage. Demographically speaking what other performances so literally deserve
the designation? In terms of live and voluntary spectators and participants, the flame relay now attracts
probably five times as many people as watch Olympic sports events in person. 16 The opening
ceremonies draw not only the largest and most globally distributed broadcast audience of any single
Olympic event, they represent the largest regularly-scheduled concentration of human attention in
history. The ceremonies thus fulfill all three criteria of the Intangible Cultural Heritage proclamation:
those of performance, time, and space.

As with anything in the U N system, nominations to the World Heritage lists must come from nations.
Is it to be doubted that, instead of the one, two, or three nations who nominated the intangible heritage
designees on the inaugural list, the Olympic ceremonies would draw 192 signatories to their
nomination? After all, even more national societies than that claim at least the Olympic opening
ceremonies as their own indigenous cultural performance. Should we be afraid that the nomination
might be rejected on the grounds of insufficient cultural authenticity, as being too much media
spectacle and entertainment show? I rather think not, at least not yet; but if so, that would certainly be a
message to the Olympic authorities. Instead, I would be confident that the U N would be grateful to
finally be associated in any way with the Olympic ceremonies, for that organization has mightily
suffered for not having ever managed to generate evocative ceremonials of its own. 17 Let us not mistake
the fact that whether anyone intended it or not, whether Olympic and U N officials understand it or
not, the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies developed over the course of a century into the most
important ritual performance of the global system of nation-states. These ceremonies are a liturgy of
the world order which today frames the existence of every human being.

The immediate pay-off to the Olympic Movement of a U N E S C O World Heritage designation would
be a strong encouragement to think in these larger terms about Olympic ceremonies. An additional
quantum of recognition and prestige would be added to the global cultural capital that is the ultimate
source, as I've said, of all the more material and pragmatic forms of Olympic legacy. U N E S C O asks,
moreover, as a condition of designation that the owners and managers of these intangible properties
commit themselves to passing on the knowledge to insure reproduction of these forms in subsequent
generations. Surely, the I O C and the Olympic Movement are committed to that and are already
encouraging the passage from Games to Games of ceremonies experts, like other technical personnel.
Finally, U N E S C O seeks to designate cultural treasures that are endangered in one way or another, so as
to better help them defend themselves. Alas, the Olympic ceremonies fit this criterion as well.

In the Olympic Games, money chases meaning. In various ways, the ceremonies are now a special
target of encroachment by sponsors, commercial broadcasters, and their agents within the I O C
administration. In interviews with me, the directors of the last three Flame Relays have complained of
being forced to spend well over half their time coping with the demands of sponsors. As I have
documented from a great deal of direct observation, relations between the O C O G flame relay staff and
volunteers and these sponsor entourages are always tense and frequently degenerate into outright

16
J. MacAloon, "The Olympic Flame Relay and the Olympic Movement." International Olympic Academy Session, August
2002.
17
Sources at the time suggested that the desire to win control and credit for the Olympic ceremonies was a chief motivation
for some of those in UNESCO who fantasized in the 1960s and 70s about a take-over of the Olympic Games.

276
hostilities. "It's not enough that we have to get the flame where it's going," as one dedicated relay
leader put it to me, "we have to protect the flame from tbe/n." Sponsors demand an ever-increasing
number of relay slots and try to crowd "community h e r o " and even Olympian torchbearers out of the
more visible legs along the relay. Happily, both sides work to keep these conflicts out of the public
eye, so as not to mar the symbolic power of the Flame Relay as the ritual performance most thoroughly
in the spirit of the real Olympic Movement. But it's not clear how long this public image can be
maintained; Flame Relay officials need help.

Because of secret arrangements in sponsorship contracts, fewer and fewer seats in the stadium for the
opening ceremonies are available for purchase by the general public. O C O G s have a hard time resisting
the opportunity created by this scarcity and offer the remaining seats at outrageous prices, attractive
mainly to VIP travel brokers. For years, the I O C Marketing Commission and Marketing Department
have righdy credited themselves with keeping commercial signage out of the Olympic stadium. This
remains true in the most obvious sense, but in other, subder ways it is now a "white lie." Opening
ceremonies spectators are encouraged to be in their seats an hour before the official ceremony
commences. They are now treated to a "pre-show," which in Sydney not only featured corporate
sponsor emblems prominendy, even lovingly displayed on the stadium's electronic boards, but also
included invitations from the on-field masters of ceremonies to applaud these commercial sponsors who
"make it all possible." T h e souvenir audience kits found by each opening and closing ceremonies
spectator at his or her seat now provide another means for sponsors to worm their logos into the
stadium. Following Sydney's lead, in Salt Lake City, these kits contained advertising for four commercial
corporations, as well as an official program displaying 32 sponsor logos and 31 supplier names. And, for
television audiences in countries where commercial broadcasters hold the rights, the fact that there are
no large-scale advertisements in the stadium itself offers little consolation against the abusive commercial
interruptions to which their viewing of the world's largest and most important ceremony is subject.

Today ceremonies designers and producers find themselves increasingly subject to pressures from I O C ,
O C O G , and "Olympic Family" officials w h o , whatever their credentials might be in their own realms
of sport or marketing or public relations, have no education, expertise, or talent for the production and
communication of cultural heritage. Some would even like to do away entirely with the cultural
performance segments of the ceremonies, the better, so they say, to concentrate on athletes and to save
money for sport. Others mistake concern for, as they put it, "the 'look' of the 'Olympic brand'" for the
complex aesthetic and ritual communication of Olympic cultural heritage. As my friends M. de
Moragas, N . Rivenburgh, and their colleagues have so richly demonstrated, the Olympic Movement
content that ceremonies designers have laboured so hard to feature in the performances is often
ignored or denatured by broadcasters in national cultural contexts where spectacle, not ritual is publicly-
safer or preferred.""

As a cultural anthropologist, Olympic ceremonies are a special subject of my research and I could go
on at length about the threats they are under. As a critical partisan of the Olympic Movement, I believe
that the preservation, reproduction, and communication of these cultural performance forms are
essential not only to the survival of the Olympic Movement but also to the general well-being of
humanity. After a century of evolution, these performances are a taken-for-granted aspect of world
cultural heritage. But that is just the problem. Anything that might help to preserve them from that
"normalcy" which conceals the corrosive forces at work must be explored and encouraged by all who
hold this fragile heritage dear. The watchdog function and persuasive force that would come with formal

18
Senior officers of sponsoring corporations may not always be aware of the pressure tactics and disrespectful behaviors
frequendy employed by their junior staff out on the relay. These are ambitious younger employees trying to prove
themselves to their superiors through aggressive "product placement" and "sponsorship leverage." They believe thev are
"just doing their jobs." By the same token, it is not clear to me that the IOC Marketing Department even knows, much less
condones these conditions of actual daily life out on the Olympic Flame Relay.
19
I provide the evidence for this assertion in "The Olympic Flame Relay and the Olympic Movement."
2(1
Miquel de Moragas, Nancy Rivenburgh, and James Larson, Television and the Olympics. London, 1999.

277
U N E S C O designation of the Olympic ceremonies as World Intangible Cultural Heritage would shore up
the hopes and resources of those who are trying to preserve the Olympic Movement from within. T o be
sure, agents of the Olympic sports industry will find reasons to object. Despite its currendy mixed record
on cultural issues, one would hope the I O C , particularly the new I O C would understand why such a
development would augment and not restrict its powers to do good in the world.

5. T h e n e w I O C a n d t h e O l y m p i c M o v e m e n t

While in the course of this paper I have mentioned a number of the forces conspiring to undervalue or
interfere with the fulfillment of the IOC's responsibility to understand and to preserve the Olympic
Games as a key part of world cultural heritage, I wish to conclude by stressing reasons for the wider
Olympic Movement to be positive about the capacities of today's I O C leadership should they choose
to act on these issues.

I hope I will be forgiven for making the point in terms of personal experience. In my opening
statement to the I O C 2000 Commission Plenary on 1 June 1999, I asserted that the worldwide reaction
to the Salt Lake City scandal demonstrated a real moral crisis of legitimation. I noted that the IOC's
own surveys were confirming that, while people were renewing their commitment to the Olympic
Movement in response to the scandal, they were also disassociating the I O C from those very values. As
a result I said, " T h e I O C was being called upon to prove that it still belonged to the Olympic
Movement. Regaining a morally legitimate place is a very different proposition than 'protecting the
Olympic brand' or reasserting the IOC's 'supreme authority'. Symbolic action would be required well
beyond the reforms being contemplated.""

While these remarks were met with indifference, incomprehension, or hostility by most Olympic
executives on the dais, one I O C member with w h o m I was not personally acquainted went out of his
way to find me and to thank me for "pronouncing a requiem on the old I O C . " Another member, with
w h o m I also had never spoken, surprised me by coming over to embrace me in warm solidarity. Today,
the first is president of the I O C , while the second heads an Olympic Games Coordination
Commission. I have already mentioned the champion those w h o care about intercultural understanding
now have in the person of Executive Board member H e Zhenliang, and there are other figures in
today's I O C leadership who know very well the difference between the Olympic Movement and the
Olympic sports industry. 22

So we do not lack for understanding and committed partisans of the Olympic Movement in the
leadership of the new I O C , persons unlikely to ever again confuse the I O C with the whole Olympic
Movement. Yet the sheer burden of administrative responsibilities, international legal and political
complications, and ever more demanding solicitors for the sports-media-marketing industrial complex,
means that these leaders cannot be expected to defend and develop the Olympic Movement alone.
Perhaps there is merit in my suggestion to help preserve the world cultural heritage enshrined in the
Olympic ceremonies by bringing them under the additional prestige and protection of U N E S C O ' s
World Masterpieces of Intangible Human Heritage list. If not, then it still remains the duty of all of us
w h o conceive of ourselves as members of the Olympic Movement to seek out other ways to defend
and develop its precious and fragile legacy. If the Olympic Games truly are global cultural heritage, then
the defence, the preservation, and the transmission of this heritage are the responsibility of persons and
organizations in every condition and part of this world.

21
International Olympic Committee. "Minutes of the Meeting of the IOC 2000 Commission, 1-2 June, 1999," pp.10-11.
22
The late IOC member and distinguished Puerto Rican national cultural figure German Rieckehoff-Sampayo,
contemplating the hub-bub at the 1994 Centennial Congress in Paris, was moved to remark: "Every day there are more and
more people interested in the business of making Olympic sport, and fewer and fewer in making the Olympic Movement."
Don German was to me an important teacher, and after thirty years of Olympic cultural anthropology, I have a corollary to
add to his thesis. If the Olympic Movement passes from the scene, there will be little or nothing left for the Olympic
marketers to market.

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 T h e Legacy of the Symbols:
Communication and the Olympic G a m e s

Miquel de M o r a g a s
Director

Ana Beln M o r e n o
Deputy Director

Christopher Kennett
Olympic Studies Centre
Autonomous University of Barcelona
Spain

1. Introduction

This paper focuses on the production of communication of Olympic cities, within the relationship
established between the symbols of the Olympic Games and their historic legacy.

The building of this legacy starts at the beginning of the bid, from the moment the organisers initiate
the negotiation, or bidding, in order to "present to the world" the image and personality of the host
city.

This paper uses the experience of Barcelona 1992 as a backdrop, since this is the case we have studied
in most detail. However, beyond this specific experience, the paper proposes to seek common-
elements in the symbolic production of modern Olympic cities, and will also consider our own
observations of Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 2 .

2. P r o d u c i n g the i m a g e of the h o s t city:

C o n s e n s u s , p r o m o t i o n a n d c o n c e a l m e n t of negativities

T h e Olympic Games are "mega events" characterised by their well-publicised periodicity (the
Olympiad) and, consequently, by their predictable nature. This facilitates the negotiated production of
their own image and their own media planning .

T h e image of an Olympic city is, therefore, the result of a long process, which begins before
nomination, especially nowadays where fierce competition exists among cities during the bid process.
O n c e the nomination has been obtained, one of the first challenges consists, precisely, in defining (and
selecting) the image of the collective identity of the host city (the briefing) to be publicised not only on
an international scale, but also locally.

1
Moragas M de (1992), Los Juegos de la Comunicacin. Madrid: Fundesco.
Moragas M. de (1992), Cultura, simbols i Joes Olimpks. La mediaci de la comunicaci. Barcelona: Centre d'Invesgacio de la
Comunicaci.
Moragas M. de, Miquel Botella (eds.), (1994) The Keys of success: the social, sporting, economic and communications impact o
Barcelona'92. Barcelona: Centre d'Estudis Olimpics (UAB).
Moragas M. de; N. Rivenburgh; J. Larson (1995), Television in the Olympics. London: John Libbev.
2
The Olympic and Sport Studies Centre of the UAB carried out several studies on Adanta and Sydney, especially on
Olympic ceremonies.
3
Katz E; D. Dayan (1992) Media events: the live broadcasting of history. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

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This involves a complex process at the same time professional and political characterised by the
application of a series of symbolic production measures, highlighted among which are:
adapting the messages to an international audience, but also to the expectations of local public
opinion ;
seeking consensus and negotiating with the actors involved in the organisation of the Olympic
Games on the meanings to be promoted. This consensus tends to reiterate widely accepted (or
politically correct) views and avoids controversial issues or issues that lack consensus;
a resistance to publicly accept the existence of conflicts, while integrating those, which are evident
and well publicised;
a semantic synthesis (reduction) of the collective image of the host city and its adaptation to the
demands of visual languages;
an interpretation by the international mass media, in an appropriate journalistic format, of the
culture and social reality of the host city;
integrating the image of the Olympic city to the history of the city and to the history of the
Olympic Movement.

3 . S e m a n t i c synthesis ( r e d u c t i o n )
of t h e collective i m a g e of t h e h o s t city

O n e of the measures we would like to highlight in this paper is the case of the semantic synthesis
(reduction) of the collective image of the host city.

T h e experience of Barcelona '92, and also that of Atlanta '96 and Sydney 2000, has shown that the
construction of an image "for the Olympic G a m e s " involves the synthesis of a complex reality the
identity of the host city into a few images and references. This process will shape the memory and
cultural value of the Games. By way of introduction, we could highlight the main characteristics of this
semantic process:
the use of references with positive yet ambiguous connotations, for example, the repeated
reference to "Mediterranean" culture in Barcelona '92;
the prioritisation of signs of identity that are iconically expressible and suitable for photographic
and audio-visual expression. For example, the modernist ceramics of Barcelona and the profiles of
Sydney Harbour Bridge;
the use of unique buildings and monuments of the city (Gaudi's Sagrada Familia cathedral, the
Sydney Opera House, etc.);
the selection of cultural values with a renowned international projection. In Barcelona, Gaudi,
Picasso, Dali and Miro;
the selection of world famous local stars to represent the identity of the local culture (Montserrat
Caball, Josep Carreras, or the top models Judit Masco and Elle McPherson).

All of these "image" creation mechanisms involve semantic selection, but concealment too. In many
cases, attempts are made to conceal the better-known and conventional stereotypes that seem to
contradict the modernity suggested by the image of Olympic cities. However, there is also a culturally
perverse concealment, which consists of ignoring the negative elements of every host city (pollution,
marginalisation, poverty, prostitution, garbage, shortages, noise, urban inequality, etc.).

4
This issue was the subject of my first speech in the field of Olympic studies: Moragas M. de (1987) "Local Culture and
International audience Facing Barcelona'92" in Kang S.p.; J. MacAloon; R. DaMatta (eds). The Olympics and East/West
and South/North Cultural Exchanges in the World System. Seoul: The Institute for Ethnological Studies, pp. 753-769.

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Such issues are absent from the information on the official Olympic agenda and, generally speaking,
from the sporting press too, although it does feature in much of the local and international press, which
covers the context of the Games In the case of Sydney 2000, for example, s o m e of the issues initially
considered to be "negative" for the image of the Games, such as the marginalisation of Aborigine
groups, ended up being highlighted in the local and international press, and was widely covered on the
official agenda, particularly in the opening and closing ceremonies

4 Local public opinion:

c o n s e n s u s , criticism a n d self-criticism

Public euphoria over the nomination of a city, widely covered in the local media, opens up a long period
of public opinion experiences with regard to the Olympic Games which passes through different phases:
phase of expectation (six to four years before);
phase of mistrust and generalised criticism in the local press (four to two years before);
phase of agreement (one year before);
phase of euphoria, local solidarity and limited criticism (year of the Games);
phase of forgetting (the first few years after the Games); and
phase of recovery: emblematic anniversaries (1, 10, 25, 50)

The year of the Games is a year of highly restrained self-criticism Some studies on the behaviour of
public opinion in Olympic cities explain this limited expression of critical ideas as a consequence of the
effects of major promotional campaigns 3 Without refuting this influence, we believe that another
factor that needs to be considered is the check on criticism represented by a strong collective sentiment
that "the whole world is watching u s "

This feeling ("3 5 billion people are watching us on television") facilitates the use of opportunist
policies, and also accords and consensus, in order to achieve c o m m o n objectives, or to resolve historic
disputes For example, we are reminded of the international opening of North Korea at Seoul '88, the
agreement on symbols and (Spanish and Catalan) flags at the ceremonies of Barcelona '92, the accords
signed with the Aborigine communities in Sydney 2000, etc

Logically, each Olympic city has its own critical issues in accordance with its own political and social
reality At Barcelona '92, for example, the critical issue was demanding the Catalan identity in the
symbolism of the Games and recognising their identity However, the critical issues are increasingly
tending to repeat themselves and to focus on the major problems of the global society: economics and
globalisation, sustainable urban policy, social groups and interculturality, the environment, etc , which is
putting the Olympic Movement at the heart of the current debate on society, and not only in relation to
sport Hence, for example, the importance in the images of Olympic cities of their commitment to
peace, sustainability and protecting the environment The Sydney Games were the first summer Games
to promote themselves as being "Green Games"

5 T h e m a i n a p p l i c a t i o n s a n d settings
for t h e symbolic p r o d u c t i o n of the G a m e s

The symbolic production of the Olympic Games is applied and expressed in several venues However,
the experience of recent editions, from Los Angeles 84 to Sydney 2000, allows us to highlight the
following:

design of the symbols (logo and mascot);

3
Rutheiser D (1996) lmagineering Atlanta New York: Verso
Jefferson H (2000) Inside the Olympic Industry New York: State University of New York Press

281
- image, decoration (look) and signposting of the facilities and the Olympic city;
- selection of the cultural model for the ceremonies (opening, closing);
- representation of the humanistic values of historical continuity and of the community through the
Olympic symbolism of handovers;
- basic information strategies of the organisers via the international communication media (books,
brochures, guides, videos, public relations, etc.);
- the Cultural Olympiad;
- celebration of Olympic anniversaries and memorials.

5.1. Design of the symbols (logo and mascot)

The first test of the image policy of the Olympic Games is the selection and graphic design of the
mascot and symbol for each Olympiad.

The design of the image of the Olympic Games above all the logos of Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and
particularly Munich 1972, the work of O d Aicher constitute decisive contributions to the history of
modern design and graphic communication.

At Barcelona '92, for example, the "Cobi" mascot represented a break from the much more
conservative style of many of its predecessors. In fact, it was a replica or aesthetic alternative to the
model of mascot represented by the "Naranjito" (the Spain 1982 World Cup mascot) or to the more
traditional style of Walt Disney cartoon characters. " C o b i " was created amidst much controversy, but
finally achieved consensus after a difficult period of adaptation.

The charm of Cobi is that it managed to survive in a market generally dominated by "kitch" objects and
that it opted for a quality and avant-garde design, in a clear break from the acritical conformism of
commercial culture that dominated the world of sports sponsorship until this time.

5.2. Image, decoration (look) and signposting

of the facilities and the Olympic city
The look of the Olympic city (ephemeral images, banners, entrances, signposts, etc.) plays an important
role in Olympic symbolism, by creating a festive atmosphere and transmitting the excitement of
bringing together several groups and communities.

As far as a legacy to the Games is concerned however, we have to stress a tendency to resolve such
issues in an ephemeral manner, which is more justifiable in the case of the look than in the case of
signposting, resulting in a major loss of image with the passing of time. Few Olympic cities conserve
such images, even in their Olympic facilities.

F r o m a legacy perspective, it is also worth paying special attention to the naming of Olympic facilities.
Consider, for example, the symbolic value of the names "Olympic Stadium", "Olympic Village",
"Olympic Park" as durable symbols of the Olympic experience in each city.

5.3. Selection of the cultural model

for the ceremonies (opening, closing)
Without doubt, the ceremonies constitute the main platform for symbolic production of modern
Olympic Games. T h e ceremonies, thanks to the major influence of television, but also due to the new
circumstances of (global-local) modern culture, have become the main symbolic and cultural act of the
Olympic Games. They are the central objective of the cultural policy of the Games, of the host city and
the Olympic Movement in general.

Research has demonstrated the importance of the script of the ceremonies, and of the "ideas-
proposals" of the transmitters (the Organising Committee), as well as the production routines of

282
international television networks 6 , which adapt the script of the ceremony to their own cultural formats
and obtain a huge simultaneous audience, finally estimated at between 700 million and 1 billion
viewers '.

It has also been demonstrated that the interest in the more general and universal aspects of the Games
is perfectly compatible with the interest in the more local or particular aspects. The attention paid by
the majority of international television networks to the more local aspects of the rituals and of the
representations of the ceremonies confirms the dual "local"-"global" nature of the media coverage for
the Olympic Games.

At Barcelona '92, for example, there was good understanding (transmitters - interpreters) o n a key
issue: the Games represented the opportunity to renew and change the international image of the three
main geopolitical groupings involved: Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain.

Even today, the tourist industry of Barcelona acknowledges the long-term beneficial effects of those
images. However the ceremonies have another important function for domestic public opinion and for
the memory of the Games: the citizens feel proud of their ceremonies ("we looked good, eh?"). What is
more, stimulated by the local press, people began to believe that "their" ceremony had been the best
ever ("unbeatable").

Finally, a reference to the historical continuity of the ceremonies. In Barcelona, for example, after the
ceremonies of Adanta '96 and Sydney 2000, there has been much talk of "repetition" 8 . O n the other
hand, there is no acknowledgement of the influence of previous Olympic Games on the Barcelona
model. Many of the interpretations of the success of Barcelona have been unable to acknowledge the
influence received from the Olympic tradition. It is true that Barcelona '92 contributed innovations to
the staging and content of ceremonies (the stadium covered with a giant carpet of Mediterranean blue,
the flag covering the athletes, the theatre performances, etc.), but it is also true that the ceremonies of
Barcelona '92 represented a continuation in respect of the ceremonies of Los Angeles '84 and Seoul
'88, distanced, without doubt, from the formality of the ceremonies of Moscow '80.

In this respect too, the Olympic concept is based on a sequence of handovers, forming a symbolic
chain.

5.4. Representation of the historical continuity and of the community

through the Olympic symbolism of handovers
The idea of continuity, of handing over, is fundamental to the Olympic concept and to that of "legacy".
Thus, for example, the ceremony of carrying the flag, from city to city, represents historical continuity
(Ancient Games Modern Games), periodicity and renewal.

The most recent ceremonies of Barcelona '92, Adanta '96 and Sydney 2000 managed to express this
continuity with new performances, such as the race of the young carriers of the flags representing all
the previous Summer Olympic Games.

6
Moragas M de, J. MacAloon, M. Llins (1994), Olympic Ceremonies: historical continuity and cultural exchange (International Sympos
Olympic Ceremonies, Barcelona-Lausanne, November,!995), Lausanne: International Olympic Comittee.
Moragas M. de, N. Rivenburgh, J. Larson (1995), Television in the Olympics. London: John Libbey.
7
"The worldwide audience for the Olympics" in Moragas M. de, N. Rivenburgh, J. Larson (1995), Television in the Olympics.
London: John Libbey, pp. 209-221.
8
Some of the examples of headlines and comments on Atlanta in the Barcelona press could be representative of this
attitude: Atlanta'96: Nostalgia de Barcelona'92 [NostalgiaforBarcelona'92] (ElPais, 25 July 1996)
Homenaje encubierto a Barcelona %2[Concealed homage to Barcelona'92] (La Vanguardia, 21 July 1996)
Atlanta se pone a rueda de Montjuc [Atlantafollows in the footsteps ofMontjuc] (La Vanguardia 21 July 1996).
La magia de Barcelona ensombrece a Atlanta [The magic of Barcelona overshadows Atlanta} (EL Periodico, 21 July 1996)

283
In spite of this, interpretations of the history of the Games, performed by successive Olympic cities, all
too often tend to treat the p h e n o m e n o n in a remote way, in such a way that the success is more a
success of each city than of the Olympic Movement.

O n the other hand, the handovers of the Olympic torch represent, more specifically, the social links
and the creation of a community. T h e handover of the torch extends the Olympic experience (and
message) to a greater number of people: to the Olympic city, but also to the other cities of the country.

However, it must also be said that, at the same time, the handovers signify the creation (celebration) of
the community and of the historic continuity: the torch has the same permanent place of origin
Olympia - and a multiplication of local appropriations.

Anonymous examples of the success of torch handovers among the public are countless.

5.5. Basic information strategies via the international mass media

(books, brochures, guides, videos, pubh'c relations, etc.)
N e w s p a p e r coverage
A study by Muriel Ladrn de Guevara, Xavier Coller and Daniel Romani on the newspaper coverage
of the Barcelona '92 Olympic Games highlighted that the coverage of the Olympic Games in the
international press ends up focussing on a finite and limited number of thematic bases. T h e
p h e n o m e n o n of semantic synthesis and reduction we referred to in the production of the image earlier
also occurs here.

In line with our comments in respect of television coverage, much of this thematic selection is "induced"
by the host city's own news and cultural policy. Another part is the result of a process of "interpretation"
made by journalists in order to bring the event closer to the experiences and expectations of their readers,
in accordance with the cultural production processes of each medium.

We can see a prime example of this process of reducing the semantic element of the Olympic
interpretation in the selection of images from the books of photographs that are published in different
countries after the Games. The unanimity in the selection, among hundreds of thousands, of the
photographs that will end up becoming part of the history of each Olympiad is most surprising. At
Barcelona '92, for example, the images of the archer, the swimmer diving off the diving board at the
swimming pool in Montjuc, the folk dancer of the Ramblas, the citizens and volunteers at the
fountains of Montjuc, and the Mayor of Barcelona Pasqual Maragall jumping up and down in his cloak.
In Sydney the image of Cathy Freeman with the Olympic torch and the waterfall in the background or
the huge Olympic rings on Sydney Harbour Bridge.

By contrast, and as an example of a threat to the image of the Games, we could also mention the
negative example of the terrorist attacks at the Munich Games, as a negative representation of those
Olympic Games.

T o p i c s of interest in n e w s p a p e r j o u r n a l i s m
News on the Olympics has two major angles: the strictly sport related part and the part dedicated to
issues of a political, social and culture nature and on the host country.

T h e sport related news is increasingly focused on the activities and the medals of the athletes of
one's own country, leaving to one side the successes of "other" athletes (with the exception of the cases
of doping or records). As far as the "others" are concerned, the interest is increasingly focused on the
"peculiarities" of the organising country, which is subjected to a quality evaluation or test.

9
Ladrn de Guevara M , X. Coller, D. Romani (1995), "The Image of Barcelona '92 in the international prs" in M. de
Moragas; M. Botella (eds.) The Keys of success: the social, sporting, economic and communications impact of Barce/ona'92. Barcelona:
Centre d'Estudis Olimpics (UAB),"pp. 107-123.

284
The demands of the international press are also limited to a series of key factors:
- the quality and efficiency of the organisation;
- the transport: punctuality and speed of transfers;
- the facilities and services;
- the security conditions;
- the environment;
- the effects of the Games on urban redevelopment;
- the technology used;
- the economics of the Games;
- the general infrastructure.

However, in addition to these more tangible issues, journalistic news on the Olympic Games
increasingly places greater value on (or is more interested in):
- the political use of the Games;
- the festive participation of the community in the event the atmosphere present in the city and in
the facilities;
- the treatment the journalists receive from the volunteers;
- the spectacular nature of the ceremonies.

And, more recently: the adaptation of the Games to the modern demands of sustainability.

An analysis of the newspaper coverage of the Olympic Games must not simply refer to the news during
the Games, but to the news generated during the entire Olympiad. The Olympic Games establish a long
period of international press attention on the characteristics of the host city (political, economic and
cultural) and on its role in a global context. All the leading newspapers publish special informative
dossiers, and (non-sporting) journalists are the prime objects of attention of the local authorities.

In Barcelona, with the collaboration of the Olympic and Sport Studies Centre of the Autonomous
University of Barcelona (UAB), a press centre for "unaccredited" journalists was created. In Sydney this
operation was repeated and enlarged considerably, with a large media presence. Also in Sydney, the
Ministry of Tourism produced a campaign prior to the Olympic Games in order to take foreign
journalists to Australia and fully inform them of the Australian reality.

5.6. The Cultural Olympiad and cultural policy

When speaking of the legacy of the Games and of symbolic production, we have to make a critical reference
to past Cultural Olympiads and make a positive proposal in favour of a profound renovation of the current
Festival of Arts, in order to convert them into true Cultural Olympiads.

Barcelona '92, for the first time, proposed a diverse cultural programme that consisted of organising a
"Cultural Olympiad" of 4 years in duration, from the reception of the Olympic flag at Seoul (1988) up
to its handover to Atlanta during the closing ceremony of Montjui'c (1992).

This extremely ambitious plan, which represented a third major phase in the history of the cultural
programme of the Olympic Games, was, in the end, unsuccessful 1 ".

The Barcelona '92 model, later followed by Atlanta '96 and Sydney 2000, extended the cultural activities
to the four years of the Olympiad. However, rather than add or incorporate new content to Olympic
cultural policy, this was limited to taking advantage of the "Olympic opportunity" to provide a new
label for the cultural policy of the city.

10
For further reading on this subject see: Garcia B., "The concept of Olympic cultural programmes: origins, evolution and projection
Fundamental lessons". Centre d'Estudis Olimpics, UAB (www.blues.uab/ Olympic.studies).

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Time and experience have also highlighted the difficulties of a four year project and, o n the other hand,
the strong demand for cultural activities focusing on the key moments during the celebration of the
Games: from the lighting of the torch in Olympia until it is extinguished at the closing ceremony.

What is more, time has demonstrated that recent Cultural Olympiads suffer from a principle
contradiction: not adequately considering the Olympic Games themselves as a cultural activity. The
minimal attention given to the Olympic phenomenon and sport by successive cultural Olympiads is
m o s t surprising.

In Barcelona, for example, the true "Cultural Olympiad" was developed outside of the Cultural
Olympiad, as part of what we here call "the programme of the symbolic production of the Games". We
have seen this position, which I have continued to defend since 198711, strengthened in the analysis of
the subsequent experiences of Adanta and Sydney. The new model of Cultural Olympiad lasting four
years has managed to contribute litde in specific terms to the cultural and education policy of the
Olympic Movement although, with some difficulty, it has managed to contribute to the renewal of the
cultural policies of the Olympic cities.

Pasqual Maragall, the Mayor of Barcelona and President of the Organising Committee during the
Games, in a press conference to present the Cultural Olympiad in 1988, defined it as "a stimulus from
the ideas of peace, dialogue and Olympic fraternity to artistic and cultural creativity, and also for the
construction of platforms of universal dialogue and cultural exchange".

In the end, the programme of the Cultural Olympiad did not respond to this philosophy. The idea of
"the construction of platforms of universal dialogue and cultural exchange" was achieved outside of the
"Cultural Olympiad" and inside the stadium in the parade of the different nations, in the street with the
Olympic torch, in the relationships between the athletes and the public, at the Paralympic Games, etc.

A year after the Olympic Games, and possibly as a consequence of those initial ideas, the proposal
arose for Barcelona to organise the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004, a platform for intercultural
dialogue on a global scale, looking to explicitly achieve what the Olympic Games had achieved
implicitiy.

5.7. Celebration of Olympic anniversaries and memorials

T h e celebration of anniversaries serves as a good indicator of the evolution of public opinion and
memory of the Games.

In the case of Barcelona '92, which we have studied in more detail, the celebration of the first
anniversary was characterised by strong institutional involvement, with speeches and commemorative
acts, and considerable press coverage , but with limited public participation.

Journalist comment and political manifestations began to raise, now in an open manner, the conflict being
faced by the city, between the nostalgia for the past and the need to find new objectives. "The bitter sweet
awakening from the Olympic dream" ran the headline in the El Pais newspaper on 25 July 1993.

11
Moragas M. de (1987), "Local Culture and International audience Facing Barcelona'92" in K. Shin Pyo; J. MacAloon; R.
DaMatta (eds). The Olympics and East/West and South/North Cultural Exchanges in the World System. Seoul: The
Institute for Ethnological Studies, pp. 753-769.
Moragas M. de (1991), "Comunicaci i Cultura, un unie projecte: Barcelona'92" in Olympic Games, media and cultural exchanges:
the experience of the lastjour summer Olympic Games: International Symposium, Barcelona, April 1991. Bellaterra: Centre d'Estudis
Olimpics i de l'Esport.
Moragas M. de (1992), Cultura Simbols ijocs Oimpics. Barcelona: Centre d'Investigaci de la Comunicaci.
12
The newspapers of Barcelona {El Pais, Ea Vanguardia, El Peridico, Avui ) gave extensive coverage to the commemoration
of this first anniversary: front pages with special photographic layouts, editorials, articles by editors, reports, interviews with
celebrities and a detailed account of the official acts. The local and Olympic institutions organised a varied programme
including the establishment of the Barcelona Olympic Foundation and the inauguration of its Galeria, the presentation of the
official film of the Games, Marathon, the lighting of the cauldron and a final party with music and fireworks.

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Over the years that followed, nostalgia was transformed into forgetting, as if Barcelona society wanted
"to change the subject" and speaking publicly of the Games almost became "politically incorrect". The
second and third anniversaries, 1994 and 1995, almost passed unnoticed. Only a group of ex-volunteers
met under the cauldron at two minutes to ten on the eve of 25 July, in order to open a few botdes of
champagne and to toast happy memories. Although the memories were still alive among the
population, newspaper references were imperceptible and official acts were inexistent.

However, the celebration of the anniversary of the Games received a surprising public revitalisation,
coinciding with the closing ceremony of the Adanta Games in 1996, when "Adanta makes the
Barcelona Games even better" as the Avui newspaper (25 July 1996) put it, an opinion representative of
those expressed in general by Barcelona press.

In 1996, Barcelona recovered the ritual of lighting the cauldron in the Stadium, and the 1992 Games
once again became the focus of journalistic attention. Particularly significant in this recuperation is the
commemorative celebration - for the first time in Olympic history - of the tenth anniversary of the
"nomination" of Barcelona as a host city. O n 16 October 1996, in the context of the criticisms of the
organisation of Atlanta, Barcelona City Council organised a huge public party, a firework and musical
display lasting 40 minutes, attended by 180,000 and in which 5,000 kilos of fireworks were consumed.
According to the El Periadico newspaper, which sponsored the event, Barcelona remembers the grand
finale of the Olympics. Thus, in an emphatic manner, the Barcelona Games return to the front pages of
the local press.

In the years that followed, until the major celebration of the 10' anniversary of the Games, discreet
celebrations returned. However, it is necessary to put the celebration of the 10 anniversary into its
proper context: the institutions of Barcelona and Catalonia were paying homage to Juan Antonio
Samaranch, and the organisers used these commemorative acts to publicly launch a large-scale
campaign to promote the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004, demonstrating the need to refer to the
past in terms of new projects for the future.

6. T h e c o m m e m o r a t i v e m o n u m e n t s
T h e i m p o r t a n c e of t h e c a u l d r o n

Anniversaries seek a place in the memory, but also require locations for the representation of their
rituals.

The architecture and design of Olympic facilities has not always taken into account to a sufficient
degree the importance of a central symbolic location as a (physical) reference for the people to
remember the Games.

The ephemeral nature of many Olympic facilities has meant that, with the passing of time, many
Olympic references to host cities end up disappearing, including the most emblematic ones. Conserving
small monuments has proven to be unsustainable, and the survival of big locations is lacking.

The planning of the Games needs to consider the survival needs of locations for post-Olympic
commemoration: sculptures, parks, and particularly the "cauldron", as a meeting place, an opportunity
to relive the ritual of the Olympic flame, as locations for celebrating public commemorations and
anniversaries of the Games.

13
With the exception of the continued activities of the Olympic and Sport Studies Centre of the UAB, which between 1994
and 1995 published the book Les claus de /'Exit, established its first website, signed the agreement for the first international
Olympic Studies university chair with the International Olympic Committee and organised the first international symposium
on Olympic Ceremonies.

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 7. T h e s y m b o l i c l e g a c y of t h e city a n d
t h e s y m b o l i c legacy of t h e O l y m p i c M o v e m e n t

So far, we have talked about the Olympic host city, the "semantic engineering" that accompanies the
creation and diffusion of its image, but we have talked litde, and in general litde is said of this, about
the overall image of the International Olympic Movement and of the Olympic legacy of the Games.

T h e most recent analysis of the symbolic production of the Games demonstrates that the efforts
undertaken to promote the image of the host city are not matched by similar efforts aimed at
promoting the image of the Olympic Movement as a cultural movement.

At least in part, this is due to the assignment of this task, on the part of the Olympic Movement, to the
host city, but also to television networks and major sponsors, who generally prefer to associate
themselves with the Olympic values most suited to entertainment and emotional identifications, in
accordance with their own marketing strategies.

The Olympic Movement needs to regain the initiative in this symbolic area. This is why, for example,
we have been reluctant to define Olympic ceremonies as "commercials" for the host city , since the
ceremonies are also and have to be understood as major venues of the rituals and of Olympic values.
We have to recognise that, in general terms, the cities are better at achieving their promotional
objectives than the Olympic Movement itself.

In our studies on the television coverage of Olympic ceremonies, we have discovered multiple
dysfunctions in relation to the treatment of Olympic values and a certain lack in the representation of
these values.

For example, some cultural representations in the ceremony are not sufficiently (optimally) related to
the core values of Olympic Movement. At Sydney 2000, for example, reconciliation is present as an
objective of Australian society, but not as a general objective of the Olympic ideal. References to
volunteers are normally only quantitative, with few references to the philosophy of the Olympic
Movement; there are limited references to the symbolic value of the parade of athletes or to the
educational dimensions of the Olympic Movement; certain emblematic programmes, such as Olympic
Solidarity, are hardly ever mentioned; members of the I O C identify themselves more as members of
their own countries than as members of an international institution, etc.

All the above leads us to consider the need to rethink (as a core objective of I O C cultural and
education policy) the script of the ceremonies and its diffusion to the international press, using the
same techniques that are used by Olympic host cities in order to promote it on a global level.

8. H a s C o b i s a i d " a d i e u " forever?

In one of the final scenes of the closing ceremony of Barcelona '92, Cobi could be seen in a paper boat
going up in the air and waving goodbye, appealing to post-Olympic positive nostalgia.

Did this act bring an end to the life of the symbol and mascot of Barcelona '92? It is surprising how
quick these symbols disappeared from Barcelona life, pardy as a consequence of the ephemeral nature
of the facilities of Olympic signposting, but possibly also because of the need to forget and change the
references that occurs in cities immediately after the Games.

O f the multiple Cobis - at least in the public domain only one has survived: the "Academic Cobi",
precisely the one that had the most difficult birth, when it was not easy to explain something that now
seems more evident: that academic activity not only forms part of the historic experience of the Games,
but is also an essential instrument for the future of the Olympic Movement as a cultural phenomenon.

Bassat L. (1992), "The Olympics and History's Longest Commercial", Viewpoint, December. Chicago: Ogilvy & Mather.

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 The Olympics and the Development of "Global Society"

Maurice Roche
Department of Sociological Studies
Sheffield University
United Kingdom

1. Introduction

I have previously discussed social aspects of the Olympics and their various "legacies", both positive
and negative, in my work on cultural and sport mega-events, particularly my recent book Mega-Events
and Modernity. This paper draws from this work, although necessarily in a very selective way. I have been
asked to talk about "the social legacy" of the Olympics. This very broad brief can be interpreted in a
number of ways. For instance, there is the important topic of social differences and inequalities, of new
forms of solidarity and discrimination in contemporary society. The Olympic "social legacy" here could
legitimately be interpreted in terms of the changing nature of the movement and the Games in recent
decades, from their 19 th century origins and early 20 th century development as a largely socially
exclusionary and elitist cultural forms, to their late 20 th century and current status as a potentially
significantly inclusionary popular cultural forms. This interpretation would have involved a review and
discussion of some of the relatively recent and important developments in the Olympics relating to the
inclusion of women, ethnic groups and the disabled in Olympic sport culture and its events. However,
other ways of interpreting the social significance and "legacy" of the Olympics relate to the movement's
contribution to the contemporary development of "global society", and this is my focus in this paper.
In addition to the intrinsic importance of this theme for Olympic policy and research, hopefully this
may also offer us an opportunity to reflect on and discuss some of the possible connections between
the numerous and varied Olympic legacies addressed by this symposium. A caveat needs to be made
before I begin. There will be no Olympic legacies to discuss if the serious organisational problems in
the Movement revealed in 1999/2000 are not solved. So far a promising start seems to have been made
in putting the Movement's "house in order". My discussion (indeed arguably this whole symposium)
rests on the assumption that the current progress achieved by the IOC's commitment to the process of
institutional reform will be maintained in the long-term.

The modern Olympic Movement, from its late 19' century origins, has always claimed to contribute to
the development of the international dimension of modern society. However throughout the 20 th
century it often provided an arena for the display of nation-building and also competitive national
identities and their ideologies. Although the national principle was not built in to its principles it was
built in to its practices (national hosts, national representative teams, national flags etc.). Nevertheless I
aim to focus on the level of international society, and in our period this means looking at the
development of global society and of globalisation. So in this paper, I discuss the Olympics in the
context of the development of global society firstly in terms of "global culture" and secondly in terms
of "global civil society".

As a preliminary orientation to the issues considered in the paper we can briefly note some relevant
comments of Greek European Affairs Minister George Papandreou speaking about the Athens 2004
Olympics, which his government is helping to organise. "We hope to revive some of the ancient
traditions, bringing in a cultural aspect which is very important, but also bringing in the "Olympic
Truce". In a new century, where we live in the global village, the Olympic Games is the one event
which brings people together in the world. N o t just governments, but citizens of the world, and the
man in the street through television and the media in this one local festival." (Papandreou, 1998;
quoted, Maguire 1999, p. 144). Understandably in relation to an Olympic Games to be held in the

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historic city of Athens, Papandreou points to the deep Hellenic and European cultural and civilisational
legacy from which the modern Olympic Movement draws. However in addition he points to the
present and to the relevance to the 21 s t century of what are historically relatively recent, late 20 th
century, developments and legacies in the modern Olympics, notably the global televising of the Games
and the Olympic Truce project. In doing so he characterises the present social context of the Olympics
in global society terms, as a "global village" in which people are "citizens of the world". In this paper
my aim is to review and to reflect on the two relatively recent social legacies, namely the Olympics as a
globally mediated event and also the Olympic Truce, in relation to the broader context of the
development of global society in our times through processes of globalisation, processes which
themselves are relatively recent late 20 century phenomena. It is worth noting that other comparable
Olympic projects, which are also very relevant to this "global social legacy" theme and which include
the Olympic Solidarity programme, are not addressed in this paper for reasons of space.

I take the view that a global level of social organisation and governance is even if weakly, fitfully and
unevenly - beginning to emerge as we enter the 21 s t century, and that from a normative perspective it is
needed (not least to build the capacity to protect the global environment and to promote global social
justice, human rights and peace). So what guides my review and reflection on the Olympics' social
legacies and social role in emerging global society in this paper is not so much the question of how to
merely to preserve their positive character in changing social conditions. Rather it is more the problem
of how to build both on the long-standing idealism and o n the adaptive capacity the Olympic
Movement has also always appeared to possess in order to enable the movement and its mega-event to
contribute positively to the new development of society and governance at the global level which is
under way and which is needed in our times.

Sport studies, media studies and offspring such as media-sport studies, have traditionally taken the
nation-state and national identity as a key point of reference and context. This is not surprising since
the modern mass press and mass sports, together with, of course, the modern Olympic Movement,
emerged as part of a wave of "invented traditions2 (Hobsbawm, 1992; Roche, 2000) in popular culture
associated with nation-building at the end of the 19 th century. However in recent years we have seen a
new wave of sport and media-sport studies which show a developed "post-national" awareness of the
global-level and globalisation processes as well as the nation-state level as key social contexts, and
which illustrate the importance of this global theme in research and analysis. Understandably, given the
global aspirations of the events they analyse, this awareness of global society and globalisation, is also
present in Olympic studies and in soccer World Cup studies. However while sport and Olympic studies
are becoming more concerned to study globalisation, mainstream globalisation analysis has yet to
discover sport as a relevant social phenomenon. With the exception of a very few writers w h o
occasionally made passing reference to the global cultural significance of the Olympics (e.g. Robertson,
1992, p. 179), globalisation theorists seem to have had a blind spot when it comes to international sport
culture. Reference to international sport and the Olympics is notably absent from many major analyses
of globalisation and of global culture. In addition, seminal studies of globalisation in relation to the
media also, curiously, have litde or nothing to say about the distinctive global mdiatisation involved in
the televising of major sport and Olympic events. More of an academic dialogue is evidendy needed
between sport and Olympic studies and globalisation studies, and hopefully this paper can, among
other things, make a small contribution to this.

From a sociological perspective the notion of "society" can be said, among other things, to refer to the
experiential, interactional and institutional differentiation and interconnection of the economic, cultural
and political dimensions and spheres of community life, particularly, but not exclusively, as exemplified
in the modern nation-state form of community life. The notion of "global society" and the processes of
globalisation, which can be argued to be promoting it in our times can thus be analysed as having
distinctive economic, cultural and political dimensions. Contemporary globalisation is being particularly
driven by the interconnected techno-economic dynamics of capitalist market-building and of science-

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based technological change. These dynamics are evidendy influential in contemporary sport culture
generally in terms of such factors as the incessant pressures of commercialisation and mdiatisation,
and also the incessant development and application of performance-enhancing medical and material
technologies. However, for the purposes of my discussion of "Olympic social legacies" in this paper,
and thus in terms of my interest in considering the social significance and role of the Olympics in
relation to global society and globalisation, I will focus more on the cultural and political dimensions of
globalisation rather than the techno-economic dimension. So, on the one hand, in considering Olympic
Games events as being, among other things, globally mediated through television, my emphasis will be
on the understanding the Olympics as an element in the development of global culture. O n the other
hand, in considering the Olympic Truce project, my emphasis will be on the Olympics as an element in
the development of global civil society.

A common view of "globalisation" in academic, political and public discourses and also in the academic
discussions noted above is what I will refer to as the "basic globalisation" perspective. This involves
some or all of a set of four main assumptions or theses. Firstly, this view assumes that globalisation is a
deterministic process (involving the techno-economic dynamics noted above), which can be barely
resisted by social and political organisations such as nation-states. Secondly, it assumes that it requires
the promotion of standardisation and uniformity in all spheres of life. Thirdly, in addition and related to
these two factors, it assumes that through the impacts of mass communications and transport
technologies, globalisation involves an historically unprecedented experience of "one world" and of
"compression" of social space and time. Fourthly, it assumes that globalisation impacts are mainly felt
at the national rather than sub- or trans-national levels. This provides one perspective from which to
consider the changing social context and role of the Olympics. N o doubt each of the assumptions in
this perspective have some grounds in reality. However, in this paper I want to suggest that
globalisation is a more complex process, and to argue that the social legacy and adaptive potential of
the Olympics need to be understood in these more complex terms.

Generally what we can call the "complex globalisation" perspective suggests that, firsdy, as against the
techno-economic determinism thesis, globalisation also involves the possibility for collective agency
and influence by political and cultural collectivities such as nations and international organisations and
movements. Secondly, as against the standardisation thesis, this perspective suggests that globalisation
can also involve differentiation and particularisation. Sometimes this is referred to as "glocalisation" in
recognition of the idea that localities like cities can connect more strongly with global economic and
cultural circuits, and thus be more strongly globalised, by emphasising and building up their "unique
place" characteristics, as for instance in relation to the global tourism industry. Thirdly, as against the
time-space compression thesis, this perspective suggests that globalisation can also involve the
reconstruction of temporal and spatial distance and differences. Finally, as against the prioritisation of
national-level impacts, the complex globalisation perspective suggests that globalisation impacts and
collective agency response to them, can also be seen to operate at sub-national levels (e.g. cities and
city-regions) and trans-national levels (e.g. world regions and their organisation, such as the European
Union; Telo, 2001; Schirm, 2002) as well as at national level. The new global social constellations being
formed by complex globalisation (e.g. by the glocalisation of social spaces and places and by the multi-
layering of levels of governance and social organisation, Brenner, 1999) provide reference points for
currently influential images and theories of global society as a "network society", which attempt to
grasp and model this complexity (Castells, 1996).

This paper suggests that the differences between the basic and complex perspectives on globalisation are
useful terms of reference when attempting to understand the Olympics in relation to contemporary
social change. Also it suggest that the social significance and role in global society of the Olympic
Games, both as a mass mega-event phenomenon and as an international movement, is better seen in
terms of the complex rather than the basic globalisation perspectives. That is the Olympics are best seen,
albeit against a background of basic globalisation processes, in terms of more complex globalisation

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processes of collective agency and differentiation, particularly time and space differentiation, and
particularly through the agency, individual and collective, of Olympic media audiences, host cities and
the movement itself as a corporate political actor.

2. T h e O l y m p i c s a n d g l o b a l c u l t u r e : social t i m e a n d s p a c e

In this section we consider global culture in the form of c o m m o n social time (2.2) and social space
(2.3), and the social significance and role of the Olympics in marking, symbolising these dimensions.
These topics are introduced with a general discussion and assessment of the nature and relevance of
Olympic TV as a form of cultural globalisation (2.1).

2.1. Sport and globalisation:

Olympic television and "the global village"
Sport and Olympic culture (particularly televised international sport events) provide a special and
arguably unique sphere and system of social organisation and of cultural events and exchanges in which
the international, trans-national and universal dimensions of human society in the historical
contemporary period can be experienced in dramatic and memorable ways both by performers and by
media spectators. Sport mega-events in the contemporary period, in particular the two leading examples
of the Olympic G a m e s and the soccer World Cup competition, because they have been regularly
televised "live" to hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, of people in most of the world's nations
since the advent of satellite communications and particularly since the early 1980s are also, by definition,
"media events" (Dayan and Katz, 1992). As such for at least a generation they have given a tangible
reality to the well-known concept, first introduced in the 1960s by the legendary media analyst Marshall
McLuhan (albeit inappropriately given television's technical limitations at the time), of "the global
village" (McLuhan, 1960).

T h e Olympic Movement discourse of "Olympism" involves universalistic ideals about peace and
education, and we consider aspects of this discourse later (section 2). Nevertheless, with or without
mass public acceptance of such normative universalism, the periodic sociological realities of
simultaneous world-wide mass spectatorship in mediated sport mega-events like the Olympics create a
unique cultural space and provide unrivalled opportunities to dissolve spatial and temporal distance, to
participate in a notional global community, and to promote, albeit transitorally but recurrently, a "one
world" awareness (an awareness of "globality" or of the world as a singular place rather than as an
aggregate of spatially and politically distinct and separate places and territorially-based nation-state
societies, Robertson 1992, Albrow 1995). There are no comparable opportunities for ceremonial and
celebratory televisual evocations of "globality" in conventional international politics around institutions
such as the United Nations, which is possibly why the U N has been generally warm and positive in its
relationship with the Olympic Movement in recent years (see section 2, and Roche 2000a). While there
are periodic international collective experiences in major acts of terrorism, wars, disasters and other
such events these are often negative and frightening, unpredictable and rare. Television systems remain
significandy national in content and there is very little in the international televisual "global village" to
compare with the positive and celebratory, predictably recurrent and relatively frequent character of
sport mega-events such as the Olympic Games as media events.

T h e televising and international broadcasting of Olympic Games events, at least in the last two decades,
arguably produces special periodic instances of a "global village" in which "the whole world watches"
games played o n the "global commons". As we noted earlier in Papandreou's comments about the
Athens 2004 Olympics, the "global village" concept appears in contemporary Olympic policy discourse.
Olympic TV, seen as such a global "media event", could be said to illustrate elements of the "basic
globalisation" perspective. That is, from this perspective, firstly the events can be said, on the one hand,
to promote universalistic values (Olympic values) and, on the other hand, to promote cultural
standardisation b o t h direcdy (e.g. the spread of international sport organisation and sport (consumer

292
culture), and indirectly (through their commercialisation) through the marketing vehicle they provide
for global brands and consumer culture (particularly, although not exclusively, American versions of
these things, as elements of "Coca Colonization" and "McDonaldization", Ritzer 1998, 1999).
Secondly, from this perspective, the global broadcasting of the "live" Olympic media-event can be said
to exemplify space-time compression, namely that, with due allowance for over-emphatic
simplification, "the whole world" can be said to watch "the same thing at the same time", and thus in
some sense to be in communication or at least to co-exist and be co-present in "the same (mediated)
place" at "the same (mediated) time", a global "here and now". In this section we briefly note some of
the main theories and studies of Olympic TV and critically reflect on them in the light of these claims
(for fuller discussion see Roche, 2000a, 2002c).

In favour of the standardisation thesis in the basic globalisation perspective, the structure and content
of Olympic Games, and thus the content of Olympic TV broadcasts, have evidentiy come to have
highly repetitive and ritualistic features. Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and medal
presentation ceremonies are tightly controlled and rule-governed by the I O C and its Charter; they are
seen as valued rituals and are subject to a traditional ceremonial choreography which Olympic T V
programming must represent. Nevertheless, every Games is also in important respects a unique event
in which the standardised elements are interpreted and represented in ways which are particular to the
host nation and city. Also, in favour of the space-time compression thesis, no doubt literally "the whole
world" does not watch the live televising of, say, the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Nevertheless it is reasonable to acknowledge that even allowing for some exaggerations in the
estimates a large and rising proportion of the world's population does so, (estimated at around 1
billion for the Seoul and Barcelona Games in 1988 and 1992, 2 billion for the Atlanta Games in 1996,
and 3.5 billion for the Sydney Olympics). Of course, that said, the quality of the audience experiences
of these mass publics how people they view these broadcasts and what they make of them is
another matter, and - like the unequal distribution of viewing between nations and world regions it
cannot be read off from these aggregate quantitative data.

Studies of media aspects of recent suggest that there are significant differences in national broadcasters'
production of Olympic TV programming and in audience responses as between different nations and
other differential social contexts. T o these extents the world, which is constituted in the periodic and
recurrent mass watching of Olympic TV, is not particularly well captured in the image of a unitary "global
village". Generally speaking these Olympic TV studies tend to support the argument, as against the basic
globalisation view of standardisation, that Olympic TV retains important differentiating and
particularising aspects. Not unsurprisingly some of these aspects relate to the role of nations and
nationalism in the Olympic Movement, and to the opportunities Games media events provide to
periodically re-assert and re-configure national identities and differences, albeit in the context of an
otherwise globalising world order. World regional inequalities are also noted in Olympic TV studies as
relevant differentiating factors. Also, connected with the differentiating and particularising characteristics
of nationalism and world regional inequalities, the Olympic TV studies tend to suggest that to characterise
the experience of watching "live" Olympic TV in terms of "one world", global co-presence and other
aspects of space-time compression misrepresents the diversity and complexity of that experience. Overall,
the Olympic TV studies noted here indicate, in terms of both of these aspects and also in terms of the
(e.g. nationalistic) "agency" (as against determinism) and the (national-level and also world regional)
"glocalization" involved - that Olympic TV is better understood in the terms of a "complex
globalisation" rather than a "basic globalisation" perspective. That said, nevertheless some kind of
shareable global community experience, some sense of simultaneous co-presence consistent with the
national and other differentials and particularities noted in the studies, can be argued to be evoked in
Olympic TV. Arguably this is connected with a sense of collective memory and history, the intertwining
of national and global narratives, which has come to be associated with the Olympics in the attitudes of
publics worldwide. We consider these "global social time"-related issues of presence, co-presence and
history-marking in the mediatised Olympics as instances of the development of global culture next.

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 2.2. Global social time and Olympic TV: Co-presence and history
The "basic globalisation" perspective, as we have seen so far, implies that the mass popular cultural and
media genre of Olympic T V instantiates the idea that in contemporary globalisation conditions social
time and space is capable of being radically compressed into a universally sharable present. However,
reflection on studies in the Olympic T V field suggested that the reality is different, more complex and
more in line with a "complex globalisation" perspective. We take this line of thought further in this
sub-section where we consider the experience of social time-space in the global village of mediated
sport mega-events, focussing mainly on temporality. First, we consider the meaning of "being present"
at Games events and the complication of this experience given the relevance of television and of the
increasing mdiatisation of sport spectatorship in the contemporary period. Then we briefly consider
some broader aspects of mediated mega-events like the Olympics relating to their impacts on our
experience of time and history, which suggest that there is more to t h e m than time-compression, and
indeed that they have specifically time-distancing and tkne-structuring features.

2.2.1. T h e m d i a t i s a t i o n of " c o - p r e s e n c e " at O l y m p i c G a m e s e v e n t s

In their seminal study of "media events" Dayan and Katz (1992) analysed extra-ordinary and 'history-
making' cultural and political events (such as coronations, VIP funeral, Papal visits and great sport
events) (Dayan and Katz, 1992). They argued that media genres which represent them typically
transcend routine programming, overflow the schedules, involve "obligatory" coverage and viewership
and involve "witness to history" production values and viewing perspectives rather than those
associated with conventional "news" or "entertainment" genres. In relation to such special media-
events they addressed the difference between "being there" and "watching on I V " , arguing that the
latter involved efforts to "compensate" viewers for what they were missing by "not being there". Part
of this compensation involves TV production techniques giving the viewer different perspectives and
information, and in some ways much more than the spectator present in the stadium could ever see and
know. Also part of it is people's own active re-structuring of private space into temporary public space,
so that domestic viewing involves family and friends and becomes a special social occasion which has
some features in c o m m o n with the public character of being present in the crowd of spectators at the
event, but which also has its own distinctive features.

Since Dayan and Katz's studies in the late 1980s and early 1990s evidently media and communications
technology has moved on in a number of significant ways (even without reference to the advent of
widespread internet access in the advanced countries of the world). These advances make the axis
running between "being there" as against "watching at home on T V " less starkly polarised, introducing
additional more mixed and intermediary positions along the axis, and more complex forms of event
experience. Also the costs and benefits of "being there" or "watching at h o m e " are also now more
complex to calculate. It is n o longer a matter simply of trading the special experience and atmosphere
of being physically present, together with its partial views and limited information, for the c o m m o n
experience of being physically absent but having the qualitatively superior overviews, insights and
information overload provided by television.

From the perspective of the stadium spectator experience the advent of large stadium screens providing
some access to some of the televisual views, images and information available (including close-ups of
competitors, slow-motion replays of disputed events, after-match interviews and other types of
televised information) has changed the stadium experience towards a more complex and mediated form
of experience of "being there" and "being present". Also stadium spectators, aware of the presence of
T V cameras, and aware that TV shots of crowd reactions can be inserted in live event coverage to
promote event ambience and atmosphere, can prepare themselves to "play up to the camera" if they
come into shot. O n the other hand, from the perspective of the non-stadium television viewer, the
situation and the options have also become more differentiated and complex. Some time ago Eastman
and Land observed the increased importance of bars as locations for viewing media sport in general
and mega-events in particular in the USA (Eastman and Land, 1995, also Eastman and Riggs, 1994),

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and this has been a gathering trend in the UK, across Europe and the wider world also. This was
particularly the case in relation to the 2002 World Cup for U K and European fans only few of whom
could afford the time and expense of travelling the great distances involved to get to matches, and who,
if they were to watch them "live" had to adjust to the time-zone differences. Watching televised World
Cup matches involving one's own national team in the company of communities of friends and fans
has often been a communal and public experience in European countries frequently involving either
large television screens in public squares or watching large screens in sports bars with easier access to
alcohol than would be the case in stadia. The latter was a significant element in the way in which the
World Cup was watched in the U K in 2002.

In the course of outlining the conceptual framework for a fieldwork study of spectating and viewing at
the Sydney 2000 Games event Rowe (2000) makes some points relevant to our discussion. He
considers Dayan and Katz's "media event" analysis and the clear differentiation they argue for, as we
have seen, between being present at great events and the compensation for this involved in the
mediation of these events (also see MacAloon, 1989). He observes that during the Sydney Games large
screens were placed in a number of so-called "live sites" around the central area of the city, in addition
to the screening that was available in sports bars. He reports that, for people watching at the live sites,
there was a particular sense of "presence" and "participation" in the event, different both from being in
the stadium or watching at home on T V , and with its own forms of sociability, authenticity and
memorabilty. "The innovative televisual enhancement of experiencing the event remotely, such as the
... screen-based 'live sites' program at Sydney 2000, now offers a combined form of physical presence,
crowd participation and a sense of place and history analogous to attending the stadium itself. (Rowe,
2000, p. 19). H e speculates that "many physically removed from the sports action will lay future claim
to 'having been there'." (ibid, p. 20). This tends to undermine the presence-absent viewer dichotomy
Dayan and Katz argue for, and it produces a more complex picture of presence, viewership and the role
of the media in each in relation to the Olympics. Rowe's passing reference to possible impacts of
mediatised forms of presence at Olympic Games on later memories of them also points us to other
temporal dimensions of mediatised sport mega-events, which we can now briefly consider.

2.2.2. T i m e a n d h i s t o r y - m a r k i n g in m e d i a t i s e d global s p o r t m e g a - e v e n t s
The "basic globalisation" assumption of 'time-space compression' outlined earlier could be said to be
instantiated in a positive way in "global villagers' live" mediatised participation in events like the
Olympic Games. Our discussion of the nature of "presence" at mediatised sport mega-events has
indicated the complex character of this in the contemporary period and thus tends to give support to a
complex rather than a basic globalisation perspective. However, in the form of such things as the
increasing "pace" of social life associated with transport and communications technologies, some forms
of time-space compression can be reasonably be argued to be general features and dynamics of
everyday experience in contemporary society. As such, and by the increasing prioritisation of the
present and the short-term that they imply, they can also be said to carry negative potential implications
for people's general experience of temporality in the contemporary period, n o t least for the experience
of temporal "depth" and "structures" beyond "the present", namely experiences of "past" and
"future". Periodic globally mediatised sport mega-events like the Olympic Games can be argued to
provide some cultural resources for people to counter this over-emphasis on the present and its
threatened diminishment of inter-personal and collective senses of past and future, and to help people
to remain more aware than otherwise of the making and marking of time and history (Roche, 2000a,
2003).

From the perspective of the interpersonal meaning and experience of mega-events like Olympic
Games, participation in the contemporary mediatised world of mega-events and sport culture in general
offers people non-routine extra-ordinary and charismatic events, involving distinctive motivations and
opportunities for dramatic experience, activity and performance, which can be used to recover and
reanimate the time-structure dimensions of past (via event memorialisation and construction of

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narratives of event "heritages") and future (via anticipation and hope in respect of upcoming events) in
personal and social life in late modernity. This is so whether people participate in them in a direct and
embodied way or in alternative less embodied b u t not thereby less active forms of engagement through
the media and the event as "media event", "media sport" etc. That is, in the short term, the sphere of
the present, participation in a mega-event a n d / o r a sport event involves people in a culturally important
and unique action project in which the present is experienced as both as being dramatised in various
ways and also as being evidently temporally bounded. In the medium-term involvement with mega-
events a n d / o r sport culture generates experiences of the distances between such events (and the
distance of events from the present) created by their periodicities, the planning and anticipation periods
preceding them and the impact periods following them. Through the practices of memory and
imaginative projection which are associated with them involvement with mega-events a n d / o r sport
events, and with the mega-event world a n d / o r sport culture more generally, has the capacity to
generate and cultivate experiences of the longer term temporal perspectives of tradition and futurity.

More generally we should also note the collective national "time-marking" and "history-making" role of
mega-events like the Olympics when seen from a structural and macro-historical perspective. Mega-
events served nation-building and national culture-, identity-, and citizenship-construction functions for
both etes and publics in early modernity, and these functions survive down through to the
contemporary "late modernity" period in which mdiatisation and globalisation have become pervasive
features of social development (Roche, 1999, 2000a). It remains the case that the ability of a nation to
send representative teams to compete against the other nations of the world on the stage of an Olympic
Games, and to d o so recurrently in the Olympic Movement's mega-event calendar, is a much sought-
after symbol of nationhood and of a community's particularity, of national identity and of its
recognition (MacAloon, 1984). This is even m o r e the case in terms of the ability of a nation, and a
nation's "flag-carrying" city, to act as a host for an Olympic Games, and to be seen to do so in the
"global village" of Olympic TV. The continuing significance of strong association with the Olympic
mega-event for national time-marking and history-making by actually staging the event is indicated in
the desperate inter-city and inter-national competitiveness which has come to be associated with the
bidding processes to win the right to stage Games events (Roche, 2000a, p. 7).

2.3. Global social space and the Olympics:

Cities and world regions
In this sub-section we consider the contribution of the Olympics to the global experience of c o m m o n
but differentiated social space, firstly through the "glocalisation" involved in the Games event being
hosted by a city as the production base for the global Olympic media event, and secondly through the
recognition of world regionality involved in the organisation both of the Olympic Movement and also
of the Games event cycle.
2.3.1. O l y m p i c T V , " w o r l d c i t y " a n d " g l o c a l i s a t i o n "
Unlike the World Cup, which FIFA awards to nations (or in the 2002 case to two nations joindy), the
I O C invites bids from cities for its periodic and hody contested inter-city bidding process. There is, n o
doubt, a long-standing requirement that the host city's national head of state opens the Games, also
there is the more recent requirement for national governments to financially underwrite the host city's
expenditure on the Games events and its infrastructures, and finally there is the fact that a number of
Summer Games events, such as the yachting competitions, can often have a regional rather than an
urban location. Nevertheless, the I O C awards the Games to a host city and not to a nation or national
region. As instances of globalisation Olympic Games events thereby have an ambiguous character.
Some aspects of them, and of the TV Olympics they produce, would seem to be readily compatible
with the "basic globalisation" perspective. That is, on the one hand, standardisation is involved in the
IOC's Charter rules which control the conduct and content of every Games event and also of their TV
transmission. Standardisation aspects carried in Olympic T V programming include, for instance, the
normative universalism of the ideology of "Olympism" and also, the consumerist universalism of the
"global brand" commercialism of Olympic sponsors such as Coca-Cola.

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However there are also more complex and conflictual aspects of even - Games event production and its
T V transmission which make it more differentiated and particularistic, more "glocal", and thus
compatible with a complex globalisation perspective. So historically every Olympic Games is in many
respects unique; this is not least in terms of memorable champions and "star" competitors, and the
memorable dramas of their competitive struggles and achievement. This aspect of the uniqueness of
each Games event, as we noted earlier, contributes to the construction over time of a differentiated
Olympic historico-cultural narrative, a "time-marking" and "history-making" narrative which is part of a
world cultural narrative, "the story of our times", (the story of "our generation" or of "our century").
Also every Olympic event occurs in a different host city. Even where the Olympics has appeared to
return to "the same" city, given the generational time-lapse the city cannot be said to be sociologically
the "same city"). Or, to put it more strongly, sociologically speaking the Olympics is never staged in the
same city twice. This also contributes a strong differentiating and particularising dimension to Olympic
history and culture at odds with a simplistic standardisation angle and perspective. It also contributes to
what we mean by global culture, namely that it is made up of comparable but differentiated places,
particularly cities - and in the Olympic context, "world cities" capable of hosting a global village world-
audience event.

Globalisation can be said to proceed in part through "glocalisation", that is by producing differentiated
places (and times i.e. events-in-places) and thereby, in a newly "differentiated" fashion, incorporating
these differentiated places into the global world order (e.g. Brenner, 1999). O n e way it does this is
through tourism, and another is through sport mega-event TV. T h e latter involves the reconstruction of
the meaning and image of the Games city, which is the production base of the media event as now in
some senses a "world city". This phenomenon has been the subject a number of recent reviews (e.g.
Essex and Chalkley, 1998; Roche, 2000a). In their historical review and analysis of Olympic Games as
"catalysts of urban change" Essex and Chalkley differentiate between three types of Olympic Games
events in terms of their urban impacts, namely "low impact" events, "sports faculty impact" events, and
"new urban build and development" events. Most pre-Second World War and early post-War Olympics
could be said to fall into the first two categories. In the critical "global Olympic TV event" period 1984
and after, which we are concerned with, the two USA Games also exemplified the first two categories of
urban impact - 1984 LA Games exemplified a "low impact" type and the 1996 Aanta Games
exemplified a "sports facility" impact type. By contrast the 1988, 1992, and 2000 Games (and we might
now add, the 2004 Games) exemplify the higher impact urban development type of Games events which
leave some demonstrable and specific "Olympic legacy" in the built environment and socio-economic
conditions of the host city and are connected with the city's aspirations to "world city" recognition. The
I O C has become increasingly concerned about the capacity of the Games to leave this kind of legacy
and probably the best example of it and of the Olympics as a catalyst for this kind of "world city"-
oriented development in recent times was the Barcelona 1992 Games (Essex and Chalkley, p. 198, for
further discussion of this case see Roche, 2000, 2002c).

2.3.2. " W o r l d regionality" a n d global sport culture

Unlike many other types of international political and cultural organisation, international sport
organisation, while it is strongest at national and global levels nevertheless, has usually included a
distinct world regional or "continental" level. This has long been the case in the post-war period for the
pre-eminent international sport organisation, the Olympic Movement in its American, African,
European, Asia and Oceania groups of national committees (IOC, 1996, p.48). It is notable in this
context that the five ring motif used in the widely recognised Olympic symbol and flag was introduced
as an aspect of the post-First World War international reconciliation Games of Antwerp 1920. It is
intended to represent the global unity of these continental regions, indicating that the world regions are
important constituent elements in the Olympic ideals of worldwide sport and the promotion of
universal values. There is a version of the same organisational level in relation to "the global g a m e " in
the international soccer system controlled by FIFA. Indeed this level is built-in more strongly in FIFA's
system than in the Olympic system as it is both used in the qualification competitions to select national

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teams for the World Cup mega-event, and also underpins the more or less official FIFA commitment
to the principle of "continental" rotation or circulation in the location of World Cup mega-events.
Recendy this principle appears to have been taken up by the I O C in its decisions about host cities given
the rotation of the summer Games since Atlanta 1996 of N o r t h America, Asia-Pacific (2000), Europe
(2004), Asia (2008), and possibly Africa (2012).

In this context it is worth noting that the two pre-eminent Olympic TV studies, those of Seoul 1988
and Barcelona 1992, found major inequalities between countries in terms of resources and
infrastructures for the production and distribution of Olympic TV broadcasts. Comparable
observations could no doubt be of World Cup T V production and reception. Evidendy these sorts of
inequalities reflect long-standing global developmental inequalities between " N o r t h e r n " and
"Southern", rich and poor, countries and regions - between N o r t h America and Europe on the one
hand and much of South America, Asia and particularly Africa on the other. There is evidence that the
European world region, which is dominant in financing, production and reception of World Cup
football television (Roche, 2002b; Roche and Harrison, 2002), is becoming more important vis--vis the
dominant role of the USA in the financing and production of Olympic television (Roche, 2002c).
However other world regions, particularly Africa, remain marginalised in the organisation and
production of Olympic TV. Both of the key Olympic TV studies recommended the need for the I O C
and Olympic Movement to attempt to redress some of these world regional inequalities in respect both
of Olympic television and also of participation more generally in international sport and the cycle of
Olympic games events. O u r consideration here of the Olympic Movement's aspirations and potential
role in global society would lend support to these recommendations in terms of the "legacy policy
agenda" now facing the movement (and see Conclusion below).

3. T h e O l y m p i c s a n d global civil society:

Global citizenship, governance and the Olympic T r u c e

This section aims to consider the Olympic Movement in terms of the concepts of "global civil society"
and "global citizenship". Evidendy, in the absence of a global state, and given the current fragmentary
and disorganised state of governance at a global level in the contemporary period, this concept has an
ideal and "as if' character to it. The first part of this section (2.1.) considers the Olympic Movement's
ideology and activities in relation to the idea and ideals of "universal citizenship". The second part (2.2.)
considers the Olympic Movement as a corporate citizen in global civil society, and looks in particular at
one of its more notable recent activities, namely the pursuit of the ideal of peace and non-violence in
the form, echoing the ancient and long-lived Hellenic tradition, of the project for a periodic "Olympic
Truce" between warring nations during the holding of each Olympic Games. Global civil society in the
post-Cold War period has come to be marked by the uncivil denials of human rights involved in new
and apparendy endemic patterns of civil wars and localised wars, and since the attack on the USA in
September 2001, by visions of terrorism and mass murder. So this particular "invented tradition"
might, in principle, have something useful and valuable to contribute to the goal of world peace and
peaceful co-existence. However, as the discussion in this section also suggests, the project involves risks
not only for the Olympic Movement as a putative "global corporate citizen" but also for the core of the
global governance system, such as it is, namely the United Nations organisation.

3.1. The Olympic Movement and "Universal Citizenship "

In the modern period it has often been argued that all human beings possess individual human rights.
The notion of "universal citizenship" can be understood to be based on this argument. By inference the
notion refers to membership in the implicit and ideal global community constituted by the moral-
ontological "fact" of the c o m m o n status of human being, and the possession, thereby, of these
c o m m o n rights. This idealisation can be understood to have normative force and moral authority
whether or not, in reality, there exists any organised governance system with the political power and

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authority to implement and enforce such rights. Since the late 18 th century universal human rights
("natural rights", "rights of man") have been inscribed in various versions in national constitutions
(such as those of France and the USA in particular). However in principle human rights cannot be
defined as, or confined to, rights conferred by citrzenship in any particular territorially a n d / o r ethnically
denned and exclusive nation-state, and evidendy they have often been denied in practice by states and
national political systems and communities.

In the post-war period they have been inscribed in the United Nations Charter and other related
documents. H u m a n rights have only ever been implemented at best imperfecdy and unevenly across
the world's nations in the often violent and rights-abusing international history of the late 20' century.
Nonetheless, as we noted earlier, they have an increasing salience as a potential reference point for
instimtion-building and constitution-building in the 2V century as the various forces of globalisation,
increasingly challenge the contemporary international order to develop more explicidy transnational
forms of governance at world regional and global level. Such developments, if and when they occur, in
principle are analysable as developments in the institutionalisation of "global citizenship", (or
"cosmopolitan democratic citizenship" as Held (1995) refers to it in a notable theoretical analysis), in
this sense of "universal citizenship".

The relevance of these observations for mega-event movements, particularly the Olympic Movement,
but also related international cultural movements like the E x p o or World's Fair movement from which
the Olympics emerged (MacAloon, 1981; Roche, 2000a), is that they have always tended to rationalise
their production of their events and event cycles in terms of their relevance for universal, individualistic
and humanistic values of a similar kind to those expressed in human rights codes. Mega-event
movements are thus, in principle normatively assessable and accountable in terms of the degree to which
they promote, or undermine, the maximal distribution and exercise of the human rights and thus of the
ideal "universal citizenship" they imply.

This involvement of mega-event movements with human rights ideals and with the idealisation of the
global governance of global citizenship has a general implication for them, together with a number more
specific implications. The general implication is that it is intelligible and legitimate to assess the
performance of, for instance, the Olympic Movement in relation to the promotion or violation of human
rights that it, or its various subsidir}' organisational partners - particularly the nations involved in hosting
its mega-events are responsible for. The Olympic Movement often likes to claim a traditional,
organisational and ideological "independence" and "self-government" vis--vis nation states. However this
does not in principle involve any kind of exemption (as it does not for member states of the UN) from
the requirement to honour the human rights ideals and thus to be answerable for the forms of universal
citizenship that it claims to promote.

3.2. The Olympic Movement and "global corporate citizenship":

The Olympic Truce project
In their "Olympic Truce", the contemporary Olympic Movement claims to offer both a rationale and,
through the organisation of its events, some definable periods of time, in terms of which nations which
are at war with other nations (or through versions of civil wars, at war with themselves), might agree to
suspend their hostilities at least temporarily. If anything might affirm the truly "civilising mission" of
the Olympic Movement in the midst of bloodthirsty modernity this would be it. Arguably if this project
ever creates any kind of a telling precedent and a routinely enacted constraint on organised human
aggression at the international level then it would have been worthwhile.

The historic precedent in the Western tradition for this idea of an Olympic Truce was the remarkable
effectiveness of the temporary truces in the Hellenic world, which were called throughout much of the
one thousand year history of the ancient Olympic Games. This is an undoubtedly impressive precedent
for the resuscitation of the idea in the context of the tradition of the Modern Olympics. However, from

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the First World War to the nuclear standoff of the Cold War and beyond, modernity has relendessly
developed the scientific and technological capacities and motivations to create death and destruction o n
a "total" scale in relation to nations, world regions and global human life as a whole. In the face of this
the modern Olympic Movement, for many generations, has been able to do little m o r e than allow the
international community, such as it was and is, to gather together to lick the wounds of two World
Wars (at the Olympics of Antwerp 1920 and London 1948) and to act as an arena in which the barely
suppressed violence of the Cold War "peace" between the so-called "Super-Powers" could be
symbolised and dramatised (Hill, 1992; Guttman, 1992; Roche, 2000). Why should things be any
different as we look into the cloudy and uncertain future of the 2 1 " century?

T h e course of international conflict in the contemporary period does not bode well. The USA and U K
were unwilling, in late 1998, to be influenced in their bombing of Iraq by the co-occurrence of the great
events in the calendar of world religions, namely Christmas, Ramadan and Hanukkah, and were
similarly unmoved by the occurrence of Ramadan in the 2001 Afghan war. In the face of contemporary
evidence like this from nations allegedly long committed to the Olympic Movement why should it be
assumed that m o d e r n nations are likely to have the slightest inclination to respect less established and
m o r e secular values and practices promulgated by modern Olympism?

T h e idea of a cessation of international conflict to observe the holding of modern Olympic Games is
not a long-established tradition, whatever its echoes of the achievements of Hellenic civilisation. It was
n o t seriously proposed by de Coubertin from the late 19th century through to the 1920s, and it was
evidendy not observed during the 1930s period in which the IOC sadly came under the baleful
influence of fascism. Indeed, the idea of an Olympic Truce did not come into focus as an explicit part
of Olympic international politics and diplomacy in connection with the United Nations until the 1990s.

T h e Olympic Movement and the United Nations have played something a parallel role in the
international sphere in the post-war and post-colonial period. New nations in particular have needed
b o t h political and cultural "international arenas" or public spheres in which to display themselves, be
recognised and be legitimated. Allowing for exaggeration there is some truth in the view that, albeit in
different ways and with different implications, nations could be said to have needed recognition by the
Olympic Movement particularly participation in the periodic ceremonies and sport of the Olympic
G a m e s events almost as much as they have needed recognition by and participation in the United
Nations organisation. However it is worth noting that the I O C , for much of the post-war period, had a
fraught and unfruitful relationship with the U N and its system of organisations. In the 1970s in
particular U N E S C O , under the influence of USSR and its Third World allies in Africa and elsewhere,
tried to take over the running of the Olympics, a move which was resisted by the then I O C President
Lord Killanin.

However the Olympic Truce project has been a notable part of the IOC's activities in recent years, and
this has been developed in cooperation with the U N . The idea of pursuing the project of Olympic
Truces without the support and participation of the United Nations organisation, with its vasdy greater
capacity to potentially broker, legitimate and enforce international peace arrangements, would, of
course have been entirely fanciful. The origins of this cooperation lie in the progressive and violent
disintegration of the former Yugoslavia into its ethnic and religious elements during the course of the
1990s.

Initially Croatia and Slovenia, and eventually Bosnia, sought independence and statehood, and were
forcefully opposed by Serbia, the dominant player in the former Yugoslav state. In 1991, the U N
Security Council declared a policy of international sanctions against Serbia/Yugoslavia to attempt to
constrain its aggression. In 1992 "sport" was included in these sanctions in U N resolution 757. This
came on the eve of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in which the de facto Serbian state had managed to
gain entry under the banner of 'Yugoslavia". This was a potential embarrassment for the I O C as it
could have been construed as a breach of the U N sanctions policy. The IOC appealed to U N and got

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an agreement that while Serbia/Yugoslavia should not be permitted to compete nonetheless individual
Serbians/Yugoslavs could compete under the Olympic flag, and also that Bosnia could compete as a
nation. T h e potential for cooperation between the I O C and UN, which has begun to be explored more
generally in recent years, was given a notable boost by understandings reached on these diplomatic
problems of the Barcelona Olympics in the early 1990s.

In 1993, the general concept of a periodic voluntary Olympic Truce was developed by the Association
of N O C s and presented to UN Secretary General by the IOC. The I O C requested that it be put to the
General Assembly for support along with a proposal to declare 1994 the "International Year of Sport
and of the Olympic ideal". The Secretary General agreed, providing the request could be shown to have
the prior backing of a reasonable number of states. The I O C lobbied U N member states to achieve this
and the Olympic Truce proposal received unanimous support from the General Assembly when it was
presented to them. The violence continued in the Balkans in 1994, with Serbia laying siege to the city of
Sarajevo, the city, which had hosted the Winter Olympics of 1984. 1994 was the year of the
Lillehammer Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics to be run in a different year from the
Summer Olympics on the new quadrennial cycle (Klausen, ed., 1999). With U N support the then I O C
President Samaranch visited Sarajevo and a temporr)' cessation of violence occurred.

In 1995, during the 50th anniversary of U N , the IOC President addressed the U N General Assembly to
ask for their voluntary support for the Olympic Truce during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. This
was agreed. In addition he proposed that, as a matter of its regular business cycle, the U N should
automatically be asked to consider the Olympic Truce every two years, prior to each Winter and
Summer Games, and to reaffirm it in relation to these events. This also was agreed. As a result of this,
and as part of its regular agenda, the U N reviewed the Olympic Truce in 1997 and reaffirmed it in
relation to the upcoming Nagano Winter Olympics of 1998. It also reviewed the Truce in 1999 and
reaffirmed it in relation to the Sydney Summer Olympics of 2000. Given the success of the Sydney
Games, not least in restoring some of the damage to its reputation that the Olympic Movement had
received since (at least) 1999, and given also that Greece had been chosen to host the 2004 Summer
Olympics the I O C reanimated the Olympic Truce project in a more ambitious way in 2000. It formed
an International Truce Foundation, with a centre based in Athens. O n e of the activities of the
Foundation is to assist the Athens organising committee to upgrade the Olympic Torch relay into a
global peace ritual in by organising the passage of the torch through active war zones around world in
the run-up to the 2004 Games. It will be important to monitor and assess this innovative initiative.

In the Olympic Truce project there is some substantial evidence of a new and potentially positive level
of cooperation between the Olympic Movement and the United Nations. The IOC's interest in this
cooperation, n o doubt at least includes the practical desire to reduce the risk of disruption to its Games
events from international conflict. In addition the I O C could be said to need some such connection to
the U N to add some diplomatic weight and international legitimacy to the aspirations and rhetoric of its
ideology. O n the UN's side, its interest in its current degree of cooperation with the Olympic
Movement is not clear. It may be that the UN takes the view that, in the post-Communist world of
relatively small-scale and localised international conflicts and wars, temporar} 7 cessations of violence, of
the kind called for by the Olympic Truce project, are more realistic and stand a greater chance of being
taken seriously and being effective than they could ever have done in the Cold-War era. Also it may be
that the U N sees its image in international public opinion and the media as being both abstract and
negative. That is the U N may take the view that, as an organisation, it is seen as a distant and
formalistic body with little contact with ordinary people around the world, outside of the negative
experiences of such things as wars and disasters. Thus the U N may feel that, in terms of its public
relations, it could benefit from allying itself with the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement,
which, at least until recently has been popularly perceived as being one of the most charismatic and
idealist of the movements of 20' century international culture and civil society, a movement which is
associated, via the global popularity of sport culture, with largely positive feelings and experiences

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among the international public and media. Relatedly perhaps the UN feels that by associating itself with
the Olympic Movement's commitment to sport culture and its global event cycle, it can thereby help to
contribute a more cultural, active and engaged character to the practice of peaceful internationalism,
than it could do in isolation.

Whatever the interests and potential benefits involved for each side in the I O C / U N cooperation o n the
Olympic Truce project there are evidently also risks attached for each organisation. O n the U N side
there are risks in being associated with an organisation, which is as committed to commercialism, and
thus to global capitalism and the consumer culture, as the Olympic Movement currently is. This is not
least because of the possible damage to the reputation and status of the Olympic Movement's idealism
- which may derive generally from its commercialism and more particularly from the problems of
bribery and corruption problems associated with this which surfaced in the 1999/2000 crisis period
damage might be passed on to the U N by association. O n the side of the Olympic Movement there are
risks in being associated with an organisation which - particularly in the Cold War era, but also
subsequently has all too often proved to be ineffective in promoting international peace and justice,
and, as yet has not given much of a lead in the construction of the new system of global governance the
world needs as we enter the 21 bt century. In addition, if the Olympic Truce is regularly ignored or
broken, the Olympic Movement runs the risk of a loss of credibility and the very cause of peacemaking
itself may be damaged. While in principle the Truce effort is worth the risk, in practice the challenge for
the I O C currently is to rebuild the international credibility, trust and legitimacy which is necessary in
order to have a hope of carrying the effort through effectively.

4. Conclusion

In this paper I have taken the position that the development of a global level of social organisation
through processes of globalisation is one of the dominant sociological realities and political challenge of
our times and of the 21 s t century, just as the development of the nation-state level was the dominant
reality for much of the 19th and 20 th centuries. In earlier periods the social role of the Olympic Games
events, of the Olympic event cycle and of the movement which organises them needed to be
understood in relation to, among other things, the sociology and politics of nations, particularly the
nation-building of host nations, and the national recognition motivations of participant nations.
Comparably in the contemporary period the social roles, and thus the potential social legacies, of the
Olympics, need to be seen - in addition to their national implications for nation-states - in relation to
the contemporary realities of globalisation and global society-building and governance-building. This
paper has interpreted the general notion of Olympic "social legacy" in this sense. This involves an
approach to the idea of "legacy" which is future-oriented as well as past-oriented, and which attempts
to recognise the adaptive potential as well as the tradition-conserving potential of the Olympic
Movement.

O n this basis the paper aimed to briefly review and reflect upon two relatively recent late 20 century
aspects of the Olympics which are relevant to contemporary globalisation and global society-building,
namely the Olympics as a globally mediated event since the 1980s and also the Olympic Truce project
since the 1990s. The potential legacy of the former is the contribution it can make to the realisation of
" o n e world" awareness through the periodic convening of large sections of the world's population in a
single common communal cultural activity, namely games in the square of "the global village". T h e
potential legacv of the latter is the contribution it can make to global peace, good governance and
human rights (not least the right to life) in global civil society.

T w o frameworks were briefly outlined for understanding contemporary globalisation processes and for
discussing these legacies, namely perspectives, which conceptualised globalisation in "basic" and
"complex" terms. These were firstly applied in discussions of the Olympic Games as simultaneously a
global media event and also a "glocalised" urban event. Here the contribution of the Olympics to

302
producing, sustaining and symbolising c o m m o n social time and social space aspects of global culture
was considered. The Olympics Movement in a global context was then considered in relation ideals of
global citizenship with particular reference to the Olympic Truce project.

These discussions suggested that the social significance and role in global society of the Olympic
Games, both as a mass mega-event phenomenon and as an international movement, is better seen in
terms of the complex rather than the basic globalisation perspectives. That is the Olympics are best
seen, albeit against a background of basic globalisation processes, in terms of more complex
globalisation processes of collective agency and differentiation, particularly time and space
differentiation (as against simplistic time-space compression assumptions), and particularly through the
agency, individual and collective, of Olympic media audiences, host cities and the movement itself as a
corporate political actor (as against simplistic deterministic assumptions).

The discussion of Olympic TV emphasised the continuing importance of the differentiating factors of
nationalism and world regional inequalities in characterising Olympic Games events and their global
mdiatisation. This provides support for the complex as opposed to basic perspective on globalisation.
Consistent with this we have observed the complexity of the nature of "presence" at mediatised sport
mega-events and also the general complexity of time-marking and history-making they can be said to
involve. Together these observations suggest that a more nuanced view needs to be taken of the general
phenomena of "time-space" compression in what we assume to be "the global village" in the
contemporary period, and also of the particular version of this time-space compression which we may
assume characterises people's world-wide involvement in Olympic events, these transitory games in the
"global village square".

The discussion of the Olympic Truce project indicated that this important recent innovation is both
consistent with long-standing Olympic Movement internationalist and universalist ideals, and also that
it is in principle relevant to the cultural needs and governance requirements of contemporary global
civil society. However the discussion also indicated the fragility, uncertainties and risks currently
surrounding this project both for the Olympic Movement and the U N . These are due to the
contemporary potentials for inter and intra-national military conflict, the general weakness of global
governance mechanisms, and thus the potential credibility gap between the truce ideal and political
realities. However in my view any significant degree of success in this project, and also with the
Olympic Solidarity programme, in the coming decades would be important social legacies of the
Olympic Movement and contributions from it towards the development of global society in the 2V
century.

Beyond these potentially practical socio-political legacies and their implications for "Olympic legacy
policy" it can be suggested that the Olympics have the potential to contribute what we can refer to as a
more theoretical and experiential "meta-legacy" to contemporary global society. This relates to its
contribution to the cultural marking and historical memorialisation of sub-national, national, and world
regional collectivities in our period. O n e of the main contributions that Olympic Games events and
their calendar can make to global culture is a sharable experience of temporal depth, distance and
continuity. In this sense, then, their "legacy" or "meta-legacy" can be argued to be their successful and
popular dramatisation and communication - as against the short-termism and temporal depthlessnes of
so much of modern culture - of the very idea of legacy itself as a comprehensible and credible ideal and
form of experience in global culture. From an "Olympic legacy policy" perspective, our discussion
suggests that an important part of the policy and related research agenda should be to consider how
best to maintain this "special memorability" of Olympic events. We need to review and renew the
general global cultural perception and standing of Games events. In terms of research this suggests the
need for large-scale, internationally coordinated and world-regionally organised comparative Olympic
event media studies of production, content and consumption dimensions. In terms of policy
developments it suggests, for instance, that the world regional principle might be emphasised more. For

303
instance the I O C might make a more explicit commitment to continental rotation of the Games host
city and perhaps include this principle in the bidding process itself, where candidate cities might be
identified and assessed as continental representatives.

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 Communication Papers

Political, Cultural, Social and C o m m u n i c a t i o n

Legacies of the Olympic Games

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308
 T h e Legacy of M u n i c h 1972
Terrorism, Security and the Olympic Games

R o b e r t C. Cottrell
California State University
USA

In April 1966, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 1972 Summer Games to
Munich, Augsburg and Kiel. Willie Daume, who headed the German Olympic committee, saw the
holding of the Olympics in Munich as "the world's gift of renewed trust in Germany". The Munich
Games were intended, Newsweek noted, to be "the Olympics of openness, friendship and serenity, of
the new German image". A prosperous, democratic German Federal Republic was to be showcased.

A recent issue of Sports Illustrated recalled the tragic events that unfolded in early September 1972, which
a 39-year-old police psychologist, Dr. Georg Sieber, had foreseen, along with other untoward scenarios
that might occur at the Munich Olympics. Examining the operations of the Irish Republican Army, the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation, the Basque separatist Liberty and Homeland (ETA) and the
Baader-Meinhof Gang, Sieber considered various scenarios that could unfold. These involved
"kidnappers and hostages, super-power patrons and smuggled arms, hijacked jets and remote-
controlled bombs". Sieber pointed to attacks on the Olympic Village, but also the deliberate crashing of
a plane into a packed stadium and the grabbing of Israelis by armed Palestinians.

However, organisers of the Munich Olympics hoped for "the Carefree Games", without the presence
of barbed wire, armed police or soldiers. Early efforts to hold journalists at bay had resulted in charges
of Gestapo tactics. Eventually, even nighttime patrols were scaled back. Security costs amounted to less
than USD 2 million. One American security consultant later declared "Over the years Munich has
served as a model of what not to do in every conceivable way".

The Games themselves offered some of the modern Olympic Movement's brightest athletic
movements including the performances of American swimmer Mark Spitz, Soviet gymnast Olga
Korbut and Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson. But on the morning of September 5, eight Palestinians,
members of the PLO's Black September operation, attacked the apartments in the Olympic Village
housing Israeli wrestlers and coaches. The guerrillas killed two Israelis and took nine others hostage,
demanding that 234 Palestinians be released from Israeli jails, along with a pair of German terrorists,
Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, from German prisons. There followed a bungled rescue attempt
at a German airport, where all the hostages and a policeman were killed, along with three terrorists.

Newsweek charged that "the selection of the Olympics as the site for murder added an especially harsh
dimension to the commandos' barbaric act". It violated the ancient guarantee of "safe passage through
the lines to all athletes". Sports Illustrated cried out that "the outrage could scarcely have been greater or
the grief deeper", thereby "only partially suggesting) the sway the Olympic Games hold on men's
minds". And yet, "the awful events cast their shadow across sport".

T h e IOC's executive board, following a contentious gathering, agreed that cancelling the games would
amount to "a surrender to terrorism". O n the morning of September 6, I O C president Avery
Brundage, declared "The Games must go on."

An incredulous Jim Murray, sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, exploded in print: "Incredibly,
they're going to go on with it. It's almost like having a dance at Dachau? ... The Games should not be
covered from the press box, they should be covered from the war room".

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U.S. News and World Report asserted that "what happened in Munich has raised grave doubts about the
future of the Olympic Games", intended as an "international festival of peace and friendship". T h e
murder of the Israeli athletes and coaches, the publication continued, had induced fears "about the
safety of competitors, officials even spectators in Olympics to come".

As the 1976 Winter Games readied to begin in Innsbruck, U.S. News and World Report acknowledged
terrorism remained "relatively new but a grave and feared to be growing - danger". Officials for both
that year's Winter and Summer Games - the latter scheduled for Montreal were "taking elaborate
precautions" to avoid another terrorist strike. Consequently, "more police and security guards" than
athletes were present in Innsbruck. Over 2,000 police, well-trained for the event, had arrived from
across Austria, while 3,000 soldiers were on stand-on. The competitors were to temporarily reside in an
area "surrounded by fences equipped with electric sensors to detect intruders, and ... brightly lit".

The 1908 Olympic Games in London, the New York Times Magazine reminded its readers, had required
less than USD 5,000 to pay for "equipment, poce supervision and messengers". The impending
Summer Games in Montreal demanded "the most expensive security operation in history", at a cost of
USD 100 million. T h e Canadian armed forces delivered 5,650 combat troops and had ready an
additional 3,350 soldiers. Altogether, 16,000 policeman and soldiers prepared to shield 12,000 athletes
at the Montreal Games. The Olympic Village in Montreal, in contrast to the sprawling one in Munich,
was compact, while the 19 story structure had been designed to afford greater security. The competitors
were driven to the village on buses, each containing an armed soldier, passing through a 10-foot high
wire fence. As the New York Times Magazine noted, "a fortune in electronic listening and viewing devices
(had) been secreted throughout the complex". Soldier sporting semi-automatic rifles stood outside the
apartments that housed the athletes. Helipads were close by, in case reinforcements had to be quickly
shunted in, while bodyguards and intelligence officers watched over dignitaries like Queen Elizabeth.

The 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, N e w York, boasted an Olympic Village that was located
several miles outside Lake Placid and was ringed by a double fence containing only a pair of heavily
guarded entrances. Passes were required for entry. Following the setting of a group of small fires at a
hotel where members of the I O C were staying, security at that establishment was intensified. 1,200
security forces, including 800 state policemen, private guards, and 100s of agents from the FBI, Secret
Service, and Immigration and Naturalization Service, were on hand, having received special training to
ward off terrorist attacks.

The Summer Games in Moscow saw nearly a quarter of a million Soviet soldiers patrol the streets,
positioned "shoulder to shoulder at each event". U.S. News and World Report declared that "thousands of
men in uniform are on the march almost everywhere. Highway sections are guarded by groups of
soldiers. In each block on main streets, sentries scan passing cars and pedestrians. Military trucks
rumble by, ferrying soldiers to and from lookout duty at Olympic installations." The Olympic Village
itself, the magazine declared, is surrounded by barbwire and looks more heavily guarded than the
Kremlin or Lubyanka Prison. ... Electronic 'seeing eyes' watch each gate, while plainclothes police with
radios keep tabs o n visitors inside. Hotels and other buildings that foreigners are likely to visit are
heavily guarded, too. Most are equipped with U.S.-made electronic scanners to detect concealed
weapons. Entry7 to larger hotels requires an Olympic pass.

O n c e again, it was reported that this latest Olympic Games would witness "the largest security force
ever to patrol" a sporting event. Police patrolled with attack dogs, while soldiers, displaying AK-47s,
coursed through the Olympic Village.

The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee determinedly safeguarded the Olympic Villages,
employing "three concentric rings of eight-foot-high mesh fence" and "intrusion-detection devices,
installed by the Pentagon". Before the start of the 1984 Summer Games, an "Olympic-security
coordinating system" conducted "dry runs" involving terrorists and a bomb threat. Altogether, "at least

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50 local, state and federal" organisations, along with nine private security companies, provided security
for the Games with a "Pentagon-designed nerve centre (operating) round the clock". William
Rathburn, who headed the Los Angeles Police Department's operation, reported, "We will be on the
ground, in the air - everywhere". Security was offered for "40 training sites, 29 event sites and three
Olympic Villages" spread "over more than 4,500 square miles". 16,000 armed policemen, assisted by
half that number of unarmed private security guards, patrolled the Olympic grounds. They checked the
Olympic Villages, Olympic sites, hotel lobbies, warehouses and shipping docks of food caterers. The
FBI augmented its local forces and had ready "its newly formed 50-member hostage-rescue team".
Helping out too were the California Highway Patrol, Secret Service agents, and bodyguards sent by the
Office of Security of the U.S. State Department. The U.S. Customs Service strengthened its operations
at Los Angeles International Airport, while eight federal magistrates were prepared to deliver "instant
search warrants and ... wiretaps".

Before the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, the U.S. News and World Report warned that "this premier
sports festival" afforded "a target of opportunity" for "the terrorist underworld". Major General Yook
Wan Sik, who headed security operations, acknowledged that his job was "very much like preparing for
war". Unit 868 of the South Korean National Police had trained for "nine hours a day, six days a week
for the past six years" in "counterterror operations". The polices appeared "Olympic class at
sharpshooting and the more deadly martial arts". T o protect 300 Olympic-related sites, "a specially
trained force of 120,000 Korean police and military personnel" stood ready. The South Korean
government placed its full 600,000 person army on full alert throughout the Games, while 42,000
American soldiers were ready to be called on as well.

Concerns about possible actions by N o r t h Korea led to the placement of 24 American F-18 fighters in
Japan, the situating of a U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier task force offshore and reliance on radar from
AWACS aircraft. Analysts in the West worried that N o r t h Korea might trigger "a terrorist incident",
such as attacking an airplane headed for Seoul or detonating a b o m b in the capital city South Korea,
prior to the opening of the Games. Additional fears were expressed about a possible strike by members
of the Japanese Red Army, Middle Eastern terrorists, Basque separatists or the Irish Republican Armv.

South Korea, U.S. News and World Report declared, was employing "state-of-the-art technology" to
prevent terrorism. Athletes will carry identity cards with coded magnetic strips that will be checked by
sensors at event sites. Other weapons detectors and motion scanners will be employed at Games
venues. Food and mail will be checked before they enter the athletes' village. And there will be no
shortage of such old-fashioned technology as triple-strand barbed wire, attack dogs and gimlet-eyed
guards. Yet again, the host country insisted that "the tightest security network in Olympic history"
would be in place.

The New York Times referred to "the three desolate miles of Mediterranean coastline next to the
Olympic Village" in Barcelona as "a security officer's nightmare". City officials and the Barcelona
Olympic Organizing Committee strove to avoid the possibility of a terrorist incident. The Spanish
government recognised that ETA had conducted terrorist strikes over the course of the previous
twenty years. Consequently, Spanish and French forces united to dismande ETA's leadership,
discovering in the process "that plans to disrupt the Olympics had already been disseminated
throughout the organisation". El Grapo and Terra Uiure posed threats too, having set off bombs around
the city prior to the Games. T o prevent a repeat of the nightmare in Munich, "a squadron of 45,000
military and security forces", a quarter of which had counterterrorism training, were turned to. Prior to
the opening of the Games, a pair of bombs exploded in a gas pipeline outside the city, but the Games
themselves experienced no major security problems.

As the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta approached, a spate of terrorist strikes in the United States
heightened concerns about security; officials were fearful too about "Adanta's street gangs, who (were)
considered capable of almost anything". Newsweek reported that a "30,000-strong security contingent ...

311
rehearsed for threats u p to and including a nuclear attack using stolen reactor fuel". Also present were
11,000 National Guard and regular military forces; among those soldiers were "more than 500 Delta
Force and SEAL-Team six commandos, airmen for the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation
Regiment, and specially trained U.S. Army Rangers" to assist Atlanta police or the FBI's Hostage
Rescue Team. Civilian-clad armed commandos coursed through Olympic sites. The Army sent experts
capable of dismantling b o m b s , along with specialists in chemical or biological weapons and scientists
who could "deal with atomic terror". Outside all venues were stationed metal-detection devices, while
"a sophisticated security system match(ed) live handprints to a chip on your I D badge". T h e Olympic
Village, Time indicated, was "a virtual fortress on city streets, manhole covers ha(d) been welded down
to prevent anyone from getting access to power lines". Once again, authorities believed they had striven
"to ensure that these would be the safest Olympic games in history". The cost of the enterprise
surpassed the USD 300 million mark.

In spite of the elaborate precautions, however, a man packing a 45-calibre handgun marched into the
opening ceremonies. A n d most striking of all, someone triggered an unsophisticated pipe b o m b ,
packing nails and screws, that exploded in Centennial Park at 1:21 a.m. on Saturday morning, killing
one woman and wounding 111 others. Eventually, this "evil act of terrorism", as U.S. President Bill
Clinton called it, was attributed to a home-grown right-wing extremist, Eric Robert Randolph. O n e
visitor from San Antonio resignedly stated, "These things happen. I guess it's the way of the world
now". Director general of the I O C , Franois Carrard, asserted, "The Games will go on".

Those words, U.S. News and World Report suggested, contained "an air of banked hope, of hollowness."
The b o m b appeared "a totem, a dark reminder of a kind of hatred so futile and unfocused that its
possessor cares little or not at all about the identities of its victims". Its legacy would be lengthy, the
magazine offered: " W e will also have the sinister satchel, the damaged bodies in the dark, the tearful
moment of silence, the half-staff flags for the duration of the games".

Frank Deford suggested that "by now a cowardly attack on the Olympics seemed almost inevitable to
us who have learned that planes can fall in little pieces from the sky". H e concluded: "People will surely
say now: this tragedy only reminds us how unimportant sports really are. O n the contrary. Sports are
the lingua franca of the world, so very important in bringing us together. And that only means all the
more to those who are bent on blowing us apart".

Well before the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Bruce Hoffman, a scholar of terrorism and violence,
warned that even Australia's stringent immigration measures and geographical isolation did not shield it
from possible terrorism. As he put it, "there's no way any country anywhere in the world can
hermetically seal itself off from a terrorist threat". The importance of maritime transport for the Sydney
Games, he declared, "could provide an attraction for terrorists" and compel them to "change their
previous patterns of operation". T o Hoffman, the greatest potential threat came from such separatist
groups as the Spanish E T A or the Indian Kaslimirs, which might seek to call attention to their cause.
That had proved to be the case with the P L O , Hoffman recalled.

The 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, which followed on the heels of the September 11 horrors,
were preceded by grave concerns about another terrorist strike. One state Health Department official
worried that "every Olympics event is a potential target of bio terrorism". More than USD 300 million
were spent for security purposes, while a no-fly zone covering a 45-mile radius of Salt Lake City was
put into effect.

The Greek government, looking ahead to the 2004 Games in Athens, targeted members of the
November 17 terrorist group, while acknowledging the necessity to safeguard ports and borders. An
Israeli expert on counterrorism warned, "It's so much easier to bounce from the Middle East to a
barren island in Greece and then make your way to Athens than to travel halfway around the globe to
prepare for an attack in Sydney".

312
Premier Costas Simitis informed his cabinet that Greece "will do the u p m o s t " to ensure security at the
Olympic Games. Greek officials worked with American, British, Australian, French, German, Israeli,
and Spanish security agencies to devise security plans estimated to cost U S D 600 million. But concerns
about possible terrorist strikes loomed large, with al-Queda considered a particularly grave threat.
Georg Sieber, for his part, pointed to another possibility. " E T A is very patient. They pick out a man
they want to kill. They send one of their operatives, disguised as a worker, to the construction site for
his new home and plant a bomb. For several years they do nothing. Then one morning, perhaps after
he is married, with a family, they detonate it by radio. H e finds himself up in the sky".

Recently, Alexander Wolff of Sports Illustrated suggested that a repeat of a Munich-styled attack was not
likely to occur. "In the cat-and-mouse world of terrorism and counterrorism, the bad guys strive for
audacity, as only the unthinkable will both confound security planners and achieve what terrorists truly
hope for, which is to galvanise the attention of the world. So organisers think and think, to close that
window of vulnerability."

Still, as an Israeli member of the I O C admitted, "You can't prepare for everything".

313
 Securing Sustainable Legacies
Through Cultural Programming in Sporting Events

Beatriz G a r c i a
Research Fellow
Centre for Cultural Policy Research
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

After the end of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the city of Salt Lake faces the difficult challenge to
keep its status as a world city, an attractive destination for tourists and an active, promising place for
the locals Salt Lake has received international acclaim for the ability to stage a very successful edition
of the Games This success has particular merit considering the difficult political circumstances leading
up to and surrounding the Olympic period However, such a valuable achievement is no guarantee of a
provision of legacies beneficial for the host citizens and regional neighbours in the long-term This
paper argues that a way to ensure the sustainability of hosting major sporting events is to ground them
o n cultural elements that are representative and distinctive of the host community The argument is
based on the research undertaken by Garcia (2001) to support the claim that the marketing of sports
events can be maximised through cultural and arts extensions The paper is also a complement to
claims by Hall (2002 in press) that the success of great sports events should not be measured solely in
economic terms but also considering its social impacts at length The Olympic Games are seen as an
event with great potential for social and cultural legacies thanks to its being rooted on an idiosyncratic
tradition of symbols and rimais Nevertheless, this symbology has been often transferred from one
host-city to the next without major attention being paid to the particular character of the place, or by
constraining any sense of locality into token gestures A commitment towards framing sporting
excellence and Olympic symbols within cultural expressions that are truly owned by the locals would
provide better grounds for the long-term sustainability of the experience Furthermore, it would allow
for a stronger sense that hosting the event benefited not only private corporations and public investors
but also the local communities at large

1 Introduction

Salt Lake City has received international acclaim for the ability to stage a very successful edition of the
Olympic Winter Games in year 2002 This success has particular merit considering the difficult political
circumstances leading to and surrounding the Olympic period, in particular, the high security alert
established throughout the US after September 11 T o their credit, the Winter Games organisers were
able to gather an unprecedented contingent of security forces without affecting the festive atmosphere
of the Games Furthermore, the emphasis put in securing the transparency and accountability of the
event management assisted eliminating the dark traces left by the major scandals subsequent to their
winning the bid that resulted in an unprecedented "Olympic crisis" between 1998 and 1999

However, such a valuable achievement is no guarantee of a provision of legacies beneficial for the host
citizens and regional neighbours in the long-term After the end of the Games, the city of Salt Lake
faces the difficult challenge to maintain its status as a world city, an attractive destination for tourists
and an active, promising place for the local inhabitants Regardless of claims by the local authorities
that the level of activity surrounding the sporting competitions - from street entertainment to shopping
facilities - surpassed any prior festival initiative in the Utah capital and the State at large, an important
question arises: will Salt Lake city be able to sustain the hype? Were the two Olympic weeks in February

314
representative of the existing and potential ways of life in the area? Did the experience bring any lesson
worth sustaining? And in case it was worth, has any mechanism been established to secure its
sustainability?

2. Purpose and background

This paper argues that a way of ensuring the sustainability of hosting major sporting events is to ground
them on cultural elements that are representative and distinctive of the host community. The argument
is based on the research undertaken by Garcia (2001) to support the claim that the marketing of sports
events can be maximised through cultural and arts extensions.

From a marketing perspective, understanding sports events as moments of symbolic significance that
are affected by cultural contexts and values, opens new doors for event promotions. More specifically,
it suggests that the appreciation of sports events can be enhanced through the implementation of
activities that can increase social interaction, personal identification or subjective valuations. (...) Arts
and cultural programs can adopt such a role and be a key enhancer of the sports event experience.
Subsequendy, it is argued that arts and culture can play a relevant part in the event marketing strategy.
Under this premise, this paper has the purpose to assist sport marketers to identify which elements
should be sustained, modified or eliminated to maximise the benefits that cultural programming can
bring within sports promotions (Garcia 2001, p. 194).

The paper is also a complement to claims by Hall (2002, in press) that the success of great sports events
should not be measured solely in economic terms but also considering its social impacts at length.

O n e of the primary justifications for the redevelopment of inner city areas for sports and events is the
perceived economic benefits of tourism (for example Hall, 1992; Law 1993; Page, 1995). For example, in
Australia the 1986/87 America's Cup Defence was used to develop Fremande, a Commonwealth Games
bid from Victoria was used as a justification for the further redevelopment of the Melbourne Docklands,
while Sydney is utilising the 2000 Olympic Games to the same effect (Hall, 1998a). However, such
redevelopments are not without their social and economic costs (Olds, 1998). As Essex and Chalkley
(1998, p. 195) cautioned with respect to the Atlanta Olympics experience, "As a result of the traffic
congestion, administrative problems, security breaches and over-commercialization, Atlanta did not
receive the kind of media attention it would ideally have liked. Its experience highlights the dangers as
well as the benefits of being under the international Olympic spotlight" (Hall, 2002, in press).

A common problem in the existing literature, including a high percentage of the evaluation reports
following the staging of major sporting events such as the Olympic Games, is the emphasis put on
measuring short to medium-term economic impacts (see McKay & Plumb, 2001; PriceWaterhouse
Coopers, 2002). This suggests that there may be a shortage of social and cultural assessment of major
events. Indeed, the challenge here is the intangible nature of purely social and cultural impacts and the
consequent difficulty to provide quantitative measurements on their evolution and sustainability.
However, any attempt to understand the true legacies of staging an event of the size and complexity of
the Olympics must consider these implicit or intangible aspects. This is because, beyond the financial
gain of investors and other key stakeholders, and beyond the notions of success celebrated by the
media, one of the most relevant proofs of the event's ability to leave meaningful legacies is its effect on
the psyche of the host population (see Cashman, 1999; Klausen, 1999). As Cashman argues, "implicit in
the bid to win the right to stage the Games are many untested and even vague statements about how
the staging of the Games may bring long-term benefit to a city and a country. Given that the local
community invests so much in the Games, it is important that the wider benefits of legacy should be
canvassed and articulated. T o o often costs and benefits narrowly focus solely on economics. However,
legacy involves casting the gaze wider to poetry and arts, architecture, the environment, information
and many other non-tangible factors" (Cashman, 1999, p. 192).

315
The Olympic Games offer a particularly relevant ground for exploring the broad social and cultural
legacies of hosting an event. It is commonly argued that the event stands out as a unique experience for
participants, spectators, organisers and hosts at large. This cannot be explained merely on the basis of
the excellence of the sporting competitions, but more importandy because of its being rooted in an
idiosyncratic tradition of symbols and rituals under the auspices of the Olympic Movement. The torch
relay, Opening and Closing ceremonies are used a catalyst to portray the host city a n d / o r nation, and to
celebrate or stage - fundamental Olympic principles such as peace, youth and world understanding
(see MacAloon, 1984 & 1996; Moragas, 1992). Furthermore, the strong values associated with the
Olympic flag, the anthem and other pageantry elements make it impossible to confuse the Olympics
with any other event and add to it a very potent emotional dimension that has been able to survive
more than a century.

Proof of the significance of these distinctive symbols and rituals is found in the growing trend towards
incorporating similar elements within other major sporting events. The Commonwealth Games are
preceded by a "Baton Relay" and framed by an Opening and Closing ceremony incorporating parades,
oaths, hymns and the arrival of the Baton in an almost identical fashion to the Olympics. Also, notably,
the Football World Cup is paying progressively more attention to its ceremonial aspects as it was
spectacularly demonstrated by Japan and Korea in the Cup's latest edition. A similar trend is to be
found in smaller scale sports events such as the European Championships.

However, despite the visibility and recognised impacts of the Olympic symbology on host communities
and event viewers, a c o m m o n limitation in terms of sustained legacy is that it has often been
transferred from one host-city to the next without major attention being paid to the particular character
of the place. Even when the intention has been to portray the host values, it can be argued that often
these portrays have constrained any sense of locality into token gestures (Garcia & Miah, 2000;
Tomlinson, 1996). This is pardy because key elements such as Opening and Closing ceremonies have
become gigantic - and highly lucrative - television shows and, accordingly, they have undergone an
adaptation into increasingly demanding media requirements (MacAloon, 1996; Moragas, Larson &
Rivenburgh, 1995). This has resulted in tight time schedules and the need to simplify messages to
accommodate the needs of international broadcasters.

In this context, an area offering further opportunities for securing social legacies is that of cultural and
educational programming. The tradition of a Cultural Olympiad lasting four years in the lead up to each
Games edition and the development of Olympic Education programmes taking place throughout the
host country offers a greater flexibility of action than other Olympic rituals. The staging of Olympic-
related activities over longer periods of time and over wider geographical locations allow for the
inclusion of a diversity of activities and initiatives that have the potential to secure a stronger sense of
ownership among the host population.

This paper uses the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games as a case study to offer evidence of the
many potentials for long-term legacies through cultural programming in the lead up and alongside a
major sporting event.

3. Case study

Following the tradition started in Barcelona'92, the organisers of the Sydney Games produced a four-
year cultural programme or Cultural Olympiad linking the end of the Adanta Games with the start of
the sporting competitions in year 2000. Sydney's Cultural Olympiad took the form of four different
Olympic Arts Festivals and its mission statement has been described as follows:

" A m o n g the primary objectives of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival was to give
expression to Australia's place in the world as it approached the 21 s t century. It sought to define
w h o Australians are and to showcase the physical qualities of the Australian environment and

316
 its profound influence on our culture and the arts. It presented Australia's artistic and cultural
achievements in a program that highlighted their excellence and uniqueness; celebrated
Australia's indigenous heritage and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture,
as well as Australia's modern-day multicultural diversity. The Sydney 2000 Games thus
supported the vision of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who saw the Olympic Games as a true
celebration of both sport and culture" (SOCOG & OCA, 2002, p. 1).

Further to the above, the promotional brochures distributed in the lead-up and during Games time
emphasised that the Arts Festivals were to "demonstrate the best of the arts in Australia and the
Oceanic region to ourselves and the rest of the world and to leave a legacy of awareness of the wealth
of talent we possess" (SOCOG, 1997- 2000, emphasis added). Table 1 summarises the main features of
each Olympic Arts Festival.

Table 1
Main features of the Sydney Olympic Arts Festivals (1997-2000)

Year, n a m e ,
length and T h e m e / mission Objectives Programme
location
1997 Celebration of the General: expand a greater 30 exhibitions, 14 dance & theatre
world's indigenous awareness and appreciation of productions, 8 performance
T h e Festival of
cultures, especially Australian indigenous heritage. troupes, 50 films, 1 literature
the Dreaming
those of Australian programme, 3 concerts and special
Specific: ensure indigenous
September to Aborigines and commissions involving overseas
authorship and control of the
October Torres Strait indigenous artists. Every state and
work presented.
Islanders. territory of Australia was
Sydney
represented.
1998 A "snapshot" of General: create a time-capsule 92 presenting companies and 122
Australia's diverse of Australian culture in the end dance, theatre, visual arts, literary,
A Sea Change
migrant cultures. of the Millennium for music and education events.
J u n e to O c t o b e r generations to come
Highlights: lighthouse and harbour
An exploration of the
Every Australian Help people across the nation concerts; touring exhibition
State and country cultural
learn more about the arts in "Sculpture by the Sea".
Territory "transformations".
their country and demonstrate Publication: "Anthology of
the importance of its geographic Australian writing & photography".
and cultural diversity.
1999 Events by Australian General: bring Australian arts 70 events travelling to 50 countries
companies and artists and culture to the international and 150 cities or towns throughout
Reaching the
touring to countries stages. the 5 continents, including dance,
World
in each of the five music, theatre, visual arts, literature,
Specific: establish collaborations
November 1998 regions represented films, architecture and design.
with foreign governments and
to January 2000 by the Olympic
arts organisations. Publication: "Australia on Show",
symbol.
5 continents guide to Australian Art
Broadcasting.
2000 Culmination of the General: define the finest 75 day-event focused in the Sydney
Olympic Arts Olympiad, "a festival elements of Australian culture; Harbour and Opera House: opera,
Festival on a scale to match present works on grand scale, theatre, dance and classical
the grandeur of the unlikely to be seen again in a concerts; 30 visual arts exhibitions
August - October Games". lifetime; establish artistic in key galleries and museums.
Sydney legacies.

Source: Garcia, 2001, p. 202

317
An important difference between the Arts Festivals and other popular Olympic activities such as the
festivities surrounding the Torch Relay and the free street entertainment provided at Games time -
"LiveSites" - was the expressed attempt to support and showcase work that was representative of the
many different cultural groups in Australia. This was the main priority of the festivals in 1997 and 1998,
which resulted in "the first contemporary indigenous festival of its size and kind in Australia" ( S O C O G
& O C A , 2001, p . 2) during the first year. During the second year, it entailed in an ambitious
programme of multicultural arts engaging with the many and diverse ethnic communities throughout
the country.

Considering their geographical and time span, it can be claimed that the Arts Festivals, in combination
with the Olympic Education programme, were the most outreaching component of the Sydney Games.
Furthermore, while the education programme focused on developing activities within schools, mainly
targeting 5 to 14 year-olds, the arts programme worked with all age groups; emphasised diversity and
social inclusion, and searched a balance between grassroots activity and world-class standards in
attempt to both secure accessibility and excellence.

In an early assessment report, Keys Young (1996) suggests that the programme format provided
extensive grounds for social and cultural legacy. Regardless of its economic potentials - an area poorly
explored and traditionally disregarded (see Garcia, 2000) - an apparent strength was the opportunity to
touch and direcdy involve Australians beyond the Olympic host-city, with the added benefit of
addressing their cultural particularities. As such, '"The Festival of the Dreaming" was to allow
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups to design and produce a large-scale arts event on their own
terms and to perform in mainstream cultural venues such as the Opera House for the first time in
Australia. In the words of an Australian journalist, the event "has created an expectation that n o festival
planned here [in Australia] henceforth can exist without its indigenous contribution. And that's a
defining m o m e n t " (Eccles, 1997, p. 14). Hanna (1997) argues that the relevance of such a festival
cannot be understood merely in artistic terms but also, importandy, in political terms. This is because
the opportunity for indigenous people to reach the dominant Australian audiences and to present them
a contemporary version of their story may have accelerated the process towards Aboriginal
reconciliation.

In 1998, remarkable achievements were the national touring of the renowned Sydney-based "Sculpture
by the Sea", an open-air exhibit of large arts objects created by national and international artists. A
further achievement was the production of free classical concerts in coastal locations around the
country. These events had a considerable impact in areas with a low exposure to ambitious cultural
activity such as Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The 1999 assisted some arts groups, Aboriginal
artists and youth arts companies in particular, to establish overseas connections and tour internationally
for the first time. Finally, in year 2000, the Olympic Arts Festival brought a selection of internationally
acclaimed performers to Sydney also for the first time.

Nevertheless, despite the achievements outlined above, the ability of the Sydney Olympic Arts Festivals
to establish a sustainable legacy within Australia and beyond is questionable. Stevenson (1997) has
expressed concern about the "contending political agendas" that shaped the programme and claims
that the festivals were "gready overshadowed by the frenetic nationalism, spectacle and media hype
which surrounds the sporting events" (p. 227). While the first point casts doubts about the ability of the
Festivals to truly respond to their stated aims, the latter is an indication of the secondary position they
were relegated to in the Games context. In this line, an important constraint was the isolation of the
cultural programme within the overall Olympic preparations.

In the 1997-1999 period, the Arts Festivals lacked a clear association with the Games and from 1998
onwards, they suffered from an extremely poor visibility. As such, despite the notorious success of the
1997 festival, the event failed to promote its link to the Games and, consequendy, was practically
absent in most Olympic related promotions and media coverage. The festival succeeded within arts

318
circles and can be praised for the contribution it made towards increasing and consolidating the
presence of Aboriginal work in mainstream cultural institutions. However, the Festival's discourse was
poorly incorporated within the Games symbology and, consequendy, average Olympic audiences -
national and international were not reached.

In year 2000, the potential legacies of the final Arts Festival were severely constrained due to its
exclusion from key Olympic components and its inability to contribute to the Games atmosphere. The
Festival did not have a presence within the Torch Relay celebrations; it was not linked in any form to
the components of Opening nor Closing Ceremonies; it was excluded from the social activities taking
place in Olympic Park and other Olympic venues, and it was completely marginal to the successful
LiveSites programme animating Sydney's streets in the city centre. Instead, at the time of the sporting
competitions, all arts performances were concentrated in the Sydney Opera House at elevated prices,
with an emphasis on European high art expressions such as opera, ballet and orchestral music rather
than a representative programme of contemporary Australian work. The final Festival programme
lacked ethnic diversity and geographical spread, even within the host-city. Accordingly, it was criticised
for being elitist and inaccessible to the general public, failing to address the main mission statement of
the Cultural Olympiad at the time when it could have had a greater impact (Frankland, 2000; McMill,
1999; Panucci, 1999).

4. Conclusions

The notion of a Cultural Olympiad or Olympic Arts Festival needs to be further explored and re-
defined so that it can reach its full potential as a cultural programme that is perceived as central to the
Olympic experience. T o this end, further synergies need to be developed between popular Olympic
components such as the Torch Relay, Opening and Closing Ceremonies and the ever-growing street
celebrations that accompany the sixteen days of sporting competition. The analysis of the Sydney
experience clearly suggests that re-negotiating possibilities to blend arts with entertainment and
understanding the points in c o m m o n between sports and the arts as forms of cultural expression would
allow for some progress in the direction argued here.

Cultural and arts programming could gready enhance the legacy of a major event such as the Olympic
Games. A commitment towards framing sports and symbols within cultural expressions that are truly
owned by the locals would provide better grounds for the long-term sustainability of the experience.
Furthermore, it would also provide a stronger sense that hosting the event benefits not only private
corporations and public investors but also the host communities at large.

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 T h e Legacy of Seoul Olympic Games 1988:
Rebuilding its Cultural Traditions

K a n g , Shin-pyo
International Research Academy
for Olympic and Intercultural Studies
Inje University
South Korea

1. Introduction

John MacAloon suggests that the significance of the Olympic Games lies in the symbolic domain. In
the 20 th century man and women's life is dominated by symbols. The Olympic Games are full of
symbolic power. However, various aspects of symbolic meaning attract people different. Olympic
Games require people to feel, think, and talk about these aspects. This is the challenge of meeting
people with various cultural backgrounds and is necessary for mutual understanding. In order to
understand one's own identity one must confront others. If we are hesitant to participate in this
encounter we cannot survive on the world stage. Since life is an endless challenge we need courage to
endure. The Seoul Olympic Games provided the Korean nation great opportunities to display courage.

Fourteen years after the Seoul Olympic Games were staged, its symbolic legacy is still alive in the mind
of Koreans. During the 2002 Korea-Japan Football World-Cup, the legacy of the Olympics became
visible by mobilizing nearly all Koreans for voluntarily actions such as working for the Organizing
Committee but also by cheering foreign teams and showing warm hospitality.

But how did that legacy start? Following the successful hosting of the 1986 Asian Games, the City
Government of Seoul and the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC) had made for all
Koreans to experience an almost total social and cultural mobilization for the Seoul Olympic Games. 1
This occurred at a critical moment in Korean history. Its "economic miracle" had placed Korea on the
threshold of joining the advanced industrial nations. At the same time the processes of political
democratization and domestication of western technology and values within a 5,000-year old
civilization of great richness were working themselves out.

The 1988 Seoul Olympic Games have been so manifold and are still in the process of being discovered
and articulated. In the preparation of the scenarios for the opening and closing ceremonies, literally
hundreds of scholars and artists were invited to participate in order to realize "Saegye nun Seoul ro,
Seoul un Saegye ro", The World to Seoul, Seoul to the World. The overall theme of the Seoul Olympic
Games, the ideal to be accomplished, was "Harmony and Progress". Here one sees a complementary
pair. Harmony means "space", the synchronic and paradigmatic dimension. Progress means "time", the
diachronic, syntagmatic dimension. This binary set is composed according to a yin/yang logic, setting
the issue for Korea and the world of creating a balance and a synthesis through and between "harmony
and progress". Thus the meanings of all the events can be understood as a part of accomplishing the
ideal of the Olympic Games for peace.

The Seoul Olympics added many memories to the mankind but especially to the Korean people.
Thousands of pictures and stories have been created with the Games and many of them are still in the
mind of the Koreans when they see Olympics on television or host huge sports events themselves such
as the Football World-Cup and Asian Games in 2002 or the Universiade in 2003.

' Kang Shin-pyo (1987), "Korean Culture, the Olympic and World Order," In The Olympics and Cultural Exchange, Seoul: The
Institute for Ethnological Studies, Hanyang University, p. 85.

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 2. T h e collage: A n e x a m p l e of D a e - d a e cultural g r a m m a r

A good way to give an idea of how manifold the memories of the Koreans are can be given by
analysing Korean newspapers. They were one source of information for the Korean population. A
selection of newspaper reports was collected by the wife of Park Seh-jik, the chairman of the S L O O C .
These were assembled as a collage and mounted on a sculpted frame which is n o w kept by Park. The
collage summarizes his wife's perception of the Seoul Olympics. This perception can be seen as one
example for those of all Koreans and is the legacy the Games left.

Photograph of the collage

Several phrases appear several times, particularly "minjung" (people for the (Korea) state) and "minjok"
(nation) (Kapferer, 1988). Further, the collage cuts headlines or requires interpretation when talking
about the Olympic torch and so forth (Bourdieu, 1984). In the following translation of the collage's
headlines, I have followed my own feelings in terms of order:
1) Today is a day for celebration. In truth it is done well !
2) Korea deserves a medal because of the Seoul Olympics. Park Seh-jik, chairman of the Seoul
Olympic Organizing Committee. Let our (Korean) people's achievement be a stepstone for the
future ... We had the confidence to solve all problems ... (We) prepared for two years and seven
months with only four hours sleep a day. We receive full marks for achieving the greatest harmony.
3) Park Seh-jik, control tower of the Seoul Olympics. We (Korea) have become a great nation.
4) " H a n d in h a n d " (the Olympic song), the world is one.
5) F o r m a maximum perfect score of ten, the opining ceremony deserves 9.9. I have been proud to
direct the great festival through many small disputes. Our perfect preparation was admired both
locally and internationally. The Awakened Land of Morning Calm [a play on an old name for
Korea].
6) 1,100 people ... [from] African athletes gather for eleven days.
7) O u r hearts are full of joy with this East-West harmonious celebration. The Seoul Olympics gained
250 billion w o n (USD 400 m) profit. How should we continue to utilise the facilities we built? The
driving force provided by hosting the Seoul Olympics has made us leap into the ranks of
developed nations.

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8) O u r hearts beat with the sound of a large drum. W h o would have expected that our divided nation
would be asked to host a festival for world harmony?
9) Friendship and fair-plav: let us overcome the ideological barrier. Park Seh-jik welcome, Chairman
of the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee ... "The global village festival is a harmonious
meeting of East and West". Samaranch welcome, International Olympic Committee Chairman...
"Respect the fact that we have the greatest participation in Olympic history".
10) The mystery of lighting the Olympic flame gained everybody's admiration.
11) "10,000 national flags" blow in the wind... Doves fly into the sky.
12) Foreign newsmen evaluate the Seoul Olympics highly. The president of the American Olympic
Committee says, "Sorry about the behaviour of our athletes in the opening ceremony".
13) The weather for the 16 days of the Olympics deserves a gold medal.
14) You have expanded great efforts.
15) "Farewell", the Olympic flame of friendship is extinguished.

Taken together, the collage hardly represents the whole picture of the Olympics. Nonetheless, it
represents many aspects of the Korean perception of the Games. The contents focus largely on the
positive side of what actually happened, commencing at the opening with the idea of celebration and
concluding by bidding farewell to the festival of friendship. Several points can be noted. Firstly, Korea
achieved a meeting of East and West where others before them had failed: even though a divided
nation, Korea promoted brotherhood and harmony, demonstrating the unity of opposites in Dae-dae
cultural grammar. Secondly, ideological conflict in a divided world was resolved through competition;
hosting such a world festival suggested and symbolized an agent for unity. Thirdly, Koreans gained a
sense of achievement through hosting the Games which projected them out of the sleeping "Land of
the Morning Calm" to a position on a par with developed nations. Fstorically, this is perhaps
extremely important.

The three aspects of Dae-dae cultural grammar discussed earlier 2 are well represented: hierarchy (the
achievement of some kind of perfection by Park Seh-jik, the nation, the people, and so forth), group
(less the individual than "we"; no individual medallists, but only the people), and dramatic /ritual as well
as ritual/dramatic meeting and departing (the harmony of the East and West friendship celebration).

3. P a r k Sen-jilt's story:
A g o o d e x a m p l e of D a e - d a e cultural g r a m m a r

Park Seh-jik, the chairman of the organizing committee, begins to publish a series of retrospective
articles on the Seoul Olympics in the Korea vernacular newspaper, Choson Ilbo, towards the end of
1989. T h e series ran for three months and appeared in 30 parts (4 November 1989 - 4 February 1990)3.
It provides a clear example of how traditional Korean cultural grammar acts as a filter, a filter which
here is used to review the making and operation of the Seoul Olympics. Here I translate some of the
headlines from the series and a few sample passages from the stories. This, I hope, will demonstrate
how participants in the organization met as completely as was possible the cultural code required by the
tradition. The article had the following headlines:
"The very last runners who take the Olympic torch must be changed"; the extraordinary D - 2 . . .
"If things are decided this way we must agree to follow"; the venerable Sohn Ki-chong hides
his slight disappointment and agrees to cooperate...
" T h e practice scene (with Sohn) was noticed by a Japanese reporter. So it was urgently
changed to finish with Im Chun-ae."

2
Kang, Shin-pyo (1991), "The Seoul Olympic Games and Dae-Dae Cultural Grammar", in Sport Third Millennium, Landry,
Fernand, Marc Landry, Magdeleine Yerles, eds. Quebec: Laval University Press, pp. 49-63.
3
This series of articles in the news paper, Chosun Ilbo, was published as a book entided "Park She-jik's Our Story of Seoul
Olympic", 1991, Seoul: Koryu Publisher, (in Korean).

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The first headline refers to an emergency session held just two days before D-day; at this time the final
runners who would enter the stadium with the Olympic torch were still disputed. Sohn Ki-choug was
the Korean marathon runner w h o w o n a medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, participating under the
flag of Japan due to that country's colonial rule. Symbolically, for Koreans he stood for the successful
fight against oppression. Im Chun-ae won two gold medals at the 1986 Asian Games. Her participation
here symbolized the awakening of Korea, the hope of the new generation for their country's future
prosperity. Sohn was disappointed primarily because of his consciousness of hierarchical order. H e was
initially meant to be the final torch runner, an award which he considered appropriate for his past
achievements. However, according to the Olympic tradition, the final runner should be kept secret until
his or her appearance. Here, a conflicting cultural chord appeared, hence, within the subtitles came the
phrase; " H o w can we properly speak about it?". Further, news of the final runner, Sohn was first made
public by Japanese reporters as another Japanese violation of our secrecy; this, in reflection of our past,
caused considerable anguish among the organizers and Korean reporters. However, Sohn could not
accept the change to second place, especially since his hierarchical position was above Im Chun-ae. So
the article relates his fury and anguish. However, he accepted the " g r o u p " decision, bowing to the
higher hierarchy in terms of dramatic ritual.

T h e second newspaper article starts with:

"The underlying organisation was flawless, and in terms of time the procession was correct to
9 7 % accuracy..."
"At the same time as the sacred flame was lit a celebration flight passed overhead and the
magnificent spirit was fully displayed."
"The works of art shine with acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, and friendship."

"Korean time" is rarely exact, but here everything was well prepared. According to one subtitle,
"Korean time is colourless", that is, it is rather meaningless. Once Korean "groups" as a whole
determine to do something, a unified approach is necessary. O n c e begun, the sense of "belonging"
means that all must accelerate towards the planned achievement; hence a second subtitle, "Passions
spread about this great event". The article also referred to hidden shortcomings, an aspect that suggests
both the acceleration towards a goal but also the fact that all was forgotten once the achievement had
passed. Similarly, the Olympic song, " H a n d in Hand", was forgotten by Korean audiences immediately
the Games had finished. T o some extent, this can be interpreted as the performance of
"dramatic/ritual".

The third story described the training of doves used in the opining ceremony. It aimed to demonstrate
how individuals exerted commiserable effort in preparing for the group oriented opening ceremony.
Thus the main headline ran: "The training of doves proved more difficult than the upbringing of one's
own children." The story revealed its details in the form of insights: 1,200 doves were needed for
training, mostly white birds; people worried what would happen if they sit on the cauldron when the
fire will be lit. Finally doves sat on the cauldron and burned during the opening ceremony. That was the
reason, why living birds were not used at the Opening ceremonies in Adanta and Sydney. Nowadays
only artificial doves symbolise peace.

The fourth episode talked about the weather. Here, a sense of pride was revealed, pride at excelling
over the Japanese. Nagoya was Seoul's original competitor for hosting the Olympic Games in 1988.
According to the weather records during the last 70 years it rained in Seoul only 21mm during the
Olympics, while it rained in Nagoya 267mm during the same time. The main headline, however, was:
"If rain came all would be lost, and so the competition started with prayer". This demonstrates the
changing face of Korea, for Park Seh-jik as a devoted Christian organized a prayer campaign. And,
indeed, the report tells that the night before the opening ceremony the rain suddenly ceased and
immediately a double rainbow rose into the sky as "portrait of the Heaven" in the Chinese world.

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The next four articles put something of the historical perspective of Dae-dae cultural grammar as
revealed in the Olympics. That perspective I dealt with in an earlier article (Kang, 1987) which I will
summarize here: Korean society was autonomous and agrarian barely one hundred years ago. Outside
observers such as Griffis referred to the country as the "Hermit Kingdom" (Griffis, 1882). Koreans
were obliged to accept and adjust to the new world order as the country was forced to open itself to the
outside, often suffering in the establishment of unequal diplomatic relation. It remains, I believe, difficult
for Koreans to comprehend the implications of the new world order in which they live. Yet, the more
they understand the West, the more Koreans value their own unique traditions. Thus, the hosting of the
Olympics allowed Koreans the opportunity to reflect on their own place in the world system.

Revisions of the cultural order can be summarized simply. Korea has moved from dynasty to
republic, from agrarian to industrial, from a rural to an urban economy, from extended to nuclear
family groups, from hierarchical to egalitarian relationships, from ascribed to achieved status and,
even, from family to individual. I previously identified three stages in which the transformation took
place (Kang, 1987, p p . 88-90). First, from 1876 to 1905 Korea began to open its frontiers, finally
signing a protectorate agreement that would lead to annexation by Japan. The context of this stage,
"Korea in East Asia" or, perhaps more correctly, " K o r e a in China" allowed for the continuation of
the Confucian relation with their immediate Western neighbour. The western way was seen as a
complement to the Eastern tradition, and Korean powers welcomed Western materialism while
rejecting Western learning. Second, between 1910 and 1945, Korea as a Japanese colony found itself
increasingly exposed to the outside. Koreans had to crawl for 36 years, but with liberation in 1945
they could begin to walk tall. T h e third period, " K o r e a and the world", took up the impetus of
liberation. A bitter civil war (1950-1953), turmoil in student rebellion (1960), military coups and
finally a summer of discontent (1987) marked attempt to match economic growth to political
development. In effect, the third stage might better be described as "Korea to leave the nest, to
venture out into the world without constraints imposed by America or Russia".

The dynamics of this opening up are observed in the confluence of national pride and the promotion
of internationalism. In Park's fifth article, he describes how factory workers build the magnificent
cauldron. "The achievement of the century was made on the dirt floor of their factory." "Every day and
every night they worked... people volunteered for extended shifts". The subtitles describe how rusty
pipes were destroyed and how neighbours offered their encouragement. Park Seh-jik quotes his own
words to the workers:
"Indeed, all of you have much work to do. Talking about the Olympics may seem to you as if
it is talk of great and magnificent things for splendid and great people to take part in. But this
is not the whole story. Little things put together, including the thing that you are working on
now create the Olympics. Of all the Olympic facilities and constructions, the making of this
most sacred cauldron for the Olympic fire on the foundry's dirt floor has the deepest
meaning. I ask you to make it with the utmost sincerity."

"Hand in Hand", the Olympic song, provided the setting for a comment on Korea's international
outlook. In his sixth article, Park starts by starting that the song was a great hit. N o t only did it sell
6,400,000 copies but it was sung by students in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Then, the song was
commissioned from non-Koreans a feature which led to m u c h criticism of the Organizing Committee.
The image Park presents is that of a national committee willing to look outside Korea and to embrace
others. Similar themes of internationalism can be found in other articles. Korea on the world stage is
covered in four further articles (16, 17, 20, 27). The following headlines are given in sequence ...
"By the end of 1987 the Soviets had already predicted which nations would participate..."
"The East German sports minister visited Korea and straight away asked for the wind
forecasts."

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 "The Koreans and Soviets signed a mutual understanding pact. This opened up the way to
participation by all communist countries.. ." 4
"Castro's painful choice: 'Cuba w o n ' t attend...' "
"Castro's sent a special envoy to persuade Kim Il-sung..."
"Castro's suggested as meeting of north-south leaders for co-hosting the games."

Even north Korea's allies wished to participate, and attempted to overcome the political hurdles
thrown up by the north. 5

" T h e 26,000 national flags which we made and used cost 500 million w o n . . . "
"Surinam's 'unknown' national anthem was performed so well that those watching the news
broadcast were a m a z e d . . . "
"There was a regulation that each national anthem should be played for just 30 seconds, and
this led to p r o t e s t . . . "
"100 marches were played at the opening and closing ceremonies."
" T h e Korean ability to test athletes for drugs deserved five medals..."
"Ben Johnson had looked down on Korea's testing techniques and still took drugs one month
before competing."

In the last, Korea as a little known country, perceived as a backward nation, is seen to take its place
amongst the most advanced nations.

The international theme promoted in " H a n d in H a n d " was continued in a story about the composer
Giorgio Moroder (newspaper article 25). H e wrote "Over the Wall", a song which led to arguments in
Korea but which was "a favorite for East Europe's democratization revolutions and became the
number o n best-seller in Russia and China". Significantly, the music was inspired by Korea, for Park
claims the composer got his initial idea while watching the sunrise at Mount Namsan in Seoul. Korea,
mature, and now free from the inhibiting control of America, comes through in a story (article 21)
about the Olympic mascot, Hodori. America's Kellogg company argued that the mascot infringed their
copyright. The Olympic organizing committee "made a promise not to sell the logo to [Kellogg's]
competitors, but hardly overcame their protestations". Nonetheless, " O n e glass of wine solved the
problem".

And national pride in the Olympics remained a recurring theme. Moving from individuals, later articles
demonstrate how many Korean people took part in ensuring the Olympics' success. High school
students contributed to b o t h the opening and closing ceremonies, despite the fact that "initially, all the
high school principals opposed their student's participation" (newspaper article 11). The students were
enthusiastic: after two or three hours practice, each student said: "Let's do it more times!" Even though
they were sick and tired, they tried their hardest not to be absent." The army participated on mass, "for
the five minute taekwondo demonstration [many] postponed their discharge" (article 12). "The 60,000
soldiers in each ceremony were hidden heroes", "they were even trained to smile", and "at the army
exercise field they practiced the mass game, Konori". Article 13 continues in the same vain, describing
"30,000 people worked as devoted volunteers, each playing a leading role in ensuring the Olympics'
success". "In some cases, whole families volunteered as a 'group' and made up 5 5 % of all manpower.
Some people even volunteered because it was told to them as last words of their father's on their death
beds".

4
That shows that the East Germans, who officially confirmed the intention to participate in March 1987 by sports minister
Manfred Ewald was followed by the visit of Soviet Vice Sports Minister Gavrilin who also was intending to come. The
Soviet N O C delegation projected already at that time: "We are sure Vietnam, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Angola will
come. Seven nations will not." (Park, 1991, pp. 29-30)
5
In the two years prior to the Games eleven nations which had diplomatic relations with North Korea, but non with South
Korea, visited Seoul. "Contact with Communist countries, which might have been impossible without the prospect of the
Olympics, was taking place very naturally." (Park, 1991, p. 30)

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O n c e again, the international and national came together in Park's eighteenth newspaper article, a
collection of stories about safety and intelligence precautions. The headlines will suffice to show this:
"The airport terminal cleaners even checked the rubbish bins for safety... 36 countries co-ordinated
their intelligence resources to prevent any terrorists Korea... 'Keep watch over this triumph field!': the
safety of food for the Olympic village was perfectly ensured." A mature nation was contrasted with less
mature foreign countries in article 25.

There, while the harvest festival, ch'usok, normally one of the largest annual holidays in Korea, became
"a day of contingency to ensure supplies for the Olympic players village", two subtitles introduce
different stories: "Italy and France insisted on bringing their own chefs... it was very difficult to satisfy
their tastes"; " O n the night of the closing ceremony there were group fights. Our guides even lost teeth
as they tried to stop the fighting". A n d the themes were reworked in the final article 29. There, the
childish theft of a stone statue from the Hyatt hotel by American athletes is described as a "blemish in
the jade" of an Olympics at which "any type of activity that could lead to dispute was checked by
[Korean] officials and inspectors" and at which there was " n o typhoon, no law suit, no terrorism".

Among the stories described by Park seh-jik the most heart-warming and possibly the most revealing
story in terms of Dae-dae cultural grammar may be the story of the magnificent drum. Designed bv
Mr Kim Kwan-shik, the "world's biggest drum" - measuring 2.10 m in diameter, 2.30 m in length and
weighing 630 kg - attracted the world's attention as one of the centrepieces for the opening
ceremonies. Although the size and sound of the drum were quite remarkable, the story behind the
making of the drum is a clear representation of what we mean by Dae-dae cultural grammar.

Mr Kim, the third son of Mr Kim Chang-ho, works with his father and brothers at the Korea Folk
Museum Company in Taejon. T h e family-owned and operated business manufactures drums. Mr Kim,
upon hearing the news of Seoul's selection as Olympic host in 1981 acted upon an idea that flashed to
his mind and convinced his brothers and father, who were at first reluctant, to assist him in his dream
to construct and donate the "biggest drum with the farthest-reaching sound in the world" to the Seoul
Olympics. His dream came true and in his efforts to overcome inevitable challenges, he learned much
about his own cultural make-up.

Mr Kim's first challenge was to find a cow large enough to meet the specifications that he had in mind.
H e searched for six months and decided upon two 1,200 kg cows from Cheju-do. But, after having
second thoughts Mr Kim changed his mind and said these would not be big enough. His search took
him abroad and in the end imported five 1,650 kg cows from the United states. Local wood for the
drum belly was also too small, so he imported 198-year old Oregon pine to meet specifications. In the
process, Mr Kim was reproducing Dae-dae cultural grammar, by mediating between the two poles. In
this case, Seoul had to reach out to the world in order to achieve the proper balance. Mr Kim, however,
became worried that the drum may sound too "American" so with great care followed the traditional
techniques of hide and lumber treatment, a process that took two years. The traditional way ensured
the drum's sound would be deep and resonate clearly.

Another challenge faced by Mr. K i m was the need for assistance in building the drum. Therefore, as
mentioned above, the family tradition was mobilized as well as the tradition of group effort. He did not
want to do this as an individual so he persuaded his brothers and friends to assist him. One method he
employed was to invite neighbours "to put a commemorative nail mobilizing this group tradition and
the drum was completed in April 1987".

Unfortunately, Mr Kim's problems did not end here. SLOOC responded to his willingness to donate
the drum by telling him to send in an application form for his donation. This of course was very
disappointing for him. SLOOC only took interest in Mr Kim after newspapers and magazines began
following the story of the "biggest drum in the world". Finally, SLOOC accepted his donation in
November 1987. O n the day of the opening ceremony everyone thought that Mr Kim would be in the

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Stadium. His friends certainly thought so as well. Emphasizing the important tradition of group sharing
in Korea, they let him know that they would like to have an opening ceremony ticket as well.
Unbelievably, somebody forgot to invite Mr Kim and he had to watch the performance on television.
N o r was Mr Kim included on a list of awarders to be appreciated for their contributions to the festival.
Still, he was deservedly proud as he saw his magnificent drum parading on the stadium grounds, and
family and neighbours shared in his happiness.

It was not until later that Mr Park Seh-jik found doubt about how Mr Kim was overlooked and
straightaway invited him to his office for proper recognition. Park Seh-jik's words in response to
Mr Kim's dream may say it best:
" T o the question "What made the Seoul Olympiad such a success?' Many find the answer in
the enthusiasm of the Korean people. What then is the essence of this enthusiasm? I think it is
the pure affection for something you like. Korean people often use the expression, 'to give all
one's affection to something he values'. The Seoul Olympic Games was a place where pure
affection and enthusiasm were pooled together, offered by those w h o were just happy to d o
so regardless of whether their affections were recognized or not."

4. T h e o p e n i n g a n d c l o s i n g c e r e m o n i e s :
A further e x a m p l e of D a e - d a e cultural g r a m m a r

As can be surmised form the previous discussion, the underlying Dae-dae cultural grammar formed the
backbone in management of the Olympic event from conception to completion. This is n o t to suggest
that the Olympic spectacle witnessed in Seoul was without powerful constitutive elements best
understood by cultural grammars outside of Korea. Indeed, the Olympic institution itself represents
unfamiliar territory for Koreans. However, that the Olympics took on unique significance is found by
understanding Dae-dae cultural grammar, which is in turn n o to be understood as something external
but which is always in a creative process of becoming.

T o further explain what has been examined above concerning the nature of Dae-dae cultural grammar,
it may be helpful to look to the opening and closing ceremonies. In the preparation of the scenarios for
the opening and closing ceremonies, literally hundreds of scholars and artists were invited to participate
in order to realize "Saegae n u n Seoul ro, Seoul un Saegae ro", "The World to Seoul, Seoul to the
World". They did so over a period of more than three years. They studied, reviewed, and analysed
ceremonies which had accompanied previous Olympic Games in other countries. Moreover, for the
construction of the sculpture park, over 150 artists from some 66 countries participated and in the
process the "power of the Olympics" was realised, reflecting SLOOC's efforts at total mobilisation and
thus reproducing elements of Dae-dae cultural grammar.

It was felt that the Olympics is less a national matter than an international event, hence lessons were to
be learnt from other hosts in the past. From here, and for this reason, it became apparent that the main
issue in preparation for the ceremonies was how to synthesize a universal cultural code with particular
cultural codes (see Moon-hwan Kim, 1989). Further, those involved had to determine what was the
particular Korea cultural code. Therefore, some basic guiding code was needed. Whereas
anthropologists normally look for underlying cultural grammars for diagnosis, here they were to create
and "invent" the scenario culture (Wagner, 1982). Thus a certain underlying principle was to be
mobilized which would represent the essential parts of Korea's cultural tradition.

"Beyond all barriers" became the title of the opening and closing ceremonies. It implied the existence
of barriers in our lives and it sought to overcome those same barriers. At the national level, the urban-
rural barrier was recognized as 1,200 Koreans from the countryside were invited to the opening
ceremonies free of charge (see Park's newspaper article 9). Attempts to overcome international barriers
were seen at various junctures. O n e example is the above mentioned sculpture park. The "power of the

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Olympics" was realized in the process (see Park's newspaper articles 22 and 23) reflecting the Olympic
organizing committee's efforts at total mobilization. Another example is evidenced in Park's article 10,
when he comments on the opening ceremonies: "We realized our aim to 'overcome divisions' through
the integration of earth, heaven and man".

Of course, some barriers were not overcome. An interesting example of the latter occurred during the
Olympic diving competition. Diving was a sport that was dominated by Americans and it was after the
1984 Los Angeles Games that the Chinese began offering stiff competition. During the 1988 Seoul
Games the Chinese really made great strides. Diving is graded through not one but through several
trials and one mistake can become fatal in deciding one's total score which keeps the contestants ver)'
uptight about the referee's decision. A colleague of mine relayed the following story.

NBC's anchorman covered of the diving event and was accompanied by an announcer. They
commented on each countries' contestants. During the women's diving competition, the Chinese took
first and second place and the Americans failed to win any medals. The anchorman seemed rather
nervous and anguished at the outcome of this. This was probably due to the fact that the Chinese
contestants who had not once been seen before took all the medals. His comment was something like
this: "I do not know why the Chinese bow to the referees after every dive. They aren't the referee's
servant or anything. I do not believe the referees will give good scores even if the Chinese bowed to
them".

Mr Choi's interpretation was as follows: should the Americans have won the gold and silver medals and
the Chinese won the bronze, the N B C anchorman would not have thought too much of the Chinese
attitudes (bowing). The average American thinks of the Oriental as being an inferior race. This has
become more so after having seen Europeans, w h o are also with identical outer appearances as
Americans (in that they also are Caucasians), invade Asia and Africa and get away with it. Bowing to the
Orientals has become a way of life something like the way the Americans wipe their mouths after each
meal. The Orientals way of behaviour is accepted as weird under normal situations and nothing more,
however should the oriental show superiority to the American, those very same behaviours are
accepted as disgusting. The Japanese working on weekends and Chinese bowing are disgusting
behaviour patterns to the Americans and this is because they have out run the Americans that have
once been the predominated by the Americans. (Certainly, a better understanding of Dae-dae cultural
grammar would have made the diving story more intelligible to western broadcasters).

5. Conclusion

The Seoul Olympics offered the world an opportunity to experience Dae-dae cultural grammar and at
the same time provided Koreans a vehicle for better understanding ourselves. The Olympics served as
a "looking-glass" for Koreans and for the world. Confrontation between cultural meanings expressed
certain realities while new, at least in form, intercultural communication links were forgotten between
parties with rather poor relations prior to the Olympic Movement coming to Seoul. The closing of the
Games was actually a beginning: the beginning of a new world civilization that may better understand
and appreciate the uniqueness and potency of culture. The World has come to Seoul and Seoul has
come to the Word.

T o the foreigner this may seem to be enough, but the people of Korea were also given an opportunity
to look within, to become enlightened as to our own unique existence. Again, Dae-dae cultural
grammar was both reconstructed and reproduced during the Olympic experience. And like the song-
hwa pong-song, torch relay, preceding the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, the song-hwa pong-song that
served as a revealing prelude to the Olympic competition, offered us an unprecedented opportunity to
see how Dae-dae cultural grammar has been the c o m m o n denominator in observing the gradual

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transformation of K o r e a n society. As my cherished colleague, John MacAloon, so elegantly analysed in
his article "Seoul into the countryside, the Countryside into Seoul":
"In 1986, we followed the Asian flame and now, through still greater effort, we are seeing the
Olympic flame pass through every sort of Korean landscape, every province and major city,
and hundreds of small towns and villages. At every place, landscape becomes a human-scape,
crowded lines of faces reflecting the light of this strange foreign thing, the Olympic flame,
back upon itself. And through this process of mirroring, millions of Koreans in the provincial
cities and the countryside are ensuring that when the touch enters the Seoul Olympic stadium
on Sept. 17, it will n o longer be a foreign thing. T h e sacred fire will have been Koreanized,
symbolizing the desires, achievements, and on-going struggles of Koreans as much as those of
any other people in the world."

T h e sacred fire had surely been Koreanized during the Seoul Olympic Games. The spiritual fire is still
burning in the mind of all the Korean people. The symbolic legacy of the Seoul Olympics has once
again been revitalised during the 2002 Korea-Japan World-cup and the Busan Asian Games.

References
Griffis W. E. (1882), Corea: The Hermit Naon, New York: Scribner.
Kim, M. H. (1990), "The Harmony between Cultural Uniqueness and Universality: the Case of the Seoul
Olympics", in: Toward One World Beyond All Barriers, Koh Byong-ik and others, eds., Seoul: Seoul Olympic Sports
Promotion Foundation.
Kapferer B. (1988), Legends of People, Myths of State: violence, and Political Culture in SriLanka and Australia, Washington,
D.C: Smithonian Institution Press.
Kang S.p. (1987) "Korean culture, the Olympic and world order," in: The Olympics and Cultural Exchange, Kang S.p.,
J. MacAloon, R. DaMatta, eds. Seoul: The Institute for Ethnological Studies, Hanyang University.
Kang S.p. (1991), "The Seoul Olympic Games and Dae-Dae Cultural Grammar," in: Sport ... Third Millennium,
Landry, Fernand, Marc Landry, Magdeleine Yerles, eds., Quebec: Laval University Press.
MacAloon J. (1981), This Great Symbol, Pierre de Courertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games, Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press.
MacAloon J. (1988), "Seoul into the countryside, the Countryside into Seoul", Hankook llbo (Korea Times) News
paper, Seoul, in Korean, September 12 (?).
MacAloon J. and Kang S.p. (1990), "Uri Nara: Korean Nationalism, the Seoul Olympics, and Contemporary
Anthropology", in: Toward One World Beyond All Barriers, Koh Byong-ik and others, eds., Seoul: Seoul Olympic
Sports Promotion Foundation.
Park, S.j. (1991), The Seoul Olympics: the Inside Story, London: Bellew

330
 Bud Greenspan: Olympic Games Film Maker
and his Search for Athletic Excellence
and Personal Nobility

J o h n A. L u c a s
Professor Emeritus
Department of Kinesiology
The Pennsylvania State University
USA

1. Introduction

Bud Greenspan is an immensely famous cinematographer of the Olympic Games. Raymond T. Grant,
Director of arts and Culture at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, called Greenspan an international
"icon" w h o understands the role the arts and culture play in these festivals and the ideology that
embraces them. This brief biography was not intended as a panegyrical look at the 75-year old
Greenspan, but rather, a careful look at a gifted and driven artist, writer, producer, film maker and, in
the special area of Olympic Games cinematography, possibly the best in the last half century.

This paper is divided into four parts, all of them efforts at historical re-creation: firsdy, Greenspan's
major works in films, essays and books; secondly, Greenspan biography; thirdly, a dispassionate look at
Greenspan's personality and life-work "calling" in order to clarify why the man's "ever-uplifting"
approach in all his efforts has been successful for more than fifty years and finally, a bibliographical
essay of this researcher's sources is included to explain special direction taken, and may be useful to
future sport historians. An expanded and specific list of references may be obtained from the author.

2. G r e e n s p a n ' s major w o r k s in films; e s s a y s a n d b o o k s

2.1. Films
1952 " T h e Strongest Man in the World" (15 minutes)
1968 "Jesse Owens returns to Berlin" (60 minutes)
1970 "A couple of days in the life of Charlie Boswell" (30 minutes)
1971 "The Glory of their time" (60 minutes)
1976 "The Olympiad" (22 hours)
1977 "Wilma" (120 minutes)
1979 " N u m e r o U n o " (7 hours)
1979 "This day in sports" (3 hours)
1979 "Sports in America" (3 hours)
1980 "Olympic Moments - vignettes events" (6 hours)
1982 "Time capsule: the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics" (2 hours)
1984 "America at the Olympics" (2 hours)
1984 "16 days of glory: Los Angeles" (5 hours)
1985 "The Heisman Trophy Award" (1 hour)
1986 "Time capsule: the 1936 Berlin Olympics" (2 hours)
1987 " F o r the honor of our country" (6 hours)

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1988 "The Golden Age of Sport" (1 hour)
1988 "16 days of glory - Calgary" (3 Vz hours)
1988 "16 days of glory - Seoul" (2 VA hoursO
1988 "An Olympic dream" (1 hour)
1992 " T h e measure of greatness" (25 minutes)
1992 "Mark Spitz returns to Munich" (1 hour)
1992 "16 days of glory - Barcelona" (2 VA hours)
1993 "The Spirit of the Olympics"
1994 "16 days of glory - Lillehammer" (3 Vz hours)
1996 "African - Americans at the Olympics" (45 minutes)
1996 "America's Greatest Olympians" (2 hours)
1996 "Adanta's Olympic Glory" (3 Vz hours)
1998 "Ageless H e r o e s " (1 hour)
1998 "Nagano '98" (2 hours)
2000 "Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing" (2 hours)
2000 "Favorite Stories of Olympic Glory" (90 minutes)
2001 "Sydney 2000: Golf From D o w n Under" (90 minutes)
2001 "Discover Utah!" (30 minutes)
2002 "Bud Greenspan's Stories of Winter Olympic Glory" (90 minutes)
2002 "Bud Greenspan Presents Michelle K w a n " (1 hour)

2.2. Essays and books by Greenspan

1983 "The Long Last Night ... for Benny Leonard", N e w York Times, April 10, section 5.
1991- Twenty essays in "Advertising Section" of Sports Illustrated and Parad Magazine.
2000
1994 "Sport and the mass media", Centennial Olympic Congress Proceedings.
1996 " G o o d news doesn't sell", Olympic Message (January - March).
1997 " H o w I filmed 1896 Athens Olympics", Journal of Olympic History (Summer).
1973 [book] Play it again Bud!
1976 [book] We Wuz Robbed!
1995 [book] 100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History.
1997 [book] Frozen in Time; The Greatest Moments at the Winter Olympics.
1997 The Olympians' Guide to Winning the Game of Life.

3. A Greenspan biography

In ever)' Bud Greenspan visual and written work, he is inspired by high human drama. "I am drawn to
inspirational, especially at the Olympic winter and summer games", he once said. He was quoted in a
book review of his 1977 "We Wuz Robbed!": "The structure of sport is based on the premise that all
one can ask of an athlete is that he or she be dedicated, prepared, talented and courageous." (New York
Times, February 20, 1977, section 5, p. 21).

His first professional work was at the Games of the XTV Olympiad in L o n d o n 1948, as a radio sports
announcer for W H N , New York City. Several years later (1951), while serving as a spear-carrier in the
chorus of "Aida" at the N e w York City Opera, he met African-American John Davis, the 1948
Olympian champion weight lifter. Davis won another gold medal in Helsinki, Finland (1952),
prompting Greenspan to produce a short film: "The strongest man in the world". It was an artistic

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success rather than a "money-maker", but the native New Yorker knew what he had to do with the rest
of his life. The United States government paid Bud USD 35,000 for the film "to counteract Soviet
charges that blacks had no opportunities in the United States" (see Olympic Message, June 1996). His
1960 and 1964 "Voices of the 20* Century" and "A History of World War II", both disc sound
recordings, were artistic-historical successes and featured Greenspan's brother, David Pern', as the
voice beautiful low-key narrator. And then, in 1968, Greenspan escorted the very great Olympic
champion, Jesse Owens, to Berlin, the scene of his 1936 triumphs. The 51 year-old Owens was featured
in an hour-long "Jesse Owens Return to Berlin" and it won writer-producer-director Greenspan three
television " E m m y " nominations.

The ascending career of Greenspan continued in the early 1970's, reaching one of several plateaus of
excellence, with the release of his world-famous 22-hour "The Olympiad". This researcher read scores
of film reviews in North American-European print media and found only superlatives about the film. A
quarter-century "apprenticeship" and his cinematographic excellence was assured. Greenspan won
Emmy awards from his peers and the International Olympic Committee's highest award, the Olympic
Order (1985). His wife and co-film maker Cappy Petrash passed away in 1983, but the corporation
Cappy Productions carried on the work and the commitment to entertain, educate and to do injury to
no person. He had a small, able staff of professionals, especially his closest collaborator, Nancy Beffa.

For some, Bud's approach to film making is the ultimate naivete: " I ' m not comfortable doing scandal".
This unlikely formula won him eight Emmy Awards; the 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award by
Directors' Guild of America and, in 1999, the George Foster Peabody Award, television's most
prestigious honour.

He was born in N e w York City (18 September 1926), son of Benjamin E. (a judge) and Rachel P. (a
lawyer), and a graduate of Long Island University (1947) after military service in World War II. He
married Constance "Cappy" Petrash in 1965, collaborating on many films together until her death in
1983. His brother, David Perry, was for many years the exquisite narrator in many Greenspan's films,
until David's passing in 1992 at age 68. Both believed that human drama, well told and filmed speak for
themselves. T o o much talk detracts, they said. Bud wrote in Olympic Update (1993-1994): "The
mistake so often made by the television networks ... is to comment on absolutely evemhing".

4. G r e e n s p a n ' s personality a n d life-work calling

Good historians attempt to study specific past events and recapture a mass of nearly irrefutable factual
evidence regarding that topic, to write with lucidity and with an absolute minimum of personal bias.
Deeply held values are impossible to purge, but the good historian must subsume them in the search
for truth. Bud Greenspan knows all this. I am not a professional historian, he has said many times, but
rather a filmmaker, writer, editor, producer, who makes conscious decisions about how to deal with the
individual thread of life. He prefers the uplifting, courageous and noble rather than their opposite.

Visual images are more important than clever or even "profound" dialogue and they mark Greenspan's
films. His 1976 "Olympic Symphony" was a "wordless celebration ... a meld of Beethoven and
Borzov" (the 1972 sprint champion). When done right, Greenspan said, sport has the capacity to touch
"very deep human values ... provided competition is always kept in perspective". Aesthetic beauty;
history and tradition; story-telling and "unhindered drama" are infused into all of Greenspan's works.
Gary Deeb (Chicago Tribune, June 22, 1979) wrote that Bud is a true artist, unlike some television
salesmen "who will telecast donkey races if they think they'll attract good audience ratings."

Greenspan, "one of the very greatest storytellers", is only interested in sporting competitions that
display athletes with skill, unbounded heroic histories who are measured, he said, "by their qualities of
heart". Freed from the rules of the scientist, Greenspan seeks out the humanity, the drama and the
romanticism of sport, especially at the Olympic Games. "We always took the position", he said, "we

333
would rather spend rime on the 90 percent that is good and uplifting and happy about the Olympics,
rather than the 10 percent that is not so g o o d " (see Barry Wilner's column in the Olympian Magazine
of February 1993).

Meters and millimetres; hours, seconds and milliseconds interest Greenspan and his people little. High
h u m a n drama, "putting a face" o n competition is always their goal. Overcoming personal, individual
challenges are more important and therefore more interesting than running 1,500 meters in a little bit
more than 200 seconds. Richard Sadomire knows Greenspan well and in a N e w York Times column
dated August 4, 1996, he wrote that all of Greenspan's work "are told straight forwardly, but
emotionally, with a tersely written, stentorian narration". The description of his films is the essence of
the man. Lawrence Van Gelder wrote in The New York Times of 11 November 1988: "A guy in
Washington wrote "Isn't it nice that Bud Greenspan still sees sports through the eyes of a young boy."
Greenspan responded, "When I stop doing that, it'll be over."

" I ' m not comfortable doing scandal", Greenspan told Karen Rosen of The Atlanta Journal. Drama,
rather than exploitative stories, is his forte (see February 19, 1994). In that same year, Greenspan spoke
at International Olympic Committee's Centennial Congress:
T h e visual development in coverage of the [Olympic] Games was forever changed by Leni
Riefenstahl's five-hour film of the Berlin Games entitled "Olympia". For the first time the
talent, dedication, beauty and classicism of world-class athletes ... was seen in action, not
heard or read.

T h e Greenspan mantra, so dear to him for his entire life, as he said in the Olympic Review of August,
1990, is that "You can win by losing, because you make the effort". Bud made famous the 1968
Olympic Games marathoner from Tanzania, J o h n Stephen Akhwari. He finished in last place, limping
very badly into a stadium empty of spectators, with all camera crews gone, except Bud Greenspan.
"Why do you continue running, more than an hour after the winner? Why did you not quit the race?"
H e seemed confused by the question from Greenspan, but answered "My country did not have to send
m e to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish." Here we have, by coincidence, two m e n
from different continents, with precisely the same mind-set.

T h e Olympic Games are the m o s t important sporting event in the world. As an American and an
internationalist, Greenspan's poignant films are pure universal. "Eye-glasses atop his shaved
head.. .Bud has become the official keeper of the Olympic Flame", wrote Richard Sandomir, in the
N e w York Times (August 4, 1996). This consummately good storyteller has brought us a humanistic
vision of the Olympic athletes and possibly a larger human segment. Lastly, when asked "Why were the
'68 Mexico City Olympics your favorite?", Greenspan spoke of this first poor nation to host an
Olympic Games and the ceremony of 80,000 joy-filled Mexicans inside the stadium; of 1,000
"mariachis" singing "La Golondrina". It was a story of a caged swallow, singing its head off. But the
family released the bird to give joy to the world. Bud took note of the crying Mexicans in the stands...
"And they wouldn't let the mariachis leave. The crowd kept singing for an hour. As soon as
they'd finish the last stanza ... the 80,000 people would sing it again. It was probably the most
spontaneous surge of emotion I've ever felt. Nobody wanted to let the swallow go h o m e . "
Bud Greenspan in Lawrence Linderman's interview in Modern Maturity (July-August 1996).

5. A bibliographical essay of s o u r c e s

This researcher first met Bud Greenspan in 1973, thirty years ago. An exchange of letters and "fax"
correspondences how number forty-one and were useful in this biography. For much more than this
period of time, newspaper and journal film critic reviews of Greenspan's works have been collected,
read and studied. Just from Canada and the USA, the number exceeds 175 analyses and essays, and
many are from the most widely read and often scholarly sources. An extremely popular, syndicated

334
Sunday newspaper, Parade Magazine, featured Greenspan's favourite heroes and heroines-Olympian
figures of skill, courage and largess. All of them were read bv the author. The United States Olympic
Committee's (USOC) Olympian magazine and the Olympic Review; Olympic Magazine and Olympic
Message, office organs of the International Olympic Committee featured a score of essays on the
always busy Greenspan. After reached senior citizen age category, the magazine Modern Maturity (July-
August 1996) wrote a surprising insightful essay. Three decades of reviews in The N e w York Times
(1973-2002), by expert observers, provided valuable insights. Sports Illustrated writers provided useful
comments on the special Greenspan approach. Other North American sources came from T h e
Washington Post; Newsweek; the Atlanta Journal; Toronto Globe and Mail; The Boston Globe; the
Desert News of Salt Lake City; the Los Angeles Times, and a great many more. Insufficient research on
non-American popular sources resulted in far fewer sources; The London Free Press; The Times of
London; Sydney, Australia's T h e Daily Telegraph and the Sun-Herald of Sydney. Another useful look at
Greenspan was located in a long essay in the "Early June 1992" Land's E n d Direct Merchants
catalogue.

Still more of Greenspan's artistry are located in national and international essays by film reviewers
critics, and advertising specialists. The number of these commentaries, while not infinite, are
impressive. H e stayed away from Hollywood, treasured his home and business in Brooklyn and
Manhattan, traveled the entire world, and called most of humanity brother and sister. A certain
Anthony P. Montesano wrote in the American Film of September 1998:
"Greenspan realizes the dramatic content of the individual's story and does not feel the need,
like some to add to what already is the most dramatic story of all, the will of the human spirit
to compete."

Lasdy, Bud Greenspan visited this researcher's university campus in 1976 and 1992, the first rime with
his wife and co-producer "Cappy" and the second time with the brilliant film editor and life
companion, Nancy Beffa. The essence of w h o I am, he told this researcher, is in my film, "to be used
for good by this generation, future generations ... and therefore a kind of immortality". More on
Greenspan can be found in film encyclopaedia (Less Brown, Encyclopedia of Television 1992), as well
as detailed materials in Contemporary Authors: volume 103 (1982).

335
 The Path of the Olympic Games: Twenty-Six Editions

Andres Merc Varela

President
Panathlon Club de Barcelona
Spain

1. Introduction

Olympism has entered in its third millennium some months ago. During this period, the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) has passed through a deep transformation within the different aspects of its
ecumenical activities. Thanks to it and to the unanimous popular support achieved by all the youth
worldwide, Olympism has become the most universal, popular and singular organization of our days,
recognized by all countries.

The different changes that Olympism has experienced in the past and is still passing through at
present - start in its first decades with philosophy matters, moral, and folklore, ending with sport
severity and social pragmatism in our 21bt century. This evolution inside Olympism and the IOC could
be divided in six large periods.

2. First period:
Foundation and folklore (1894 - 1908)

This first period started in 1894, when the Baron de Coubertin founded the IOC. That event took place
on 23 June in the Anphitheatre of La Sorbonne, Paris. This period, which can be qualified as romantic
and folkloric, was concluded in 1908 when the Technical Rules and Sport Regulations of the
International Federations (IFs) were adopted. The empire of competitive sport began inside the
Olympic Games and the IFs.

3. Second period:
International Federations (1908 -1936)
Since the Olympic Games in London 1908, Olympism has definitely obtained its sport character
although its first stirrings showed some lacking elements. Unfortunately, the intermezzo of the First
World War obligatorily isolated the world from the sport events. This second period, finished with the
Olympic Games of Berlin 1936, was distinguished by processes such as the definite incorporation of
printed press and radio, emerging of the worldwide sport movement and the fact that Olympism had
finally achieved its true ecumenical character.

4. Third period:
Generalization of mass media (1948 -1960)

Sport re-emerged after World War II (1939-1945) and the third period began. Olympism gained rapidly
in importance worldwide, and established it as the big movement of the XX century. This third period
meant the definitive, authentic, successful and professional inclusion of printed press in Olympism.
That was possible through the Olympic Games. The time of "amateur" journalism attending to
Olympic Games was over. They were authentic professionals, sport's specialists and Olympic experts.
And those that were not, became the real supporters of the new religion of Olympism.

336
Television also appeared in the Berlin '36 Olympics. They were the first Games broadcasted by TV in
an experimental way, starting with a coverage in a radius of some hundred kilometres from Berlin. This
was possible due to some strange enormous receptors, admired by the technicians of the incipient
electronics at those times. Finally, it was possible to broadcast instantaneously live and moving images
of an event whose main characters were in movement. Moreover, the discussion upon the question if
television influence made the sport worldwide known or vice versa, was it the charm and emotions of
sports that impacted the TV development, has not already been concluded. This matter is nowadays
still alive and has not found a solution jet. Let us hope that this question stays open as behind this
uncertainty is hidden the secret of success; the success of both, the Olympic Games and television...
That's why Olympic Games has become the most important mass media event nowadays. Even more
than the Gulf War, the September 11' disaster or any other happening in the world.

That broad expansion can be considered to be born at the Berlin Games; its scale was enlarged in
London 1948; reached the continental dimension in Helsinki 1952; was improved in Melbourne 1958
and, finally, contributed to Olympism, resolving the financial problems during the Games in Rome
1960. Moreover, the period of economic instability' of I O C was ended in Rome and started a new phase
of its actual financial sufficiency.

5. F o u r t h p e r i o d :
F i n a n c i a l stability (I960 - 1980)

The fourth period started in Rome in 1960. TV rights were sold for the first time and therefore, the
I O C obtained USD 1,860,000. These were the first financial resources legitimately gained by Olympism
and used for its own subsistence. The I O C could survive before that important deal, thanks to the
support of its wealthy members, some donations and other irregular incomes. This favourable financial
situation enabled the I O C to set up new projects such as Olympic Solidarity.

6. Fifth period:
S a m a r a n c h p e r i o d (1980 - 2001)

With ever}7 edition, the amount the Games obtained in 1960 has been regularly increased, being
doubled and tripled every four years up to the sum of USD 87.9 m in the Moscow Olympic Games in
1980. A new conception, including not only the aspects of Olympism, but also some key items of the
I O C management, such as new presidential elections with the victory of Juan Antonio Samaranch,
appeared. The presidency of Samaranch introduced a number of in-depth changes that influenced life
inside the Olympic organisation. This fifth period with Mr Samaranch as President lasted 21 years
(1980-2001) and notably saw the acceptance of women inside the IOC, the IFs and the sports executive
management; serious fight against doping; pragmatism inside the IOC; successful fight against
corruption; access to the big international organizations; end of political boycotts in the Olympic
Games; financial stability; construction of the Olympic Museum and the I O C headquarters in
Lausanne, athletes incorporation in Olympic Management and the nomination of an athletes'
representative Sergei Bubka, as a member of the Executive Committee.

7. Sixth period:
F r o m 2001

The mandate of the Catalan President finished in 2001 and a new period started with the presidency of
D r Jacques Rogge at the Session in Moscow. This period will probably last until the African Continent
holds the first Olympic Games in Africa. Will it be possible in 2012? Or maybe in 2016? The earlier, the
better!

337
This period will also probably be characterized by a continental globalization of the I O C ; third world
leading the Olympic management; technological improvements in sports; un-politicisation of sports
and Olympism and Renaissance of Olympic philosophy.

8. T w e n t y - s i x e d i t i o n s of t h e G a m e s

I was lucky to experience the last 66 years of Olympic history. In 1936 I was a student at the Law
Faculty, University7 of Barcelona and, in Januar} 7 of the same year, I was admitted as a candidate to
participate in the Olympic Youth Camp of the Berlin Games. It was the then President of the Spanish
Olympic Committee, Mr Augusto Pi-Suner, w h o communicated me my admission. T h e Olympic
illusion cherished during my adolescence was fulfilled when I was 17. But ten days before leaving with
the train to Berlin, the Spanish Civil War started and all my Olympic dreams were converted into a
hard, painful and horrible tragedy. At that time started my link to Olympism and the Olympic Games.

I realised that in these last centuries, the idea and the fulfilment of what Baron de Coubertin started had
a unique social and popular function, besides its sporting aspects and competitions. That was the
reason why all threats, errors and mistakes could be overcome: the scarcity of the I O C financial
resources, the excesses of nationalist ideas, the incompetence of some organizers, racism, boycotts,
doping, professional abuses, globalization, corruption and other threats. I personally witnessed some of
these deplorable facts attending to 26 Olympic Games editions (summer and winter) and being a
member of the I O C Press Commission over several decades, it helped me to form a subjective image
of the heritage of the Olympic Games.

This Olympic heritage can be observed from different points of view. From its history, the town
planning, the environmental improvements, the sporting side, the economy, the tourism increase, the
political aspects, the cultural expansion, and particularly for me, as a journalist, the communication. I
personally consider all these aspects as a unique capital that have made the Olympic Games become the
big and unique event of our days.

My stay in Switzerland in 1948 allowed me to attend the Olympic Games in Saint Moritz and London.
1948 was the year I could join the rituals and philosophy of the Games.

In 1908, the incorporation of the IFs and the inclusion of its rules were crucial factors in the
development of the Olympic Games. The same happened with the mass media explosion, starting in
Berlin 1936. The incorporation of television, the end of World War II, the worldwide thirst for
information and the ecumenical interest for sports converted the London '48 Olympic Games into the
big success of Olympism. The Games of Helsinki 1952, held in a singularly sensitive country regarding
sports and Olympism, consolidated this path started in 1936.

O n e of the aspects of main interest is the media diffusion. During the Moscow Olympic games in 1980,
7,960 journalists covered the event. This number increased to 17,487 journalists in Sydney 2002 which
meant a corresponding increase in the media diffusion.

Table 1
Significant statistic figures

Moscow 1980 Barcelona 1992 Sydney 2000

Teams with women 24 64 80
Disciplines in the programme 203 257 300
Registered athletes 5,217 9,905 11,116
Registered press 7,960 13,937 17,487

338
 H o s t Population Perceptions Towards
the 1996 Atlanta Olympics: Benefits and Liabilities

Brian J. Mihalik
Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Pamplin College of Business
Virginia Tech University
Blacksburg, USA

1. Introduction

Ritchie (1984) has defined hallmark or mega-events as one-time or recurring events, which enhances
the awareness and appeal of a tourist destination. Mega-events of this type hold the market potential
for national and international tourism development (Getz, 1991; Hall, 1989; Hughes, 1993; Jeong, 1988;
Mihalik, 1994; Mihalik and Cummings, 1994; Mihalik, Cummings and Simonetta, 1993). The Olympic
Games have surpassed the World's Fairs to become one of the top global mega-events capable of
transforming a city's economic welfare (French & Disher, 1997). The varied activities surrounding the
Games also are powerful opportunities for image enhancement with national and international visitors.
At the same time, the Olympic Games can create pride for the local citizenry. However, Hiller (1990)
suggested that since the Olympic Games has less tangible, direct benefits for the average urban citizen,
the perceived success or failure of the Olympic Games may rest with the resident perceptions. This is
especially true in a post-September 11 economic environment when tomorrow's Summer Olympic
Games could well approach USD 6 billion due to increased security costs.

In support of this position, in a 15 July 2002 Official Olympic press release, the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) stated that one of the biggest challenges likely to face the Olympic Movement will be
reducing the cost and complexity of the Olympic Games. The overall cost of the 2000 Sydney Games
was approximately USD 4.5 billion in a pre-September 11, 2001 security environment (Overington,
2000). In a post-September 11, 2001 security environment, the ability of any host city to recover its
financial investment or "pay" for the Games is approaching or has approached the improbable.

This leads to emphasizing the increased importance of specific strategies to market and capitalize on
the perceived non-economic benefits of hosting the Games while minimizing the perceived negative
impacts of the Olympic Games. Further, given the vast potential for community development, global
media attention, host community involvement and subsequent citizen pride, the need for systematic
research and analysis has been advocated (Cummings & Mihalik, 1993; Fodness, 1990; Hall, 1989;
Hughes, 1993; Jeong, 1988; Mihalik, 1994; Mihalik et al., 1993; Mihalik & Simonetta, 1996; Ritchie,
1984; Ritchie & Aitken, 1984; 1985; Ritchie & Lyons, 1987; Soutar & McLeod, 1993; Uysal, K.
Backman, S. Backman & Potts, 1991).

There have been two longitudinal studies undertaken to monitor resident attitudes towards the
Olympic Games. One trend study was developed by Dr. J. Brent Ritchie as part of the Olympic
Research G r o u p formed at the University of Calgary "to carry out a longitudinal examination of the
range of impacts it was anticipated might result from this mega-event" (XV Olympic Winter Games)
which was held in Calgary, Canada (Ritchie & Aitken, 1984). Their trend study analysis known as the
Olympulse Monitor was conducted beginning in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and twice in 1987. It consisted
of multiple surveys of 20 academic institutions and research organizations in the United States and
Europe (Ritchie and Lyons, 1987).

The second longitudinal Olympic study undertaken to monitor residence attitudes towards the Olympic
Games was undertaken by Dr. Brian Mihalik with the assistance of L. Simonetta, Georgia Poll

339
Administrator at Georgia State, as part of the quarterly Georgia Poll (Mihalik & Simonetta, 1998, 1999).
Mihalik utilized Ritchie's Olympic research design to undertake a similar trend study of perceptions and
attitudes of Georgians toward the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. This paper reports on select aspects
of the six years and twelve data collection components of Mihalik and Simonetta's Georgia Olympic
Poll trend study.

2. Methodology

2.1. Sampling procedures

Resident perceptions of the Olympic Games were collected as part of the Summer 1992, Winter 1993,
Summer 1993, Winter 1994, Summer 1994, Winter 1995, Summer 1995, Fall 1995, Winter 1996, Spring
1996, Summer 1996, and August 1996 Georgia State Poll conducted by the Applied Research Center at
Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. All twelve surveys represent a combined total of
9,342 Georgia resident responses.

As reported in a previous Journal of Travel Research 1996 Adanta Summer Olympic article by Mihalik
and Simonetta (1999), a database purchased from Survey Samplings Inc., provided a randomized list of
Georgia telephone numbers. Survey Samples Inc. maintained a database containing more than 3,300
telephone directories of listed household numbers. Duplicate telephone numbers were purged from
this list automatically. Next, all of the working exchanges (first three numbers) and working blocks
(next two numbers) were identified. Each exchange was assigned to a specific county and the sample
was stratified by county proportionate to the estimated number of households in each county. The
numbers that composed the sample were randomly selected from the targeted area based on this
stratification. Finally, Survey Sampling Inc. eliminated business numbers by removing known Yellow
Pages numbers from the sample (Henry, 1990).

O n c e a number was selected for the sample, it was entered into a computer-assisted telephone
interviewing system. Trained interviewers called each of the approximately 2,400 households identified
in the sample pool of numbers between 8 and 16 times in an effort to reach them. Once the phone was
answered, the interviewer asked for the person over 18 who had the most recent birthday. From this
point on, this person was identified as the qualified respondent in this household. The selection of the
person over 18 with the most recent birthday ensured the randomness of the selection process. At the
end of the survey, in addition to the demographic data collected, the respondent was asked " H o w many
persons over 18 live in this household?" and " H o w many different phone lines will reach this
household?" The information obtained from these questions was used to create a category for weighing
the number of phones and adults in each household. The weighing took into account the likelihood of
a particular residence being called by the Applied Research Center. The data set once collected also was
weighted to better reflect the actual population of the state of Georgia. The proportions from the 1990
US Census were used for this weighting procedure (Henry, 1990). In each of the above survey polls, n o
attempt was made to track the responses of the same individual over time as in a longitudinal panel
study. The examination of new, but similar individuals over time as in this research effort was classified
as a trend study (Babbie, 1995; Martin, 1983; Schake & Hertzog, 1982).

2.2. Georgia Olympic polls

T h e Olympic c o m p o n e n t of the initial summer 1992 Olympic poll was restricted by the Georgia Poll
Administrator to eight close-ended questions of which six addressed perceived benefits of the Olympic
Games. The initial winter 1993 poll was restricted to eleven close-ended questions primarily addressing
the perceived liabilities of the Adanta Summer Games. While researchers desired to solicit responses to
far more Olympic questions similar to Ritchie's efforts at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, the budget
constraints associated with conducting a state-wide telephone poll on a variety of non-Olympic topics
necessitated restricting both the number of Olympic questions and the question format.

340
Respondents were then asked six questions in the Summer 1992, Summer 1993, Summer 1994 and
Summer 1995 polls that described the potential benefits of holding the Olympics in Georgia. The Poll
administrator in conjunction with the Applied Research Center Director decided, in the fall of 1995, to
repkcate the 6 benefit and 9 liability questions in every subsequent Georgia Poll from the fall of 1995
through the post Olympic Poll in August of 1996. Thus, a total of the 6 benefits and 9 liabilities also
were asked in the Fall 1995, Winter 1996, Spring 1996, Summer 1996 and August 1996 Georgia Polls.

Both the benefits and liabilities used in this poll were adapted from Ritchie's (1984) Olympulse
research. The benefits included the following: 1) international recognition, 2) increased future tourism,
3) economic benefits, 4) Olympic facilities development, 5) enhanced image or reputation of Georgia;
and 6) increased citizen pride. T h e liabilities included the following: 1) traffic congestion 2) price
gouging, 3) train on law enforcement, 4) street crime, 5) unfair distribution of state resources, 6) civil
unrest, 7) terrorism, 8) negative attitude of visitors toward residents and 9) negative attitude of residents
toward visitors.

A likert-type scale was developed with a range of one to ten points for both benefit and liability
questions. Respondents were asked to rate the level of each perceived benefit or liability using one as a
"very small benefit or negative consequence" and ten as a "very great benefit or positive consequence".
Comparisons were made to determine if any changes existed in Georgia resident's perceptions of
benefits and liabilities that would occur because of the Games.

2.3. Findings
Perceived Benefits
In all Georgia Olympic Polls over a four-year period, Georgia residents rated the international
recognition benefit the highest. They also consistendy rated the intangible, non-economic benefits
higher than the economic issues. Increased economic benefits such as the Olympic facility
developments, increased economic benefits and increased tourism, while receiving significant press
attention and Adanta Olympic Committee financial resources, were the least important benefits in all
surveys to the residents of Georgia.

Table 1
M e a n scores of perceived benefits by survey d a t e

Perceived S-92 S-93 S-94 S-95 Fall- W-96 Sp-96 S-96 Post Oly.
Benefit 95 Aug-96
1. International
8.30 7.81 8.19 8.37 8.12 7.57 8.24 8.28 8.10
recognition
2. Enhancing
7.90 7.39 7.79 7.65 7.68 7.00 7.30 7.51 7.52
GA's image
3. Increased
8.21 7.39 7.76 7.38 7.46 6.81 7.09 7.35 8.06
citizen pride
4. Economic
7.62 7.00 7.72 7.38 7.36 6.57 7.14 7.30 6.63
benefits
5. Increased
7.36 7.07 7.49 7.31 7.21 6.58 7.04 7.21 7.07
tourism
6. Olympic
7.25 6.63 7.29 7.27 7.42 6.74 7.07 7.16 7.25
facility legacy
Note: 1 is a very small benefit and 10 is a very large benefit.

341
Although Georgia residents still viewed all six benefits as important, it must be noted that the level of
support for the three highest ranked perceived benefits declined over time. The three other benefits
varied less over time. It was difficult because of the question restrictions imposed in this study by the
Poll Administrator to determine the actual cause and effect for the lower benefits rankings in
subsequent years.

Perhaps this may be attributable to the social exchange or future optimism theories. Perdue, Long &
Allen (1987, 1990) proposed that social exchange theory is a basis for investigating resident's attitudes
towards tourism. W h e n the number of Georgians willing to attend the 1996 Summer Games dropped
about 4 1 % from the summer of 1992 (69.3%) to the summer of 1996 (28.1%) (Mihalik, 1998), it is
probable that some resident support also disappeared. Also, when residents of Atianta realized their
personal routines were going to be adversely impacted by the Games and Games construction, Georgia
residents may have felt they were getting less in exchange for the right to host the 1996 Summer
Olympics. Thus, the level of overall resident perceptions of the benefits decreased over time.

Local newspaper and television press coverage in latter years also was more negative than in 1992. This
initial high level of resident support and then a decline in support also was consistent with the future
optimism theory (Mowen and Mowen, 1991). Future optimism theory states that when outcomes occur
in the future, outcome optimism is predicted because of the relatively greater valuation of gains. W h e n
outcomes are expected to occur in the present, losses loom greater than gains, leading to risk aversion
(Mowen and Mowen, 1991). The community euphoria associated with winning the 1996 Olympic bid
eventually in 1990 gave way as the implications of staging a world class, mega-event became a reality.

P e r c e i v e d liabilities
In all liability polls (see Table 2), Georgia residents rated the traffic congestion consequence the highest
perceived liability with the exception of the Post Olympic Poll conducted in August of 1996. However,
after the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, residents clearly indicated that perceived traffic congestion
was n o t a major problem as originally forecasted. The issues of price gouging from street merchants
and the Adanta Olympic Committee, the strain on local law enforcement and increased terrorism were
elevated in importance in the final post-Olympic Poll. Obviously the bombing in Centennial Olympic
Park played a major factor in increasing the perceived liability of terrorism.

In all but the post-Olympic Poll, Georgia residents rated traffic congestion as the highest perceived
liability, followed by price gouging, strain on law enforcement and increased crime (see Table 2). In all
surveys, three of the top four perceived negative consequences dealt with law enforcement issues. Since
about 5 0 % of the survey respondents lived in the Adanta metropolitan area and heavily relied on the
automobile for commuting, it was not surprising that this perception was ranked the highest in all years
of data collection. Also, the Adanta Olympic Committee, fearing a traffic nightmare when transporting
I O C members, National Olympic Committee members and the Olympic athletes to competition sites,
had consistendy predicted, via the Adanta press, that the Adanta highways would be severely congested
and regularly pleaded with residents to change work patterns a n d / o r use public transportation during
the 1996 Games.

Table 2
M e a n scores of p e r c e i v e d liabilities b y survey d a t e

Post Oly.
Perceived liability W-93 W-94 W-95 F-95 W-96 Sp-96 S-96
Aug 96
l.Traffic congestion 8.58 7.89 8.85 9.17 8.69 8.91 8.89 4.29
2. Price gouging 7.42 6.88 7.66 8.47 7.68 7.81 7.89 6.24
3. Law enforcement
6.69 6.65 7.59 7.77 7.03 7.42 7.60 5.53
strain

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4. Increased street
6.63 6.22 7.00 6.71 6.61 6.53 6.72 3.55
crime
5. Unfair distribution
5.21 4.62 5.42 6.07 4.99 5.00 5.29 3.76
of state resources
6. Civil unrest 4.11 4.44 4.99 5.05 4.84 4.73 5.31 2.76
7. Bad attitude of
3.73 4.01 4.67 4.94 4.44 4.28 4.62 2.79
tourists
8. Bad attitude of
3.57 3.84 4.54 4.96 4.58 4.46 4.75 2.59
residents
9. Terrorism 3.51 4.24 4.67 5.15 4.64 4.61 5.32 5.32
Note: 1 is a very small problem and 10 is a very large problem.

When just exarnining the pre-Olympic to post-Olympic polls, it is worth noting that in all cases the
perceptions of all liabilities softened. Where before the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, some liabilities
received scores of almost 9 out of 10, after the Games, no single liability scored above 6.3. Further, the
ranking order of perceived liabilities changed. Where the traffic congestion liability was always the
highest in all the pre-Olympic surveys, it dropped to fourth place in the post-Olympic Poll. It was
supplanted by a new number one perceived liability, i.e., price gouging. And where terrorism was
generally perceived lower in the earlier surveys, after the Olympic Park bombing, this liability move to
the third highest ranking, but still only received a rating of 5.3175.

3. Conclusion

This project was designed to be a part of a systematic collection of information on the perceptions or
attitudes of host residents about the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. With regard to perceived benefits,
Georgians consistently, over time, rated the intangible benefits greater than the economic issues. This
should help future Olympic Games Organizing Committees because this research indicated that
Olympic Committees should develop and market increased international recognition and a sense of
community and civic pride especially when undertaking the organizational phase of the Olympic bid
proposal. This will then serve as a foundation for generating community support for the massive and
expensive infrastructure projects and security arrangements that will be needed to host a post-
September 11 Olympic Summer Games. This increased citizen support will be even more important as
the IOC has stated it will no longer endorse or allow a host city to fund future Olympic Games solely
from private sources. The I O C requirement for more government financial support will require an
increased level of citizen support to endorse an increase in taxation that will be mandated in a post-
9 / 1 1 security environment.

With regard to perceived liabilities, Georgians became increasingly more concerned about the negative
issues surrounding the 1996 Summer Olympics over time. It was possible that increased press coverage
was moving from the positive euphoria of being the host city to the hard reality of actual community
costs with hosting an anticipated 150,000 visitors per day for 17 days. This increase in perceived
liabilities also may be related to social exchange or future optimism theory. As less and less Georgians
expressed a willingness to attend the Summer Olympic Games, support for the Olympic Games may-
wane as residents perceive the negative impacts of the mega-event. Where at one point in time almost
7 0 % of surveyed residents indicated they will attend the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, in reality about
one third of Georgia residents attended the Summer Games. Thus, residents may perceive they were no
longer getting something of value in exchange for the perceived liabilities of hosting a mega tourism
event such as the 1996 Summer Olympics. An initial high level of resident support, 93.6% in the
summer of 1992, and then a decline in support to a low of 79.5% in the summer of 1996 just before the

343
Olympic Games began, also was consistent with the future optimism theory postulated by Mowen and
Mowen in 1991. When outcomes are expected to occur in the present, which became more evident in
subsequent Georgia Polls as the Olympic Games became a reality, perceived losses may have loomed
greater than gains, leading to risk aversion (Mowen and Mowen, 1991).

Since countries in the future will seldom be able to fully recover their financial investment in hosting a
modern, post 9/11 Olympic Games, host governments and citizens need to be increasingly aware of all
the economic and social costs. Szymanski (2002) stated in Reuters that "countries that think they can
make money out of staging sporting events should beware". H e proposed that a mega event such
World Cup 2002 soccer "will be a huge economic burden for the respective taxpayers largely because
the governments have committed to so much new building". The combination of escalating building
and security costs makes the Olympic Games and other world-class mega-events a large financial
burden that needs to be addressed in relation to other community needs.

T o overcome this fiscal liability, the inevitable decline of resident support (Mihalik, 1998) and the
increase of perceived liabilities over time, future Olympic organizing committees need to successfully
promote the non-economic benefits of the Olympic Games as aggressively as they promote the legacies
of stadium and other physical structures. Further, all levels of the IOC and local Olympic organizers
need to work in cooperation to reign in the escalating costs associate with attempts to achieve the
historic mantle of the "The Best Games Ever". An Olympic Bid Committee may meet increasingly stiff
civic residence in bearing the heavy financial obligation necessary to host future Olympic Games. O n e
only needs to look at Denver, Colorado and Bern, Switzerland to realize that some cities and its
residents feel that the costs of hosting an Olympic Games far outweigh the potential benefits.

Acknowledgements

The author would gratefully like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the Applied Research
Center at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, Georgia Poll Administrator, Dr. Leo Simonetta and
Director, Gary Henry P h D , for the sponsorship and collection of the Georgia Olympic Poll data.

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 "Join us in Welcoming them H o m e "
The Impact of the Ancient Olympic Games' Legacy
in the Promotion Campaign of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games

Roy Panagiotopoulou
Department of Communication and Media Studies
National and Capodistrian University of Athens
Greece

1. Introduction
"Join us in Welcoming them H o m e . "
"The Olympic Games are returning to Greece, their ancient birth place
and to Athens, the city of their revival."
These are two of the main messages being used to promote the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Although these messages are of great importance to the Greek people, at times they are neither
recognised nor accepted by the rest of the world.
Undoubtedly, the birth of the Olympic Games (OG) and their contemporary revival began in Greece.
O v e r the course of time however, the O G acquired their own history, their own rules and their own
rituals. It is well accepted that the modern O G have a global impact and that they differ significantiy in
their concept and organisation from those conducted in ancient times. For this reason, the Greek
adherence to the historic continuity of the Games and to their connection with ancient times and
ancient ideals frequently alienates, wearies and irritates.
T h e purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate:
1) H o w contemporary Greece is connected with certain cultural principles of Antiquity.
2) T o what degree a message of global impact, which does however have national roots, can become
accepted in the contemporary age of globalisation.
3) T o assess whether the Athens 2004 campaign is achieving its goal, which is to connect modern
Greece and the contemporary O G with Antiquity and the first O G at Olympia.

2. T h e significance of A n t i q u i t y
in t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y O l y m p i c G a m e s
F o r the Greek people, the O G have a special symbolic significance. The Greek nation drew its historical
continuity as well as its roots from Antiquity. The tradition of Greek cultural nationalism is founded on
the historical past, not on present day accomplishments or on the functioning of the modern Greek state
and its institutions. Consequently, the history, the monuments, the cultural events, and so on, which are
related to Antiquity (for example: the Olympic Games, ancient theatre, etc.) are considered by most
Greeks to be directly related to their national identity and to express a part of the Greek collective self.
T h e symbolic meaning and the ethical principles of the O G are thus indissolubly connected with the
feeling of national cultural continuity that is deeply rooted in the Greek national consciousness.
For the ancient Greeks, the concept of civilisation had a broad meaning which included education, fine
arts and sports. The primary position given to sport in Greek Antiquity is not to be found in any other
culture or art of the ancient or the modern world . The purpose of civilisation was to influence all
h u m a n activities and to promote moral, artistic and spiritual development. In this way, harmony
between the body and the spirit was achieved.

1
See The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, Ancient Olympia and the Olympic Games, ed. N. Yialouris, Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon,
1982, p. 146 [in Greek].

346
T h e competitive spirit of the Greeks marked almost all events of public life and led to fruitful
competition. The Olympic Movement is based on precisely those principles. For this reason, one of the
central messages of the Athens Games of 2004 is that: Sport is Culture.

3. T h e c o n n e c t i o n of a n c i e n t ideals
w i t h c o n t e m p o r a r y cultural v a l u e s for G r e e c e

Greeks have identified the values and ideals of the Olympic Games as an inextricable element of their
national identity. However, the linking of the glorious past of the country with the present is not
without ambiguities. Today Greece finds itself in a transitional phase of modernisation. In the '90s,
significant changes took place in economic policy and the development of the state which were
consistent with the model of liberalised economic development". The discussions by the government of
the '90s concerning the necessity of modernisation were translated into the first concrete public works
with positive results for most of the people 4 . O f course, developments within the E U itself, in addition
to globalisation, do not allow a lot of leeway for choices and the process of modernisation was seen
more or less as a one-way street.

Ideological adaptations and changes in everyday habits have been brought about by the new living
conditions. These appear to be as painful as the economic sacrifices Greeks have already been making
for many years now. N o t only geographically, but also emotionally and culturally, the Greeks are at the
crossroads between the East and the West. The shift towards western cultural models means the
abandoning of a series of habits, attitudes and everyday practices which characterised human relations
in the past and which have deep roots in the historical evolution of the country.

Athens was chosen as the host city of the 2004 O G while the country was on a course of rapid social
and economic changes. It had to demonstrate both to itself and to the international community that it
had followed the development model of the western European countries in an irreversible manner. It
also had to show that it could be a reliable partner, capable of organising large global events requiring
long term planning and co-ordination. Finally, it had to prove that it was a distinct cultural entity, which
efficiently combines its great cultural past with its globalised future.

The organisation of the O G constitutes a test for the entire country as to whether these ranges of
cultural changes have actually been achieved. The O G are not only a global event which attract the
attention of almost the entire planet, but at the same time they constitute an internationally recognised
link connecting modern Greece with its historical past. In my opinion, the O G offer a unique
opportunity at a cultural level to present an image of modern Greece which draws upon cultural models
from its past and integrates them fruitfully into the needs of modern social conditions.

2
The economic measures proposed by the EU for the economic convergence of the member states and their entrance into
the European Monetary Union (EMU) were implemented systematically. Despite all the delays in the adoption of the
measures of liberalised economic policy, Greece finally managed to satisfy the criteria for entrance and on 1 Januar)' 2001, to
be counted among the countries in the EMU. See The Bank of Greece, Annual Report 1999, Athens 2000, pp. 21-37, and
The Bank ofGreece, Annual Report 2000, Athens 2001, pp. 17-34.
1
See Greece, the New Europe and the Changing International Order, ed. by H. J. Psomiades and S. B. Thomadakis, New York 1993,
Pella Publishing, Greece 1981-1989, and The Populist Decade, ed. by Richard Clogg, London 1993 Macmillan, Greece Prepares for
the Twenty-first Century, ed. by D. Constas and T. Stavrou, Baltimore 1995, The John Hopkins University Press.
4
It is clear that there are various interpretations concerning the success and the effectiveness of the reform measures. It is
also to be expected that parts of the Greek population accept and are integrated more quickly into the new conditions, while
others exhibit strong resistance and/or are marginalized.
3
See Fatouros A. (1993), "Political and Institutional Facets of Greece's Integration in the European Community", Greece, the
New Europe and the Changing International Order, ed. by H. J. Psomiades and S. B. Thomadakis, New York, Pella Publishing, pp.
28-42, and Roy Panagiotopoulou, (1996), "'Rational' Individually-centred Actions Within the Framework of an 'Irrational'
Political System", Society and Politics. Facets of the Third Greek Democracy 1974-1994, ed. by C. Lynntzis, I. Nicolakopoulos, D.
Sotiropoulos, Athens, Themelio Publications, pp. 139-160 [in Greek].

347
The familiarity that Greeks feel for the Olympic ideals facilitates on the one hand, the preparation of the
organisation of the Games and burdens it with expectations. O n the other, it confines the contemporary
expression of cultural currents into forms and expressions oriented almost exclusively towards the past,
towards the devoted formalised admiration of ancient art and of the civilisation of the classical age.

O f course, all these contradictions become particularly obvious in the phase of the preparation of the
Games, but even more so in the planning and the materialisation of the campaign for the promotion of
the Greek priorities and messages for the Games.

4. C o m m u n i c a t i o n strategy: P l a n n i n g a n d a i m s

Clearly Athens, like any other host city, through its communication strategy is attempting to promote
the positive aspects of its country. Respecting the Olympic symbols and ceremonies, the host city wants
to differentiate itself from the previous ones, to make its own cultural mark and to create those pleasant
feelings of acceptance by others which will allow it to achieve the following: first, the messages it wants
to promote will become accepted on a global scale; second, it will be able to form and strengthen the
feelings of continuity of Greek society in a transitional phase; third, it will be able to create a positive
global image, discreet and recognisable.

The international public (particularly the television audiences) must be informed systematically. Thus
they will be able to interpret with ease the values and the cultural priorities of the campaign of each
country. Special audio-visual material is produced for this purpose, which the host countries provide to
the international mass media 6 . In addition, the on-going provision and updating of information on
various cultural issues assists in leading the public to the formation of cultural perceptions and builds a
system for the of de-codification of the messages in the direction desired.

The communication strategy is very important for Greece, since it is the first time that such a large and
multi-faceted campaign to promote the country has been planned. Secondly, an effort is being made to
change the global stereotypical image of modern Greece attributed to it through tourism and the mass
media .

The mass media, and particularly television, tend to put forward stereotypical views with regard to
various cultures and try not to stray far from the well-known and commonly accepted framework of
cultural values. Often this tactic does not allow a differentiation between cultures and strengthens
homogeneity and an indifference towards anything foreign and different. In order to attract as large as
possible television audience, the mass media avoid complicated messages. They prefer simple,
understandable and identifiable messages that do not allow a variety of interpretations.

6
See the interview of Manolo Romero, president of Athens Olympic Broadcasting (AOB) in the journal Athens 04, vol. 3,
Sept. 2002, p. 105. There it is mentioned that the AOB, in cooperation with ERT (the Greek public television station), plans
to produce and distribute 10 television programmes to 200 television agencies throughout the world. These programmes
will present Greece and the Olympic Games. The programmes are: Modem Greece - A Modem Country at an Historical
Crossroad; Athens, The Parthenon; Ancient Olympia; The Ancient Olympic Games; The 1896 Olympic Games; The
Marathon Race; Greeks The People and their Music; The Byzantine Heritage; and The Classical Heritage.
7
For foreigners, Greece today is mainly connected with folklore models such as Zorba the Greek, Greek dances, mousaka, souvlaki, etc.
8
Regarding the role of television as a medium for the mass promotion of culture and in the formation of cultural stereotypes,
see among others, John Thompson (1995), The Media and Modernity. A Social Theory of the Media, Cambridge, Polity Press, pp.
179-206, David Morley and Kevin Robins (1995), Spaces of Identity. Global Media, Ethnic Landscapes and Cultural boundaries,
London, Roudedge, p. 26-42, Arjun Appadurai (1990), "Disjuncrure and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy", Theory,
Culture and Society, vol. 7, pp. 295-310, Anthony Smith (1990), "Towards a Global Culture?" Theory, Culture and Society, vol. 7,
pp. 171-191. Also with regard to the Olympic Games and how they are put forward by the mass media, see J. MacAloon
(1996), "Olympic Ceremonies as a Setting for Intercultural Exchange", Olympic Ceremonies. Historical Continuity and Cultural
Exchange, M. de Moragas, J. MacAloon and M. Llines (eds.), International Olympic Committee, Documents of the Museum,
Lausanne, pp. 29-43, and N. Rivenburgh (1996), "Television and the Construction of Identity, Barcelona and Catalonia as
Olympic Hosts", Olympic Ceremonies. Historical Continuity and Cultural Exchange, M. de Moragas, J. MacAloon and M. Llines
(eds.), International Olympic Committee, Documents of the Museum, Lausanne, pp. 333-342.

348
It cannot be taken for granted that a cultural message (e.g. Games on a human scale) can become
commonly accepted by television audiences of different nationalities. The value system and the points
of view of others are always filtered through the national self and the national culture. For this reason,
the same message is often received with different reactions from different nationalities.

In order to guarantee the successful organisation of the O G , what is needed among other things is a
promotion campaign allowing the possible identification of the global community with the messages
presented. It is exacdy on this point that the thorniest issue and the greatest challenge arises for Greece.

As its main message, the Greek organising committee put forward the unique position of their country
with regard to the O G in Antiquity, the classical ideals of the Olympic Movement, the revival of the
Games in 1896 and their return to Athens in the 21 5t century. If Greece presents this uniqueness in
such a way that everyone can identify with it and, decode the global message of this ancient civilisation
and integrate them positively into their cultural environment, then Greece will have succeeded in
projecting its culture positively and in a differentiated manner. Also, it will provide a useful service to
the Olympic Movement because it will have brought forward the alternative view of an Olympiad on a
human scale, limiting the excessive size and the unbridled commercialism.

Such an ambitious enterprise is a fragile and delicate balancing act. It may come into conflict with the
choices and the perceptions of the large corporations that co-operate with, and sponsor the O G on
how to promote competition.

The international public will have to "inconvenience" itself. It will have to make an effort to rid itself of
expectations of glorious spectacles, which the television and the American films tend to put forward. It
will also have to overcome the excessive consumerism, the superficial impressions, the fleeting and
often useless antagonisms. It must also shake off the stereotypical perception of a strict, obscure and
dead ancient civilisation, useful only for good performance at school and in classical studies.

The Greeks will have to understand that Antiquity and the ancient Greek civilisation became the
property of the classical education of all the western societies long ago. They must also accept that
these do not constitute a "national monopoly", nor a field of knowledge over which the privileged
Greeks hold an unerring interpretation ". The presentation of Antiquity as an aesthetic and
philosophical model isolated from the great social issues and questions of present day societies, forbids,
in advance, any possibility of identification and for this, it is doomed to failure. Pompous references to
symbols alienate the international public. If they do not produce aversion and rejection, in the best
case, they provoke feelings of acquiescence and therefore of isolation.

5. Values a n d m e s s a g e s of the A t h e n s 2004

Organizing Committee campaign

However, let us look at the basic choices of the promotion campaign for the O G of 2004 and on which
choices it is based, in relation to the significance for the country, which is indeed unique.

Greece has participated in all the O G from their establishment until the present day. Of course, Greece
is a country where:
- the Olympic Games were born (Olympia 776 BC)

9
See Zygmund Baumann (2001), The Individualised Society, Cambridge, Polity Press, p. 152, and by the same author,
"Modernity and Ambivalence", Mike Featherstone (ed.), Global Culture. Nationalism, Globalisation and Modernity, London 1990,
Sage Publications, pp. 143-169.
10
Greeks frequently think that due to their place of birth, they have a symbolic monopoly over the interpretation and the
exploitation of ancient Greek civilisation. For this reason, they consider themselves the only point of reference to which the
international community and mankind must turn when reference is made to some expression of this civilization. See R.
Panagiotopoulou (1997), "Greeks in Europe: Antinomies in National Identities", journal ofModem Greek Studies, vol. 15, pp. 349-370.

349
- the modern Olympic Games were revived (Athens 1896)
- the Olympic G a m e s are returning in 2004.

T h e basic message of the two previous Games in Adanta and in Sydney was participation "being
there". In Athens, participation is connected with the origin of the Games. "Join us in welcoming them
h o m e " . In this case, participation, which is one of the most fundamental aims of the organisers,
connects well with the special position of the country. This is the primary communication priority for
the promotion of the 2004 Games.

Besides this, the communication strategy is based on four more axes which are presented in different
publications and o n the website of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee.

5.1. Heritage
Emphasis is given to the connection of today's Games with tradition. The main slogan clearly indicates
the tone of the communication strategy. "The O G were born in Greece, were revived in Athens in
1896, are returning to the birthplace of the Games."

As p u t forward in the various official texts: "The Olympic symbols of ancient Olympia, the Olympic
flame and the Marathon race are bridges between the ancient and the modern Olympic Games. They
convey the Olympic ideals and, combined with the homecoming of the Games in 2004, will renew the
Olympic spirit and celebrate the ancient ' E t h o s ' of the noble competition of sport."

5.2. Human scale

T h r o u g h its history, Greek civilisation has made " m a n " the measure of all things. For the homecoming
to Greece, the centre of attention and the measure of comparison will remain the athlete, the
individual, and the team. Noble competition will inspire the athletes to a) surpass themselves and b)
overcome the others.

The presentation of human scale attempts to provide an answer to the problems of excessive size and
commercialisation encountered in the organisation of the Games.

5.3. Participation
With regard to participation, the position of Athens do not differ from those of the previous
organisers. The main goal is the largest possible participation of the public (athletes, spectators,
working people, volunteers, the television audience, etc.). People from all over the world meeting one
another (message: " T h e Olympic Games belong to the world"), the common experience of the Games
will strengthen the universality of the values of the Olympic Movement. T h e important thing is
participation (messages: "To share the common vision matters most", a n d / o r , "The value of
participation is higher than that of victory").

5.4. Celebration
The O G are today the greatest celebration of the world to honour sport, culture and peace. "In 2004,
Athens will offer the world a unique and festive experience that will remain with us for life, a point of
reference for future generations." 13

11
See the official website, www.athens.olympic.org, vision and mission / values / heritage.
12
Chronologically, the organisation of the Olympic Games in Athens finds itself between two Olympiads organised by two
large countries - the US (Adanta) and Australia (Sydney) characterised by an Anglo-American culture and the next Games
to be organised in a large Asian country China (Beijing) with totally different cultural characteristics. It will be interesting to
see whether the revival of the Olympic ideals through the presentation of the human scale will influence the excessive size
and commercialism or will constitute a short break in the path to date.
13
See, the official website www.athens.olympic.org, vision and mission / values / celebration.

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 6. S o m e e x a m p l e s from the a u d i o - v i s u a l c a m p a i g n

In the following, I will comment on two examples from the official audio-visual campaign for the
promotion of the Athens O G prepared by the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee:
the first example refers to the ceremony for the presentation of the emblem which took place in
Athens on 30 September 1999; and
the second is part of the ten-minute presentation of Athens at the closing ceremony in Sydney,
1 October 2000 where the flag was handed over and Athens was announced as the next host city.
The above examples were chosen for their symbolism and the codes used to promote the messages.

6.1. Ceremony for the presentation of the emblem

The ceremony for the presentation of the emblem began with the message: "Where will you be in
2004?" A twelve-minute video followed which presented the messages and the symbolism of the
emblem of the Athens O G using four thematic axes.
The first segment concerns ancient values. The background is blue. A ray of light shines onto the statue
of a young man. The statue symbolises the human being in the centre of the image. He is encircled bv
words in Greek, which represent values such as: light, man, ethos, endeavour, harmony, eternal light.
The words are not understandable by anyone w h o does not know Greek. The colour blue and a ray of
light remind us of Greek colours and the light of Attica, while the majestic music creates an atmosphere
of unearthly grandeur.
The second segment presents a dancer as an athlete with the red ribbon of the Olympic victor tied to
his arm. The movements of the athlete remind us of scenes from different events as they have been
illustrated on vases, statues or other findings from Antiquity. T h e movements, as well as the colours
(black background, red and ochre for the athlete) remind us of the multitude of vases decorated with
athletic scenes.
The third segment refers to the contemporary athletes, where once again their movements relate to
ancient models. Here the body is brought to the fore, in addition to the ideas of participation and
competition.
In the fourth segment, the olive wreath, the emblem of the O G in Athens appears. Its symbolism is
multi-dimensional. The olive wreath symbolises:
a direct connection with the tradition of Ancient Olympia;
the values of the greater and more glorious prize, simplicity, hand drawn design (not the
standardised aesthetics of electronic reproduction) and harmony without exaggeration;
symbol of history: Antiquity, the sacred tree of the city of Athens;
universality: peace, truce, unity of the world, brotherhood;
Greece: Greek nature, Greek colours.
The video ends with an image of the Parthenon, the monument-symbol of the Athenians, which is
shown with an olive branch in the foreground.

6.2. Closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Games

The promotion of Athens as the next host city begins with the priestesses, who for the first time in
history, leave Olympia and receive the Olympic flag in order to carry it back to their country. They throw
olive branches - the sacred tree of Athens, but also the symbol of peace - onto the flag, and raise an olive
wreath into the air, the symbol of Olympic victory and the emblem of the Athens Olympic Games.
The scene moves slowly, highly charged with symbolic codes that are not known to the broader public.
The music is majestic. The colours, primarily blue and white, are the colours of the Greek flag.
The ten-minute segment ends with J. A. Samaranch officially announcing Athens as the host city of the
next O G . T h e central message: "Welcome home, Olympics, Athens 2004" appears on a video-wall in
the Stadium of Sydney.

351
 7. I n t e r p r e t a t i o n - E v a l u a t i o n

The campaign for the televised promotion of the presentation of the emblem and the closing ceremony
of the O G in Sydney used the same communication elements to pass on their message.

The pompous, epic, glorified presentation of Antiquity loses its human scale and is not balanced. It
attempts to demonstrate majesty, to touch the emotions of the audience and to create a feeling of awe.
However it uses elements of exaggeration: very slow movement, intense music, blinding sources of
light. Stereotypic references to the Antiquity use many symbolic codes, which are dense in meaning and
connotations not understood by the broader pubic because simple, globally understood symbols are
not used or because the values are put forward in an unknown language (Greek).

The slow, almost static presentation of the ancient motifs (for example priestesses, dance of the athlete,
statues) and the repetition of the musical motifs weary and disorient the audience.

Finally, the audio-visual products for the promotion of the Games did not succeed in consolidating the
connection of the modern with the ancient Olympic ideals because they negate some of the basic
values in the Greek promotion of the O G such as: the human scale, simplicity, harmony and balance
between the contemporary and the ancient culture.

The first efforts to bring the messages of the Athens Games to the public did not make the impression
on an international level, which was anticipated. People could not:
understand the sudden turn towards Antiquity;
conceptualize the meanings and values that were put forward;
decode the symbols contained in the ceremonies and the advertising campaigns.

In the first phase, the image and the identity of the Athens Games turned to an obsessive projection of
Antiquity, in a meaningless, devoted admiration of Antiquity.

O n the contrary, the choice of the particularly emblem was successful, because the emblem:
connects Athens and Greece with the Olympic spirit;
has a simple design, understandable to all;
is handmade, not artificial, declaring in this way the human scale;
is full of various symbols allowing everyone to attribute their own meaning to it and to identify
with it.

Additionally and in my opinion, there is another successful product, the mascot of the Greek Games,
which was released to the public in April 2002. It is the two dolls Athena and Phevos. They represent a
successful link between Greek history and modern aesthetics. Phevos and Athena are brother and sister
and their names come from two Olympian gods: Phevos was another name for the Olympian god
Apollo, the god of light and music. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and the patron of the city of
Athens. They are a boy and a girl, symbols of equality and brotherhood. They have funny faces, a
modern design and look enthusiastic. An ancient doll, the oldest Greek doll, dating from the 7 th century
BC, inspired their creation. 14

Finally, if a sense of proportion is lacking from the previous contemporary Olympic Games, because
they were enormously expanded, commercialised and therefore distanced from the Olympic ideals,
then it is up to the Greeks as a people who are certainly capable to attempt to reconnect the Games
with the ancient spirit. The whole issue is whether contemporary marketing and competitive media
practices will be able or wish to comprehend this difference and adopt the narrative of the Antiquity.

14
The original relic is a bell shaped doll made out of terracotta, which is exhibit in the National Archaeological Museum of
Athens.

352
 VII

Olympic Education and Documentation Legacies

Moderator:
Richard Cashman
Director, Centre for Olympic Studies
University of New South Wales
Australia

353
354
 T h e Role of Archives and D o c u m e n t s
in the Legacy of the Olympic Movement

Cristina Bianchi
Records and Archives Manager
I O C Olympic Studies Centre
Olympic Museum
Switzerland

1. I n t r o d u c t i o n a n d definition

This paper will present very concrete evidence about the importance of archives and document
management in the legacy of the Olympic Movement. In fact, if documents had not been preserved, be
it by accident or by planned methods, m o s t of the scholars and specialists present at this symposium
would not be here today...

When you think about it, the Olympic Games period itself lasts less than three weeks. Nevertheless,
after the past two days of presentations and discussions on the subject of legacy, we are convinced that
the effects of the Games may last for years and even decades in all kind of areas. Clearly, the next step
is to check if this legacy effect has been planned in advance, in order to capture the best of it. And if
this is not the case, then there is a need to create and bring the awareness that this legacy planning is an
essential component in attaining long-term benefits for the host city, the I O C , and finally the history of
the whole Olympic Movement.

In a common dictionary, the word "legacy" is defined as anything left to its successor. However, the
Olympic world has refined this concept and added specific aspects to it. It applies well to the recent
history7 of the Olympic Movement. The donator is the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games
(OCOG) w h o plays a central role in legacy planning. The successors are two, the IOC and the host city,
who are the beneficiaries in the long run. A quick bibliographical search of this term "legacy" shows
that it has been used for the first time by U S O C in 1992. Only three books in our library include this
expression in their tide, linked to the word "Olympic". Does it mean that before this concept was not
important? It simply had other names: in the field of information science it is patrimoine and mmoire in
French, instead of hritage; memory, patrimony, or repository in English.

2. Role of archives

As in most organizations, archives are the last worry of an organizing committee, which is pressured to
organize "the best" Games in a short number of years. A records manager is often hired only two or
three years before the Games, if at all. However, when a crisis comes, evidence of an honest and
healthy organization is needed. As well as for Salt Lake City Organizing Committee, not to mention the
case of Jews "disinherited" by the Swiss banks or the E n r o n case in the United States, archives have the
role of:

keeping good corporate governance (financial, legal),

ensuring informed decision making,
implementing efficient business processes,
managing and leveraging knowledge assets and corporate intellectual property,
preserving and giving access to institutional memory, its historical legacy.

355
 3. O C O G s archival l e g a c y

As a grant holder of our Olympic Studies Centre wrote in her paper (Sarah Purchase, "Planning for
Olympic Legacies: A Comparative Analysis", 2000), there are apparent legacies such as Olympic
facilities and venues. There are also less obvious legacies, such as the relationship developed through
hosting the Olympics.

Archives are part of the second group. In the "fire of action", paper and electronic documents are just
a means of communication between entities. Then, they become a burden that needs to be dealt with,
according to regional laws for closing corporations (Sydney O C O G : 40,000 boxes of material at the
end of 2000).

Legacy issues then arise. What to do with these masses of information, more or less well identified and
on all types of formats? O C O G s rarely plan archival legacy in advance, as time is short. Salt Lake City
Organizing Committee signed a contract with the University of Utah's archives and library department,
but the transfer has n o t been done yet and the university's lack of resources will not allow this Olympic
series to be dealt with properly and opened to the public quickly. Sydney, after having thought of
creating an Olympic museum, which never saw the light, decided, after the Games, to leave the archives
to the Australian Olympic Committee under the supervision of the New South Wales archives, which
seems to create tensions between the two.

G o o d examples are Barcelona 1992 archives, which are partly located under the Olympic stadium, where
an Olympic gallery was created. The rest has been donated to the city archives, where they can also be
accessed. Calgary 1988 documents were given to the city archives. An archivist, who had also worked for
the O C O G , spent over 10 years to catalogue all the documents, which are now printed and online (see
Annex /). Los Angeles 1984 donated its documents to the archives of the University of Los Angeles,
California. O n e of its university archivists had been helping with appraisal and cataloguing during the
whole period of the Games. The description has recently been put online as well (see Annex 2).

What about the other O C O G s archival repositories? Rome 1960? They have disappeared with a flood
or a fire ... not even C O N I (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano) knows its final destination.

As the I O C archives only deal with documents of its own administration and high-level
correspondence and reports of its relationships with O C O G s and other institutions, it cannot provide
details about the nuts and bolts of the organization of a Games.

In order to track this valuable historical information, the I O C Olympic Studies Centre has started an
active search with the help of the Autonomous University of Barcelona Olympic Studies Centre. T h e
results of this work are available in the Olympic Studies International Directoy created by b o t h centres
a few years ago (see Annex 3). The goal is to provide the academic world with a list of addresses where
these documents and ephemera can be found. The second step will be to exchange finding-aids,
microfilms or scanned images in order to share the information and create a synergy between archival
repositories, for the benefit of accurate research in the field of Olympic history.

What if the I O C had the legal right to be the repository of these archives? It would drown under linear
kilometres of paper and electronic data, and need to build huge repositories for ...Networking and
dialogue are less costly and more efficient tools.

What can the I O C d o about recent O C O G archives, in order to help preserve all this crucial
information? It has n o legal control over the management of an O C O G records and archives. Three
ways, at different levels, have been found:
- A d d in the Host City Contract for Beijing 2008, chapter 25, the following sentence: "The O C O G
shall ensure that, b o t h during the period leading up and subsequent to the Games, the archives
relating to the Games are safely kept and managed, and that the IOC shall have free access to all

356
 such archives." Although this contract does not mention the word "legacy" a single time, this
sentence is a first move towards creating an awareness of the importance of providing a
professional recordkeeping system, and passing it on to a caring institution for long-term access.
This will allow for the control of the whole life cycle of documents, from its creation to its final
archiving, or weeding.
Work on advisor}' guidelines for Records Management (RM) and give examples and workshops on
how RM is dealt with at the IOC. In a second phase, these standards will be extended to National
Olympic Committees and International Federations, as it is important they also become part of the
information network.
Provide an E D M S (Electronic Document Management System) tool for the Transfer of
Knowledge programme, which allows an organization to keep huge quantities of information in a
common platform and share it electronically. This programme, which is also presented in this
symposium, is a concrete example of the concept of "knowledge management" applied to Olympic
Games information.

These information legacies are not only crucial to scholars and historians, but also to future Organizing
Committees w h o will not have to reinvent the wheel at each Olympiad.

4. T h e O l y m p i c M u s e u m a n d
the O l y m p i c Studies C e n t r e ( O S C )

T h e Olympic Museum and the Olympic Studies Centre are a unique house of Olympic legacy in itself.

Only recent editions of the Host City Contract mention that the O C O G has to provide the IOC with
documents and objects. "Provisions regarding the I O C Archives", in Appendix L, quotes that the I O C
has to receive three sets of all objects relating to the Games and six sets of copies of all publications,
plus one copy in electronic format. The O C O G shall provide an official Olympic film, the photographs
of all the competitions, and register them in the name of the IOC.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin did not wait to have this written to start collecting documents, objects and
pictures that represented the spirit of the Games. In addition, he also mentioned the concept of a
museum in his early correspondence.

Since de Coubertin's time, through donations, acquisitions, auctions, deposits and targeted searches, the
Olympic collections have grown into the most unique "fonds". This museum, inaugurated in 1993, is
nowadays the undisputed centre of Olympic knowledge. Information can be found in all formats,
uninterrupted from 1894 to 2002. The mission of the OSC, and of the Olympic Museum as well, is to
preserve the memory of the Olympic Movement, promote teaching, research and publications
connected with Olympism.

T h e Library is the legal Olympic depository for Official Reports and publications. It holds 20,000
monograph tides, 250 current periodicals and 100 CD-ROMs.

T h e Photographic Service offers 450,000 photographic documents dating from 1894 to present. Some
of them are exclusive, and with the restoration programme that has been put in place, it is the only one
to assure long-term preservation of the photographic legacy.

Images and Sound Department receives 2,800 hours of film for each of the Games of the Olympiad
and 800 hours for the Olympic Winter Games for a total amounting to approximately 18,200 hours.
T h e first official movie was shot in Stockholm, 1912. Since Seoul 1988, it has the integrality of the
Worldfeed of the Games, and since Albertville 1992, a detailed list of all the sequences of the movies

357
(logsheets). A restoration program was also started for the older collection. Reflection is now being
given to the idea of migrating to a new digital medium.

The Historical Archives Sendee manages nearly one linear kilometre of paper documents and
manuscripts regarding the administration of the I O C from 1894 to 1984. The Operational Archives
Service has the same amount of paper from 1985 to 2 0 0 2 . . . (see Annex 4) It is also a unique collection
of a non-governmental administration that has grown into a worldwide organization. T o continue
preserving the Olympic memory, although its volume is growing exponentially, the service is now
proposing an electronic document management system (EDMS) for the whole I O C that will capture
electronic mails and faxes, and paper correspondence by scanning it. This E D M S will also allow future
information initiatives (see Annex 5).

The Museology Department manages and studies more than 100,000 objects, in order to preserve them
and organize exhibits internally and externally. 25,000 entries with pictures associated have been made
into the Museum database (SIM); they serve as reference for thematic and targeted searches by the
Olympic Family. The SIM database provides the same service for each I O C Olympic Studies Centre
service. Along with photos, computer searches provide pictures of objects, manuscripts, coins and
stamps.

With all its services, the Olympic Museum and the O S C create a unique place of memory. They
represent a place of reference for host cities and National Olympic Committees, whose representatives
come and study its collection legacy, as well as the management of this legacy.

5. Conclusion

The archives of the I O C OSC are vitally important for the history of the Olympic Movement.
Continued excellence in preserving Olympic legacy via historical archives, image and photographic
collections and ephemera are therefore the main aims of five out of the seven O S C services, run by
professionals. The ever-growing volume of documents are stored in ideal conditions in the specially
adapted area below the Museum ground level. Rules of access to these documents have been recently
lightened from 30 to 20 years. They assure an open and fair access to knowledge.

Serving the I O C itself and, more broadly, the scientific and sporting community, the OSC therefore
hopes to provide constantly updated access to the treasures of the Olympic memory.

O n a larger scale, Olympic legacy can be acknowledged in marketing, growth of business, urban changes,
tourism, enhanced international profile a n d academic impact. The Los Angeles Amateur Athletics
Foundation is another showcase example of how sport and information can be leveraged by a city
hosting the Olympic Games. The same with the International Chair in Olympism of the Autonomous
University of Barcelona, the Center for Olympic Studies of the University of N e w South Wales, not to
mention the International Center for Olympic Studies from the University of Western Ontario, which
was created and prospers outside of any former Olympic structure.

Focusing on archival legacy, we have found that provisions made in Host City Contracts and new electronic
management tools allow information to circulate and be captured in a more structured way.

However, if we want to improve this process of natural legacy it is necessary to avoid the creation of
information silos, inefficiencies in sharing information across organizations, duplication of effort, etc.
Obviously, the host city has the significant stake in Olympic legacy. How can we help them maximize
the impact and leverage the opportunities created from hosting the Games? Most often done in haste
and at the last minute, how can we help them plan it in advance?

358
All stakeholders must recognize t h e i m p o r t a n c e of s t r a t e g i c information a n d k n o w l e d g e
m a n a g e m e n t . Targeted knowledge, from within the I O C , stakeholders and O C O G s will then be
effectively captured, retained and made accessible for future use. Can we involve T O P sponsors in this
process, once best practices are put in place and results made obvious?

Strategic planning is imperative to collect, preserve and develop the organizational heritage. It is the fast
track to ensure an optimal, long-term impact, and hence a positive legacy for Olympic cities, the I O C
and the Olympic Movement.

" K n o w l e d g e is a t e a m s p o r t " , says an Australian based consultant (Sue Halbwirth, KnowledgeScape).

L e g a c y is also a t e a m sport. Networking, sharing, communicating becomes our strength.

Annex 1
Calgary 1988 online finding-aid

Description of Series "Records of the Governing Boards and Executive Group".

V BooknuiK; & Location jhHp//wwWr gov calgaiy ab.ca/crtycleiks/atchives/Ogovefntng html

: :
j ,jim S, Rgion.; Pu) S ' World Business '3 : PiWK fct-ei

THc City ci Caigwy SusiDtss Units City Clark's

City of Caigary Archives

>'/*..: . . U S *
thy (JIBI k \
Kenrrnmee Sonrieeo l&Ktaatc i.c-'u.-rr- Petmei. t eVocodere^ 3j.i.:t:an- EjceiSMs Kif.taiical leaeanaiRM: Survt-v
Administrative Services
Cilgjry Awards H o w to C o n d u c t Research at the City of Calgary Archives.
FAQ (Administration)
Tours of Civic Complex Back t o : City of Caigary Archives FONDS Level Descriptions.
Secretariat A Corporate
Records
Records of the Governing B o a r d s and Executive Group . - [ m u l t i p i e m e d i a ] . --1981-1993, p r e d o m i n a n t
Archives
1981-1988 . - 1 8 . 2 5 m o f textual records, (Note: Includes 93 p h o t o prints, 37 s o u n d recordings, 22 slides, 6
Boiras. Commissions & i
Committees oversize items)

Council Minutes Administration/Biographical S k e t c h :

Deputy Meyor Roster
FAQ (Corporate Records)
FAQ (Secretariat)
e Election & Information
Services
Assessment Review Board:
Electrical utility Regulation :
Documisnt: Done
The XV Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee (XVOWGOC) was established in accordance with the
Olympic Charterte organize the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta in 1988 February The Committee was a
direct outgrowth of the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA), which was established in 1957 and
incorporated as a non-profit organization in accordance with SOCIETIES ACT of Alberta sometime thereafter The
aims of CODA, a body consisting of a Board of Directors and a membership of 75,000 Calganans. are to develop a
continuing sports program in Calgary and Canada through hosting sporting events, developing new facilities for
sports, improving coaching programs, and developing funding programs for sport CODA had made three bids to the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) for Calgary to host Olympic games before 1972, each of them unsuccessful.
CODA was resurrected in 1978 as the corporate vehicle to make a new bid to host the Olympic Winter Games in
1988. The degree of continuity of the earlier CODA through to the CODA of 1978 and after is not entirely clear
Through its Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee, CODA engineered the Calgary bid to host the 1988 Winter
Olympics, which was finally successful at a meeting of the IOC in Baden-Baden On 1981 September 30. the hosting
of the XVOWG was awarded to Calgary as host city This was done in the form of a two-way agreement between the
IOC on one hand, and the Canadian Olympic Association (COA) and The City of Calgary on the other hand, as
n n f i p r t i n t r i p P l K / m n i r l~hsrrtrcr R o r a n c o n f thro n m v i Q i n n c i n t h ^ l ~ l k / m n i r i ^ h a r t r c r r o m ir r c r l t h e r i r n f l n i 7 i n n
afc fflj^fl -^

359
 Annex 2
UCLA, Los Angeles 1932 and 1984 online finding-aid
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CcHerticr, ci" I>.istarials
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+ Descriptive Summary
+ Administrative Information
Descriptive Summary
Access Points
Scope and Content Title
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Container List
Ulaliuscrip! Cullection number

Origination
Olympics, T.< s Angeles

2 boxes ('. jr.car h.,, 2 oversize b,:-"es

Repository'
UiKversEy of California. Les Armeies Library. Department o:"Specii Collectons
Los Ans^rs, California 5009-1S7S

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Annex 3
International Directory of Olympic Studies
Archival Repositories

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360
 Annex 4
IOC Finding-Aid of Los Angeles 1932 (new software iRIMS)
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CIO ;jO-1932S-ARTPR A l b u m d c o u p t e s d e p t e s s e I s c r a p b o o k l des J e u x Olympiques d e L o s A n g e i e s 1 9 3 2 . d o n J Lafry et 0 V o t o n l s o v I U S A , 20001. v o l I I 193201 01:193212-31
CIO J 0 1932S-ARTPR R e c u e i l cfartrctes d e ptesse 1932-01-01 1 9 3 2 1 2 31
;io J0-1932S-ARTPR i Articles d e presse sut les J e u x Olympiques Los A n g e l e s 1931-01-01 193212-31
S CIO J01932S-ARTPR A l b u m d e e p u p u t e s d e p t e s s e ( s c i a p b o o k l des J e u x OjympK^ues d e Los A n g e l e s 1 9 3 2 1932-01-01 1932-12-31

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CIO J0-1932S-CEREM Crmonie d'ouverture des J e u x * 1932 0 1 - 0 V 1 9 3 2 1 2 31 '
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S ;J0-1932S-DISCO Discours p r o n o n c par le Comte d e Badtet-Latout, Prsident d u C I O . a la s a n c e d ' o u v e r t u r e d e la 31 e Sessron. le 2 8 i u i e t 1 9 3 2 1932-01-01 1 9 3 2 1 2 31

CIO J0-1932S-FI Correspondance avec les Fdrations Internationales de sport au sujet du programme orymprque : 1929-01 -01 1931-12-31
CIO J0-1932S-GENER Intormation et annuaite des membres CIO. CN FI. presse . carnet d'adresses [1932-01-01 193212 31
CIO ;J0-1932S-HEBER Hbergement des athltes et des membres du CIO 1932-01 01 193212-31

S CIO J0-1932S-INV1T Invitations et menus des driers, banquets. 1932-01-01 19321231

'S CIO J0-1932SJURID Jury d'honneur cas Mr Mulqueen 1928 01-01 193212 31

'S CIO JO 1932S -MEDIC Rapport mdical sur les Jeux 1932 0101 1932-12-31
CIO JO 1932S-MUSIQ "The great Olympic meet (march song)" 19320101 19321231
J0-1932S-PR0GR R g l e m e n t et programme offlcrel quotrdten des J e u x : 1932-01-01 1932-12-31

; J0-1932S-PUBU : O u v r a g e commemoiatif sur les J e u x Olympiques Los A n g e l e s 1 9 3 2 J 9 J 2 01-01 1932-12-31

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Electronic Document Management System (LiveLink) under pilot phase at the IOC

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361
 The Role of Olympic and Sports Museums in
the Heritage of the Olympic Movement
Report on the Role Played by Olympic and
Sports Museums in the Olympic Context

Michel Etter
Director
Museum Dveloppement
Switzerland

1. T h e role of m u s e u m s : I n t r o d u c t i o n

D o museums really have a role to play in the Olympic heritage? D o they have a future?

If so, would it not be a useful exercise to lay the foundations today for concerted action to help them
fulfil such a role?

Are museums just showcases for their sponsors or true instruments of the Olympic heritage?

Clearly, this paper is aimed primarily at those at the head of what is known as the Olympic family:
representatives of the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs), National Olympic
Committees (NOCs), International Federations (IFs), members of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC), teachers and researchers who visit the Olympic Studies Centre and directors of
Olympic and sports museums.

We know that the heritage of the Olympic Movement is immense, originating mainly from the work for
which it fundamentally exists: organising the Olympic Games. In essence, the Olympic Games are an
event-based activity which, in principle, is unlikely to leave behind a lasting legacy. However, each
Olympic Games is the result of enormous effort not only on the part of the O C O G concerned, but
also by the N O C s , IFs and the I O C itself.

Each Olympic Games also provides a unique opportunity to accelerate research and creativity, a sort of
culmination point for many athletes, researchers, engineers and artists, whether in the sporting, scientific,
technical or cultural sphere. T h e results of all this work can be seen during the 16 days of the Games,
representing spectacular advances made possible by the use of new materials, innovative techniques and
original works. The showcase effect of each Olympic Games offers an incredible opportunity to spotlight
the progress of research at the global level at a given moment in time.

Every piece of work, every object that is created and used in this context is, in principle, the best that is
available at that precise moment. It therefore accurately reflects the intellectual and physical capacities used
to design and create it. In other words, each object used in the Games is an expression of the level of
intelligence developed by man to find the best solution to a given problem, be it sporting, technical or
cultural in nature. T o jump higher, run faster, throw further, etc.

Since the Olympic Games are held every two years, as long as we preserve the evidence, we can build
up a collection that regularly bears witness to the progress made in sporting and cultural research. The
objects and works created for the Olympic Games are therefore signs of that progress, forming part of
the global human heritage.

So what role can Olympic and sports museums play in this process?

362
T h e answer is self-explanatory: it is clearly to help preserve that heritage and make it available to
researchers, historians, the Olympic Family and the public in general. O f course, Olympic and sports
museums do not have a monopoly on this task. They share it with designers, manufacturers, industry
and research.

All these museums also have a three-fold mission to fulfil with regard to the Olympic heritage. That
mission, like that of every other museum, is described in the Statutes of the International Council of
Museums (ICOM) 1 . It involves, in order of importance, conserving the heritage (collection) as we have
already mentioned, but also documenting it (research) and disseminating the knowledge acquired
(communication) to the general public.

In order to be recognised by the ICOM, a museum must be involved in all three areas. Collecting,
documenting and disseminating knowledge. This is the role of Olympic and sports museums with
regard to the Olympic heritage. This is a long way from being simply a permanent showcase for
sponsors...

But how do these tasks hang together in the awkward position they occupy between the heritage and
the general public? That is what we hope to discover in this report.

2. T h e t h r e e t a s k s of m u s e u m s

2.1. Museums, an interface between the heritage and the public

Figure 1

Before tackling museums' three tasks of conservation, research and

dissemination of knowledge, it would be useful to clarify the role of museums
as institutions that are beneficial to the general public, situated at the heart of
a given society and truly desired by the local community.

Without dwelling on the fact that not all societies have embraced museums
within their culture in the same way, we should note that they do play a
central role in most civilisations.

T h e way we see it, museums have become a kind of interface between the heritage and the public.
These days, their existence is justified as they take on the role of mediator or facilitator of access to
knowledge, responding to the increasing demands of the public.

Fully aware of how important that role is, they have become not only centres of expertise, but sometimes
even centres of excellence in the two fields they are involved in: knowledge of the heritage on the one
hand and communication of that knowledge to the general public on the other.

What do we mean by the term h e r i t a g e where sport, and the Olympics in particular, are concerned?

The collection and research activities of museums of this kind are naturally concerned with single or
multiple items, which carry some sort of memory of Olympism and sport:
sports equipment;
items that symbolise the Games (flags, torches, distinctive and commemorative medals);
souvenirs (products related to the Games, memorabilia, etc.);
works of art created for the Games or dealing with Olympic themes;
pictorial or written accounts which document all of these items (videos, photos, publications, etc.).

1
ICOM - International Council of Museums, an international organisation attached to the United Nations, wwm.icom.org

363
Apart from a few exceptions, all of the museums covered by our survey 2 collect objects of this kind.
Their collections are made up of between 120 and 200,000 items. Strictly speaking, there are no
geographical or time limits on the origins of these items of Olympic heritage. We can therefore
justifiably say that they form part of the global human heritage.

Figure 2
Olympic and sport m u s e u m s worldwide3

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Kchirolles" - '" -^.Canberra
- . ' '-Zagreb
Barcelone Wellington

Nicosia &

Source: Survey done by the Olympic Museum and Studies Centre and Museum Dveloppement in
Summer 2002.

As a general rule, these items reflect the history of the modern Olympic Movement, i.e. from 1896,
w h e n the Games were reborn in Athens, to the present day. Several museums house older items, many
of which are linked to the history of Ancient Greece.

N o w we have defined the heritage, if we look at the other side of the coin, how well do we actually
know the p u b l i c at w h o m all museums' efforts to communicate and disseminate knowledge are aimed?

W e have to acknowledge that, these days, museums tend n o t to be terribly familiar with their visitors.
However, they are making commendable efforts to improve this situation as they are gradually learning
that a key to good communication is an awareness of the expectations of the people receiving their
message...
O f the Olympic and sports museums we questioned, 50% provided information about the proportion
of visitors belonging to various categories (adults, children, teenagers, schoolchildren and groups).
Fifteen of them included their annual visitor figures, which varied between 1,000 and 200,000.

2
T h e information o n Olympic and sports m u s e u m s contained in this report is based o n a preliminary survey, carried out
jointly by the Olympic Museum and Museum Dveloppement. D u r i n g the s u m m e r 2002, the survey was sent to around 68
Olympic and sports m u s e u m s throughout the world. Twenty-seven of t h e m replied to the questionnaire. A summary of the
survey results is available from Museum Dveloppement or the Olympic M u s e u m .
3
W e thank the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Sport et l'Oljmpisme (University of Franche-Comt, France) for their
assistance in the creation of the two maps included in this presentation.

364
If we were asked to define a group of people targeted by museums today, there would be no single
answer. Modern museums target all kinds of different groups. As far as Olympic and sports museums
are concerned, they may target:
- children, who often make up a large proportion of visitors (approximately 5 0 % for the museums
surveyed, whether with school groups, families or as individuals);
- sports enthusiasts and fans of sports events in general;
- people who watched the Games on television or in the stadium, w h o visit the museum to relive the
vivid emotions they experienced;
- participating athletes;
- members of the Olympic family;
- people with an interest in one particular sport, who want to see pictures and information relating
to the performances of their favourite athletes.

However, when considering these profiles, we must bear in mind that sport attracts much broader
audiences than the world of culture, to which museums belong. Generally speaking, between 6 and 8%
of a given population actually visits museums.

According to the ICOM criteria, museums traditionally perform two tasks that focus on the heritage
(collection and research) and one that targets the public (dissemination of knowledge). We shall deal
with these in turn.

2.2. Task 1: Collection

Figure 3
Collection involves gathering heritage items in order to preserve and
exhibit them. This requires a certain expertise in heritage management.
In this respect, Olympic museums certainly do not lack opportunities to
create and build up their collections.

I t e m s m a y b e a c q u i r e d through purchase, donation, legacy or long-

term loan (whereby they remain the property' of the lender). Two-thirds
of the museums consulted have a genuine acquisitions policy. Only half
actually purchase items and therefore have a budget for that purpose. Public
The others rely on donations.

Four recommendations may be made regarding acquisitions:

respect the ICOM rules, which state that museums should never authorise the items in their
collection to be sold;
- do not agree to any condition or obligation laid down in connection with a donation or legacy,
particularly an obligation to exhibit a donated item;
set out a clear acquisitions policy which explains the scope of the museum's collection activities: in
general, it is better for a museum to have a clear, specific acquisitions policy than to make all kinds
of miscellaneous acquisitions. For example, a museum devoted to a particular Olympiad should
only collect items connected to that Olympiad rather than the wide range of other Olympism-
related objects;
- entrust the implementation of the acquisitions policy to a trained professional, either a director or a
curator, who should improve on it, using their expertise and contacts.

Acquiring, conserving and cataloguing items add value to the heritage.

The way in which objects are p r e s e r v e d also adds value to a collection. For example, it is vital to clean
an item when it is received and to store it in good conditions. Any restorative work that might prove

365
necessary should be carried out in a gende and reversible manner so that the item's heritage value is not
diminished. Finally, it should be expertly maintained (dusted and cleaned), particularly if it is made of
new materials with an unknown life span.

T w o recommendations may be made in respect of the conservation of objects:

as far as possible, respect the I C O M ' s preventive conservation standards: store items in clean, dry
conditions created especially for this purpose, do not allow temperature variations of more than
1C per 24 hours or hygromtrie conditions more than 5 % above or below the recommended
level;
only allow restoration work to be carried out by a specialist restorer with adequate work facilities
(laboratory) and respecting the principle of reversibility for every intervention carried out.

Finally, the heritage value of a collection depends on how it is managed. Effective collection
management involves identifying objects as soon as they are received, using an individual registration
form including a photograph of the item. Objects can be more easily monitored and located if a
computerised i n v e n t o r y of all the individual forms is maintained. The appointed inventory manager
will also ensure that he or she can manage the movement of items in such a way that they always know
where an item is located: in storage, laboratory, permanent exhibition, temporary exhibition or on loan
to an itinerant exhibition, for example. Since collections can quickly grow to include thousands of
items, it is easy to understand why specialist data management software is needed to control the
inventory of objects and their movements.

2.3. Task 2: Research

Figure 4
The r e s e a r c h carried out by Olympic and sports museums is designed to Heritage
increase knowledge of the Olympic heritage and its components.

Eighteen museums reported that they were currendy undertaking Collection Research
research, many in collaboration with other institutions and some having
appointed specialist researchers.

This research usually comprises two main strands. The first is focused on
the object and its context and involves historians and conservators
working vertically on documentary research (historical, iconographical Public
and technological) connected with the objects themselves, in order to
gain a clearer understanding of how they were made and used and how they functioned.

Under the second strand, based on the Olympic theme, different specialists work horizontally in areas
linked to history, sociology, art and culture in order to enhance our knowledge of how the Olympic
Movement has evolved in society.

Through the resulting accumulation of knowledge, this research adds significant value to the Olympic
heritage to the extent that it ought to be brought to the attention of the public.

Research, like collection, is closely linked to the dissemination of knowledge.

Documentary and thematic research also adds value to the heritage.

366
 2.4. Task 3: Knowledge dissemination

Figure 5

Of all the tasks performed by museums today, knowledge Heritage

dissemination - communication in its broadest sense is certainly the
one that has increased most in importance over the last 20 years

Whether through exhibitions, publications or events, the task of

communication is not only an integral part of a museum's identity, it is
its very justification.

A museum can only fulfil its role as an interface between the heritage
and the public if it passes on to society, in a variety of different ways,
the knowledge and expertise it has accumulated in its particular field. Public
It has a responsibility to interpret the heritage.

The importance of this task is such that - rightly or wrongly - it now tends to take precedence over the
tasks of research and collection. In order to economise on human and financial resources, museums
nowadays coordinate their research and collection activities and often give them a lower priority than
knowledge dissemination. Collection and research are carried out with a view to staging an exhibition,
producing a publication or organising an event.

For this reason, medium- and long-term planning for knowledge dissemination activities is more vital
than ever. T w o , three or even four years of preparation are necessary to produce high-quality
exhibitions and publications, bearing in mind the networking and interdisciplinary work required by
most projects if they are to prove popular with the public.

A museum's ability to interpret the heritage adds value to that heritage. There are three methods of
disseminating knowledge:
exhibitions: permanent, temporary, itinerant;
publications and products: paper publications, electronic publications, replicas;
events: cultural, sporting or social.

Exhibitions
What means of communication do museums usually have? These days, there is a wider choice than ever
before. The most important and obvious is the exhibition itself. Whether permanent, temporary or
itinerant exhibitions form the focal point of a museum's expertise. They are multidisciplinary in
themselves, open to all modern forms of scenography, audiovisual expression and interactivity. More
than anything, they offer a unique and original cultural encounter, centred on the visitor's experience.
Thanks to the capacity they now have to entertain visitors, to offer them a variety of experiences by
moving them around a given space, to make them feel emotions and to grab their full attention for a
relatively lengthy period of time, museums are an ideal platform for knowledge dissemination.

Exhibitions enable museums to have a tremendous, high-quality, emotional and lasting impact on their
visitors. Museum exhibitions on the theme of Olympism are the ideal means of conveying the Olympic
Ideal to people who enjoy sport and culture and who may themselves generate interest among an even
broader section of the public. In that sense, Olympic museums are more than just centres of expertise:
they are, amongst other things, centres of excellence for modern Olympism.
It should also be pointed out that Olympic museums appeal to a wide range of people. They cover a
relatively vast sphere of interest which should be updated each time the Games are held.
These museums, therefore, must constantly bear in mind the virtually ever-changing situation and
design their permanent exhibitions so that they can be regularly updated. One-third of the museums

367
surveyed no longer have a permanent exhibition: they stage temporary exhibitions only or update their
exhibition every two years. Only three museums do not organise temporary exhibitions. T h e surface
area devoted to permanent exhibitions varies from 120 to 2,100 m 2 . Temporary exhibitions cover
between 50 and 500 m 2 .

Publications and products

Many museums also disseminate knowledge by producing publications and other products. These
usually take three main forms: paper publications (visitors' guides, educational documents, catalogues,
monographs, etc.), electronic publications (CD, D V D , Internet) and objects (related products, replicas,
etc.).
While 80% of Olympic museums now produce paper publications (usually several per year), only 50%
create electronic publications. Several museums are planning to develop these activities.

Events
Museums can also disseminate information more effectively by organising special events. Whether
cultural (conferences, concerts, films), sporting (introductions to a particular discipline, demonstrations,
meetings with athletes) or social (congresses, celebrations and various types of reception), events enable
museums to open their doors to people who are otherwise unlikely to visit. Virtually, all Olympic
museums organise such events, which are clearly extremely varied and, thanks to the sporting theme
usually involved, tend to be highly creative.

Cultural mediation
Generally speaking, it is noticeable that museums have significandy increased and broadened their
knowledge dissemination activities. Holding exhibitions, producing publications, launching Internet
sites and organising events are all strategies for reaching a wider and increasingly targeted public. The
very fact that they have to communicate with such a broad variety of people groups and therefore
adapt their communication methods has led museums to recruit a new kind of specialist: the cultural
mediator. These days, it is the cultural mediator who is responsible for finding new ways of discovering
and promoting access to knowledge for new categories of museum visitors, such as children, teenagers,
the elderly, schoolchildren, families and the partially sighted. Cultural mediation is probably one of the
factors now driving museums to define the different sections of the population they are trying to reach
and to suggest new types of activity that are better adapted to their respective needs.

M o r e professional activities
T h e problem facing museums today does not therefore lie in creating new types of activity or attracting
new groups of people: they have shown in recent years that they are capable of achieving both these
goals.
Instead, the danger now comes from the sheer variety of activities they are pursuing and the lack of
professionalism which characterises most of these initiatives. Staging exhibitions, producing D V D s ,
creating an Internet site, launching a series of commercial objects, organising a concert and teaching
children are all very different tasks which are new to most museums and which are performed with
varying degrees of competence. O n the one hand, museums do not have the necessary expertise and
would rather carry out such activities in-house because of a lack of resources. O n the other hand, their
programming strategies are often opportunistic. The lack of coordination between the various activities,
which are often run in a rather disorganised manner, means that their impact o n the public is mediocre.

T h e exhibition p r o g r a m m e sets t h e a g e n d a
Nowadays, museum directors need to improve their planning of exhibitions, publications and events, to
coordinate and refocus them on the central role of museums: organising exhibitions.
Setting dates and determining exhibition themes for the next three or four years should now be a
priority for museum directors. If publications and events are then based on the exhibitions programme,

368
the impact of all their efforts is likely to be increased. Most major museums now tend to follow this
type of project-based structure and benefit from co-operation with the network of outside partners
involved.

Successful exhibitions these davs usually have the following characteristics: long-term planning, targeted
publications that help promote the exhibition and a programme of events that generates interest and
attracts more visitors. As a whole, the exhibition comes across to the public as a coherent, high-quality
product, which remains a distinctive feature of the cultural experience offered by museums.

3. T h e t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n

In order to fulfil their role of promoting and disseminating the Olympic heritage, museums have to
take into account a new, temporal dimension, which helps them put their task into perspective.

Museums' activities are characterised by their permanence. They are always open to the public and
therefore offer constant publicity for the Olympic Movement, complementary to the event-orientated
nature of the Games themselves. The dissemination and promotion of the Olympic Ideal therefore also
depend on the consistency and quality of these museums' activities, since they are showcases of the
Olympic Movement.

However, museums also have a responsibility to preserve the heritage, ensuring the survival of objects
connected to the Olympic heritage. They are therefore indispensable to the conservation of the
Olympic memory. They give the Movement an extra dimension - a cultural, historical aspect based not
just on the preservation of values, but also on the need to use them to develop a forward-looking
strategy that can be shared with the public.

These museums therefore give the Olympic Movement a permanent foothold amongst the people,
away from the Games, where Olympic values can be promoted and debated. For this reason, they merit
the utmost attention of the IOC, the N O C s and Organising Committees.

Simply by existing, they convey a certain image of Olympism, which should reflect, through their
quality, the ideals extolled by the Olympic Movement.

Figure 6
T h e t i m e factor p u t s t h e s e m u s e u m s ' activities into p e r s p e c t i v e

Olympic museums are relatively recent innovations: apart from a few rare exceptions, they were all
founded in the last twenty years. Most of them perhaps lack the experience of the major museums
established in the 19th century, but they do have the advantage of working in a truly dynamic
environment: the Olympic Movement. They therefore fit very well into the modern era, with many
popular new museums now being opened. As time goes by, they are acquiring a solidity and substance
that reinforce their role as a home for the global human heritage represented by sports and Olympic-
related objects.

369
 Figure 7
With time, museums acquire "substance"
They ensure that the heritage survives and enrich discussion of it

4. Do Olympic museums have a future?

In view of the proliferation of Olympic museums since the 1980s - more than twenty were established
in all five continents during the last part of the 20th century - it is legitimate to wonder whether they
truly have a future.

In fact, all museums should be asking themselves whether they have a future in the 21 st century.

I should state right away for the benefit of anyone harbouring any doubt that my response is "Yes".
Why? Quite simply because museums have demonstrated in recent years that they occupy a new place
in today's societies, they know how to attract the public and, even better, that, although they do not
have all the answers, they are able in an original way to generate discussion of the main issues that
concern the public today.

Other media are able to achieve this on a much larger scale. Television, cinema, theme parks and the
Internet are all now competing with museums. So why am I so optimistic?

As I have watched museums at work and helped create a number of them over the last few years, I
have become convinced that museums have all the need to establish themselves and develop a
prominent role as gateways to knowledge in the 21 st century. There have been some fantastic recent
developments in this area.

Schools, the Internet and museums

Schools have always been the principal institution developed by our societies for the dissemination of
knowledge. Despite crisis after crisis, schools took enormous strides during the 20th century in terms
of the education they provided. However, they still have a fairly rigid structure and present one major
drawback: they are unable to bring their "users" into direct contact with the outside world. At best,
they can only offer representations of that reality.
The Internet, meanwhile, offers part of the world's population a radically different form of access to
knowledge. With no overall framework, structure or verification of the information it carries, it

370
nevertheless offers the public more or less free, unlimited, but virtual access to all the knowledge that
mankind has accumulated.
Between these two extremes, the advantages and complementarity offered by museums are immediately
apparent. Indeed, museums preserve an essential, irreplaceable notion: the heritage. Material objects
form part of a museum's identity and role. Its very7 purpose is to share them with the public, not in a
crude way but supplemented by reflection, contextualisation, interpretation and even emotion.
Museums therefore not only share the heritage, but are conscious of how they do so, providing
additional background information that gives it true value. This in turn is likely to attract the interest of
more and more people.
Museums are now among a very small number of institutions capable of playing the role of an interface
and mediator between the heritage and the public. Nowadays, people are not only valuing the heritage
more and more, but are also calling for new leisure and learning facilities. Museums, which take this on
board during the coming century, therefore have a certain future.

5. Some a v e n u e s to p u r s u e . . .

It therefore appears that there is a future for museums in general and for Olympic and sports museums
in particular.

The latter which, as we have seen, are still a relatively recent development, deal with a general theme
that is very varied - involving sport, art, science, technology and social phenomena - and potentially
attractive in view of current public demands.

As the years pass, Olympic and sports museums will gain "substance". This does not mean they will
become unwieldy, but that they will gather experience, solidity and heritage.

Several avenues should be pursued if this potential is to be fully exploited:

1) Professionalisation
Several new professions are now involved in museology: museologists, who design museums;
scenographers, who create exhibitions; and mediators, responsible for the educational role of
museums. Many new professions are represented among museum staff in general and maybe
among Olympic and sports museum employees in particular. Museums must, in future, avail
themselves of the resources needed to employ these specialists, providing training, experience and
expertise for the athletes, sports historians and teachers w h o are often employed by Olympic and
sports museums today.

2) Network
Olympic and sports museums form a group of institutions spread all over the world. However,
they are all equipped with the technical means to communicate with each other. All the museum
directors who responded to the survey said they would like to cooperate with other institutions, if
they did not do so already.
The network is not far away. It desperately needs to be formalised. This will be a gradual process
and will involve random exchanges of experiences and information between any two points of the
network, not necessarily using the Olympic Museum in Lausanne as an intermediary.

The survey we carried out in collaboration with the Olympic Museum is a first step in this
direction. The results will be csseminated to the 25 museums who responded to the questionnaire
and any others which request a copy.

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 Figure 8
Olympic and sport m u s e u m s worldwide: a network!

Source: Survey done by the Olympic Museum and Museum Dveloppement in Summer 2002.

3) Dialogue
As exchanges within this more or less formal network become more frequent, it is likely that
organised dialogue will be necessary from time to time: organising seminars for example. Museum
directors can gain a broader perspective by finding out how others are getting on and sharing their
successes and failures.

6. Conclusion

T h e theme of this report was the role of Olympic and sports museums in the heritage of the Olympic
Movement.

Having considered whether these institutions were just showcases for their sponsors, we hope that we
have shown their role to be genuine, both in terms of the preservation of the historical heritage of the
M o v e m e n t and, in particular, with regard to the task of continuously disseminating the Olympic ideals
to the public.

Olympic and sports museums may have an increasingly important role to play for the Olympic
Movement, bearing in mind the public's growing expectations regarding new forms of communication,
leisure and access to knowledge.

This field has tremendous potential, which could benefit the Olympic cause as a whole and increase its
profile even further.

372
 Annex
Olympic and sports museums across the world

List of museums that participated in the survey conducted by the Olympic Museum and Museum
Dveloppement in Summer 2002. Situation on 30 August 2002.

Continent Country Games Institution

Africa Benin Cotonou: Muse olympique du Bnin
Status: museum, established in 1988
America Argentina Buenos Aires: Argentine Olympic Committee
Status: Argentine Olympic Committee, plans to open a m u s e u m in
Argentina Cordoba: Museo del D p o r t e "Pierre de Coubertin"
Status: museum and private institution, established in 1988
Canada Calgary, 1988 Calgary: Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum
Status: m u s e u m and association, established in 1988
Canada Adanta, 1996 Atlanta: T h e Adanta Olympic G a m e s Museum
Status: plans to open a m u s e u m in 2004
USA Lake Placid Lake Placid: 1932 + 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic M u s e u m
1932, 1980 Status: museum, established in 1995
USA D e p o e Bay: International sports hall of fame & Olympic m u s e u m
Status: museum and private institution, established in 1980
USA Salt Lake City,
2002
Guatemala Guatemala: T h e Olympic Museum of Guatemala
Status: plans to open a museum
Venezuela Caracas: Museo Olimpico Venezolano
Status: museum and private institution, established in 1993
Asia Korea Seoul: Korea Sports M u s e u m
Status: museum, established in 2000
Japan Nagano, 1998

Singapore Singapore: Sports M u s e u m Singapore

Status: publication, established in 1983
Vietnam Hanoi: Vietnam Olympic Sports Museum
Status: national m u s e u m and academy, association, established in
Europe Germany Cologne: Deutsches Sport-und Olympia-Museum ( D S O N )
Status: museum and foundation, established in 1982 and 1999
Germany Berlin, 1936 Berlin: Sportmuseum Berlin
Status: museum and public institution, established in 1970 under
Belgium Heverlee: Sportmuseum Viaanderen
Status: museum, established in 1985, moving to a renovated building
Cyprus Nicosia: Cyprus Olympic Museum
Status: established in 1999, museum opening at the end of 2002
Croatia Zagreb: Hrvatski Sportski Muzej
Status: museum, public institution, established in 1895 (?)
Spain Barcelona, Barcelona: Fundaci Barcelona Olimpica - Galeria Olimpica
1992 Status: private foundation, established in 1993
Finland Helsinki, 1952 Helsinki: Sports Museum Foundation of Finland
Status: museum, established in 1938
France Albertville, Albertville: Maison des jeux olympiques d'hiver
1992 Status: museum and association, established in 1992
France Echirolles: Muse Go-Charles
Status: municipal m u s e u m , established in 1982

373
 France Pans, 1900, Pans: Muse national du Sport
1924 Status: national museum and public institution, established 1963,
museum being renovated, to re-open in 2004
Norway Lillehammer, Lillehammer: Norges Olympiske Museum
1994 Status: museum and foundation, established in 1995, opened in
Switzerland Lausanne: Olympic Museum, Lausanne
Status: foundation, established in 1993, renovated in 2001
Oceania Australia Victoria: Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum
Status: museum and public institution, established in 1986
Australia Sydney, 2000
New Zealand Wellington: Olympic Museum / New Zealand Olympic
Committee

374
 T h e Legacy of the Olympic Games for E d u c a t i o n

D e a n n a Binder
Director
Institute for Olympic Education
Faculty of Education, University of Alberta
Canada

1. Introduction

More than a hundred years have passed since an idealistic young French educational reformer, Pierre de
Coubertin, began planning for an "Olympic G a m e s " to promote his educational ideas. Describing the
schools of his nation as "abhorrent places" , he believed that sports and games offered a joyful context
within which students could "practice" the physical, intellectual and moral behaviours required by
citizens in a democracy. The first three of the original four aims of the original Olympic Charter are, in
fact, educational aims:
1) to promote the development of those physical and moral qualities which are the basis of sport;
2) to educate young people through sport in a spirit of better understanding between each other and
of friendship, thereby helping to build a better and more peaceful world;
3) to spread the Olympic principles throughout the world, thereby creating international goodwill.

This paper is an attempt to examine the education legacy of the Olympic Games not only from the
perspective of the pedagogical mission of Pierre de Coubertin as articulated in the Olympic Charter,
but also from the perspective of current theories of curriculum development and educational
implementation. You have already heard about many other kinds of legacies of Olympic Games,
including legacies for sport development and coaching. If, as the dictionary suggests, education is the
process of "being led" - from the Latin word educare meaning "to lead", then these are also educational
legacies. Today, however, I want to focus on the evolution of formal educational legacies of an
Olympic Games - on programs designed specifically to bring the Olympic messages to children and
youth in schools, in community programs, in youth camps and on-line. In situations like these, Olympic
education becomes a context for "leading" children and youth in an exploration of the principles of
Olympism, and into activities in which Olympic-related experiences become part of a relevant and
meaningful educational journey.

O n e of the earliest of the formal educational initiatives in an Olympic Games host city was a program
developed prior to the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976 by Dr. Fernand Landry, then a professor at
Laval University and a regular lecturer at the International Olympic Academy. It was intended for use
in the schools of the province of Quebec in Canada, and was based on an exploration of the Olympic
ideals of Pierre de Coubertin. According to an analysis of Olympic education programs by
Spangenberger 2 these materials included "exciting and informative text material [on the Olympic
values], addressed through actual and relevant examples ... and presented with appropriate pedagogical
strategies." In spite of this, the materials did not receive wide use in the province of Quebec. 3

1
Mller N. (Ed.) (2000), Pierre de Coubertin: Ofympism - Selected Writings. Lausanne, Switzerland: International Olympic
Committee, p. 126.
2
Spangenberger M (1994), Olympische Er^iehungsprogramme fr die Schulen. Ein internationaler Vergleich unter Bercksichtigung
Eehrrriele, didaktischen Konzepte und peadagogischen Wirkung. Unpublished Diplomarbeit, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universitaet,
Mainz, p. 27.
3
Landry F. (1988), notes from a private interview with the author, International Olympic Academy, July, 1988.

375
A departure from informational materials based primarily on the history and values of Olympism came
in 1984. The Olympics: An Educational Opportunity: Enrichment Units, (1984), prepared by various
educational authorities in the United States with support from the United States Olympic Committee
and the US Office of Education, was an early attempt to integrate Olympic information with
curriculum objectives in various subject areas of the American school system. Since education in the
USA is a state responsibility, the material had to be organised so that it could be adapted and integrated
by classroom teachers into their existing school programs. In Spangenberger's analysis, the messages of
de Coubertin's Olympism were "hidden" in the hundreds of various classroom activities that were
suggested in the various components of the program. Spangenberger had a similar criticism for the
educational programs of the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games. In his conclusions, however, he
noted that while the Montreal program clearly articulated the messages of Olympism, the Calgary
programs scored significantly higher among classroom teachers. How can an Olympic education
program do both?

Beginning with Calgary, let me now provide information about three examples of comprehensive
educational programs funded and supervised by host city organising committees. In 1984, the Calgary
1988 Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee began an initiative to inform young people about
the Olympic Games and about Olympic winter sports. Apart from hockey, Olympic winter sports were
traditional European sports. Many were not well known to the typical Canadian child.

With the help of two hundred teacher volunteers, what began as a project to prepare curriculum books
for schools to provide Olympic information, expanded to include an international children's art display,
children's postcards welcoming everyone who stayed in the athletes' village, a youth drama festival with
themes of the Olympics and sport, street banners, garbage can painting, a speaker's bureau, and a field
trip program for schools. All of these projects were supported by educational kits for each of the three
levels of the school system: elementary, junior and senior high. With the support of the ministry of
education, every school in the province was provided with copies of the kits. T h e federal government
took note of the success of the program, and, working with the Canadian Olympic Association,
undertook to produce and distribute the elementary program binder - in English and French - to all
elementary schools in the country. This happened just prior to the start of the torch relay. The
programs seem to have been well-used.

A number of factors contributed to this outcome; these factors seem c o m m o n to successful school-
based Olympic education efforts by organising committees:
1) A steering committee for the program included officials from local school boards, and the
provincial ministry of education.
2) A curriculum development specialist was hired to coordinate the writing of the curriculum binders.
According to Schwab, a curriculum specialist brings a particular expertise to this role. ' This person
needs to have a "sense for the overall vision and values of the project...with this sense the
curriculum specialist can then encourage and monitor the intentions and expertise of the other
collaborators.'" An educational program for schools has to maintain a balance between what has
been described as the "four commonplaces" of curriculum: subject matter, learner, teacher and
milieu. The curriculum specialist has the responsibility of translating the vision and values of the
project "into practical classroom applications", acting as "the countervailing force" for people with
different priorities with respect to these four "commonplaces."

4
Spangenberger M., op. cit., p. 40.
5
Canadian Olympic Association (1990), unpublished survey.
6
A discussion of the roles and responsibilities of a curriculum specialist based on the insights of Joseph Schwab on the
practical nature of the curriculum development process is included in Binder, D. 2002. Curriculum Odyssey: Facilitating an
International Olympic Education Project. Edmonton: University of Alberta, Doctoral Dissertation, pp. 164-171.
7
op. cit. p. 168
8
ibid. p. 168

376
3) Subcommittees of teacher volunteers helped to develop activities for the curriculum materials, and
the materials were tried out in classrooms prior to final publication. This involvement provides
quality control. For an organising committee it has the added benefit of engaging hundreds of
volunteers prior to the Games in activities that connect the Games positively to local, provincial
and national schools and communities.
4) All activities were cross-referenced to school subject areas, and included all of the information
needed by a teacher to use the materials. For example, background information was written so that
it could also be used as a student handout for better readers, or was simplified as a reading card for
very young students. Thus the materials became not only primers for teaching about the Olympics
and winter Olympic sports, they became motivators for learning, integrating Olympic and sport
content with activities to develop concepts in social studies, language arts, fine arts and drama,
mathematics, physics, etc.
5) The implementation strategy involved workshops for teachers, key contacts in every school, a
school newsletter, updates, and a recognition program. Nationwide, this initiative was duplicated
with volunteer educational " O " Teams in each province.

Just as the Calgary Games educational legacy built on the Los Angeles legacy, subsequent Olympic
organising committees seemed to build on the Calgary programs. And in the same way that Olympic
Games' organisers learn from one another, Olympic education specialists, with the help of the
International Olympic Academy, have been able to share and compare ideas and initiatives.

Each host city and host nation works, however, from within the "milieu" of a particular cultural and
educational tradition. For example, in contrast with the children of Calgary, the children of
Lillehammer were very familiar with the sports of the Olympic Winter Games. It was a winter tradition
in Norway for families to pack their cross-country skis up to cottages in the north and spend their
weekend skiing. Sports like ski jumping and cross-country skiing had their roots in Scandinavian
traditions. The Norwegians were also much more familiar with Olympic history and traditions. They
had already hosted one Winter Games (Oslo, 1952). Although the developers of the Lillehammer
Olympic education binder, under the direction of Kristin Heiland, included the usual information
regarding Olympic history, traditions, symbols and ceremonies, they also included sections that helped
children explore the ethical issues related to the Olympic Games - in particular the environmental
issues. Heiland suggests that the Olympic Games created the "golden situation" for learning.

Since Los Angeles, advances in communication technology, and cooperation with educational
authorities have helped to involve more educators in the curriculum development process. By reaching
out to the educational community through technology, Olympic Games' educational initiatives have
been supported by the ministries of education and have become increasingly relevant for classroom
teachers. Technology, specifically television, was used in the Lillehammer program to support the
educational initiatives. With the sponsorship of a local broadcast company, ten television programs
were produced highlighting various Olympic themes. These were shown at the same time in the
mornings for classroom viewing.

Heiland confirms that the success of the Lillehammer Olympic education initiatives were based on the
five curriculum implementation factors described earlier. Heiland also points out that the
implementation strategy should involve presentation to the local organisers of the Olympic Games who
d o not always seem to understand that by reaching the community with projects and educational
materials prior to the Games, the Olympic education initiatives actively support the Games community
relations efforts. 10

9
Heiland K. (1994), The educational programme during the Olympics in Lillehammer - intentions and experiences before,
during and after the Olympics." Paper presented to the International Olympic Academy, 2 nd Joint International Session for
Directors of NOAs, Members and Staff of NOCs and IFs, June 1994, p. 22.
10
Heiland K. (2002), from a telephone interview with the author, September 30, 2002.

377
Another educational legacy of the Lillehammer Games began with an initiative by Johann Olav Koss,
winner of four gold medals in speed-skating. Koss leads Olympic Aid - "an athlete-driven, non-profit
organisation using sport and play to enhance child development and build community capacity."
Olympic Aid's programs for children in refugee communities and in other situations of disadvantage
are designed to be inclusive, sustainable and community-driven. Rather than talk about the messages of
Olympism, these programs apply them in sport and health education programs at the most basic of
grass roots levels.

Sydney's Olympic 2000 National Education Program reached all of Australia's 3.2 million school
students. N o other host nation has attempted an educational outreach of this magnitude. Under the
management of Susan Crawford, a National Olympic Education Council oversaw the development of a
program with three key initiatives:
- a student newspaper, distributed on five occasions to all students in the country;
- an educational kit or learning resource - Aspire - that included an interactive C D - R O M , a Teacher
Guidebook; a set of three posters, a video and complementary Internet activities. Technology, the
environment and a critical exploration of issues related to organising the Games were among the
topics highlighted in Aspire;
- a w e b site called kids attached to the official site of the 2000 Olympic Games. T h e Kids area
"housed fun, interactive leisure and learning activities organized into Sport, Green, World and
T e c h n o Zones. This web site also featured a section for parents and teachers, providing back-up
resource support and the educational rationale for the learning activities."

T h u s , with the funding and support of a major Olympic sponsor, Sydney took full advantage of
m o d e r n technology to enhance the educational legacy of its Games. Additional education projects
included an art program for primary school students across Australia. In 2000, 54,500 students
participated, producing drawings o n themes such as friendship, sport, the environment and
multiculturalism. According to Toohey, Crawford and Halbwirth, these "thematic approaches
encouraged expression of understandings of key Olympic themes, concepts and messages across a
diversity of areas."

T h e National Education Program also helped primary schools in Australia to establish contacts with
Olympic teams from other countries. Learning opportunities related to the culture of the chosen
country were then embedded in the curriculum of the school. Long-lasting friendships and ongoing
communication have resulted from the interest that schools took in "their" chosen country and the
performances of its Olympic athletes. 13 Crawford describes these kinds of "intangibles" as the most
important educational legacy of the Sydney Games:
" I don't think there will be a kid in all of Australia that will not remember his or her
participation in some aspect of the Olympic celebration no matter how far they live from
Sydney."

Barcelona and N a g a n o are two other examples of host cities that have sustained educational legacies
from their Olympic Games. In Barcelona, 10,000 school children per year visit the museum under the
Olympic stadium, where they get to see memorabilia from the Games, participate in some interactive
video style games and, more importandy, be part of active sport and educational programs. For
Olympic educators, the Olympic Studies Centre of the Autonomous University of Barcelona also
provides a lasting educational legacy. It is the only university in the world that has been endowed with

11
Toohey K., Crawford S., Halbwirth S. (2000), Sydney's Olympic legacy and educational resources, Orana, March, p. 15.
12
Ibid., p. 16
13
Ibid., p. 16
14
S. Crawford. (2002), from a telephone interview with the author. September 27, 2002.
15
Toohey K., Crawford S., Halbwirth S. (2000), Sydney's Olympic legacy and educational resources, Orana, March, p. 14.

378
an International Chair in Olympism. Its web site features a database of more than 800 institutions and
authors involved in academic or educational Olympic-related activities. It also houses information on
many Olympic-related topics, and is one of the Internet site that teachers and students from all over the
world can go to in order to find information for projects on the Olympic Movement. And it is a host
for the global educational opportunities of this conference.

In Nagano, partly as a response to the criticisms about the environmental impact of the Games,
environmental education initiatives began that carry on as a legacy for the schools and schoolchildren
of Nagano today. For example, in June 1995, before construction of the men's downhill course began,
over 300 people, including Olympic volunteers and local junior high school students, transplanted
approximately 4,400 miyama'aoi plants and 870 yellow flower barrenwort plants which are used by the
rare Gifu butterfly for food and laying eggs. "Olympic Ecology" became one of the themes featured on
the Nagano '98 Kids Info Centre web page. Since 1996 Nagano has hosted the Children's Environment
Conference where children come together to "discuss ideas and exchange opinions concerning their
surrounding environment [They also] present the results of their environmental study and
preservation activities during the conference."

2. T h e role of t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l O l y m p i c A c a d e m y

While the education legacies of specific Games are of special benefit to the children of those countries,
the educational legacy of Olympism also has a global dimension. The Greek (Hellenic) Olympic
Committee in 1961 hosted the first International Olympic Academy (IOA), in tents on a field within
view of the ruins of the ancient Olympic stadium in Ancient Olympia.

As educational legacies evolved from the Games of 1984 to 2000, the IOA became the focal point for
discussions about Olympic education. At the IOA, the pedagogical ideals of the Olympic idea become
the lived experiences of participants from many lands. At the IOA "the considerable value of the
Olympic idea and the international contacts and understanding are more evident.. .than at the Olympic
Games: those attending can meet more freely, without the pressure of competition and the emotions of
winning or losing..."

These discussions at the IOA have direcdy contributed to the establishment of National Olympic
Academies (NOAs) in more than seventy countries of the world. N O A s around the world undertake
Olympic education initiatives within their own educational jurisdictions. The German N O A is the
leader in the field, publishing Olympic-related materials for its network of teachers prior to each
Games. The German N O A also hosts a teacher symposium on the site of the International Olympic
Academy every two years. Many N O A s have seminars for physical education students. Olympic week
activities on June 23, bring hundreds of people together for Olympic Day Runs. In Peru the children of
Lima come together for a painting day at Lima's Olympic Park. Prizes for the best painting include a
bicycle. The New Zealand Olympic Academy has integrated the ideals of the Olympic Movement in a
ministry-approved curriculum document tided "The Olympic Ideals in Physical Education". In Russia,
Olympism is a required high school subject.

The Youth Camps which take place during the days of the summer Olympic Games have become mini
Olympic Academies. In Sydney almost all N O C s participating in the Games sent one boy and one girl
to the camp.

16
The Nagano City Children's Environmental Conference. On-line:
http:I'I'umnv.tity.nagano.nagano.jpI'english/'school'/'kodomokaigi'I'kodomo-e.htm, September 24, 2002.
17
Mller N. (Ed.) (1992), International Olympic Academy-IOA: Thirty Years of IOA as mirrored by its lectures (1961-1990).
Translated by B. Kiibler-Mabbott. Lausanne: International Olympic Committee, p. XV.

379
"For two weeks 381 young people, aged 16 to 18 years, from 170 N O C s , speaking 70 different
languages, enjoyed a first-hand experience of the Olympic ideals of peace, enterprise, teamwork,
sportsmanship, fair play and participation. They had the chance to interact with their contemporaries
and gain an awareness of the global community, develop an understanding of the role of the Olympic
Games in modern society, establish an international circle of friends and achieve a sense of
empowerment. For many, this was not only their first visit to Australia, but also the first time they had
left their home country. The O Y C would be a life-changing experience for most campers. N e w ideas
would be explored, new lessons learned. The organisers wanted participants to feel that they could
change the world, and this was what most of them took home." 1 8

3. I n t e r n a t i o n a l initiatives

In 1994 the Commission for the International Olympic Academy and Olympic Education under
Chairman Mr Filaretos commissioned the first international educational handbook for schools.
Specifically intended to provide basic information on the Olympic Games for countries that did not
have the funding to produce their own materials, Keep the Spirit Alive: You and the Olympic Games was
reviewed by internationally-recognised Olympic scholars and distributed to all N O C s and N O A ' s .

In 1994 the same year, at a ceremony celebrating the 100 th anniversary of the I O C , the then president
of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and recipient of the Olympic Gold Order, Mr Antonius Tzikas,
challenged the audience to dedicate the next centennial to children, the "stars" of our world. He
suggested to his audience that the "Olympic and Sporting messages be codified and taught since
Nursery school, if possible, and let the children of the whole world receive them." 19 Mr Tzikas was
familiar with the progress in Calgary and Lillehammer. After retiring from the Hellenic Committee he
established the Foundation for Olympic and Sport Education (FOSE) to carry out Olympic education
projects.

Over the next three years the Foundation convened three international educational conferences to
formulate objectives for an international Olympic education program. O n e of the basic questions that
was discussed was whether any international curriculum effort using the Olympics as a context would
have relevance in the multiple cultural and educational traditions of the world. At the second
conference participants affirmed Olympic education as a part of general education, "meeting the needs
of school systems by means of the potential of sport," and that "integrating Olympic ideals in a system
of education is an effective pedagogical method, and will be readily accepted by the participating
youth." 20 Participants also agreed on five basic objectives for an Olympic education program for
schools:
1) To enrich the human personality through physical activity and sport, blended with culture, and
understood as lifelong experience.
2) T o develop a sense of human solidarity, tolerance and mutual respect associated with fair play.
3) T o encourage peace, mutual understanding, respect for different cultures, protection of the
environment, basic human values and concerns, according to regional and national requirements.
4) To encourage excellence and achievement in accordance with fundamental Olympic ideals.
5) T o develop a sense of the continuity of human civilisation as explored through ancient and
modern Olympic history. From 1997 to 2001 the Foundation developed and piloted two
international teachers' resource manuals based on the above objectives one in Greek, written by

18
Official Report of the XXVII Olympiad. Education and Friendship: The Olympic Youth Camp. On-line:
http://www.gamesinfo.com.au/postgames/en/pg000688.htm, 26 September 2002.
19
Tzikas A. (1996), Celebration of the Centennial of the Olympic Games Unpublished speech delivered in Athens, April 9,1996.
20
Foundation of Olympic and Sport Education (1997), Proceedings of the second ('B') Preliminary Conference for the
Introduction of Olympic and Sports Education in Schools. Naoussa, Greece: January 1997, p. 3.
21
Ibid., p. 3.

380
 Ms Mastora, Project Coordinator for the Foundation, and one in English, supervised by an
International Steering Committee. The Greek version is already part of the Olympic education
legacy leading up to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

The English manual, tided Be A Champion in Ufe, was symbolically unveiled at a conference for
international educators at the foot of Mt Olympus in June 2001. Presentations were received from five
pilot studies carried out on five continents: in the Republic of China, Australia, Brazil, United Kingdom
and Canada. Art work, classroom assignments and teacher surveys from the pilot programs seemed to
indicate that the ideals of Olympism have relevance in different cultural c o n t e x t s . -

How well do such programs adhere to the principles of Olympism as elaborated by Pierre de
Coubertin? Current discussions on the topic by German educators argue that Olympic education is still
a "traditional sport-based activity" in which the first requirement should be a "long-term and systematic
development of motor skills in order to strive for success in single or team competitions."" These
authors do not address the curriculum issues of how, within the context of formal educational
situations, children can be motivated to strive for excellence in physical endeavours, nor how these
endeavours connect with the practical realities of life in schools. De Coubertin himself suggested that it
is also sport when a youngster is climbing walls and leaping across streams. "They take great delight in
overcoming a natural difficulty, and the greater the obstacle, the greater, too, is their satisfaction at
having overcome it."24

Participants to the Mt Olympus educational conference including representatives from the I O C ,

W H O , U N E S C O and ICSPE agreed that children's rights for physical and recreational activity and
children's health have all become considerations for the future of Olympic education initiatives. Based
on world-wide data about the decline of physical education in schools, 25 there is a current and urgent
need for Olympic education initiatives to place a priority on the development of motor skills in
children, whether it be in a well-organised school sport program such as exist in some European
countries, or whether it be in a physical education class where students are jumping rope in an inner
city concrete compound. Health concerns over children's obesity and the increasing incidents in
diabetes, high blood pressure, joint problems and possible implications for future osteoporosis are
traced by researchers to a lack of physical activity. While those responsible for physical activities in
schools and communities quickly point to lack of financial resources for facilities and equipment, there
is some encouraging research to suggest that expensive equipment and facilities are not necessary in a
physical activity program focussed on the development of basic motor skills and physical health. These
findings offer the Olympic Movement possible directions for supporting the efforts of the
International Council of Sport Science and Physical Activity to get the youth of the world active again.

A team of researchers - including the Associate Director of our Institute, Dr. Graham Fishburne -
suggest that "a litde exercise would make a big difference to today's children. Many are failing to build
up their skeleton during a vital two-year window before puberty."

The team, led by Dr. Heather McKay of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, found that
children have the greatest increase in bone mineral after the growth spurt just before pubertv. Children
put on over a quarter of their bone mass in this two-year period.. .In girls, it tends to be between age 10

22
Binder D. (2002), op.cit, pp. 189-196.
23
Gessmann R. (2002), Olympisches Erziehung in der Schule: Zentrales und Peripheres. Sportunterricht, Schorndorf, 51, Heft
1, p.17. (Translation by the author.)
24
Mller N., op. cit., p. 130. Note: The difference between what is sport and what is physical activity is a topic for debate on
the North American continent. "Sport" is usually defined there as relating to competitive physical activities. The term
"sport" is interpreted in different ways in other linguistic and educational traditions. Elementary school teachers would
probably point out, however, that children need to learn to cooperate (as a team, that is) before they can compete (see D.
Binder, Fair Play for Kids).
2:
> Hardman K. (1998), Threats to physical education! Threats for Sports for All? Paper presented at the VII International
"Sport for All" Conference: Sport for All and the global educational challenges. Barcelona, Spain, November 1998.

381
and 12, while in boys it's between 13 and 15. McKay's team, which is following 383 children ... has
found that even small interventions during this period can make a big difference 26 .

Following a program of circuit training with impact activities lasting 10 minutes just three times per
week, girls had amassed an extra 2 % of bone mineral compared with a group doing stretches.

These findings support an approach to physical education that is focussed on evidence-based research
about how children develop their bones, and how to motivate them to want to make regular physical
activity a part of their lives. D e Coubertin thought the answer was in games and school sport for boys.
For the schools of the world today I suggest that the answer is regular physical activity for all, in all of
its varieties. This is the challenge, and I would suggest that a priority for future Olympic education
efforts might be to assist teachers in offering challenging and appropriate physical activities as part of
the daily classroom activities. Elementary school educators in particular require a basic pedagogical
understanding of movement education and implementation. A n I O C Olympic education web site could
support teachers by providing this information.

Another challenge for future Olympic education programs will be how to help educators address the
critical issues within the Olympic Movement. N o t all education systems welcome critical thinking o n
the part of students. A credible Olympic education program, however, cannot avoid helping students
understand and discuss these issues. O n e question educators struggle with is at what age are these
critical issues to be addressed? Equally challenging is the question of how to address the moral issues
underlying problems such as drugs, cheating and violence. Addressing these questions will again bring
educators face to face with the dilemma of weaving an acceptable course between the ideals of the
Olympic Movement and the educational objectives of local education authorities.

4. Conclusion

Maxine Greene 27 suggests that it is through the stimulation of the imagination that children come to see
themselves and the possibilities of their world in a different way. She emphasises the fine arts as the
place where children's imaginations can be best stimulated. Images from the VISA "Olympics of the
Imagination" program for the Sydney Olympic Games demonstrate the power of an imaginative and
exciting event like an Olympic Games to bring the ideals of sport, peace, friendship and fair play
together in artistic representations. Furthermore, as de Coubertin suggests, this stimulation of
imagination also takes place in the striving for physical excellence. Engagement of the whole body in
the physical domain engages not only the physical, mental and intellectual domains, but also, according
to the traditional teachings of our First Nations people, the spiritual domain." D e Coubertin suggests
that whether you are climbing a mountain or playing rugby the effect is the same. The reason the
Olympic Movement brings sport and culture together is because together they stimulate the
imagination and motivate all of us to strive for "a better and more peaceful world."

Today, every city bidding for an Olympic Games is required to outline its plans for an Olympic
education initiative. T h e challenge for all w h o believe that sport and physical activity provide a context
for learning about life is how to realise these aims. As de Coubertin himself writes, it is not enough to
talk about them; they must be practised. The legacy of Olympic education, particularly at the
elementary and middle school age level could serve as a 'bridge' between the striving for excellence by
elite athletes and the reaching for dreams by a young child jumping over a school bench. What greater
legacy could there be?

26
Motiuk A. (2002), Best catch 'em young: A crucial couple of years can make or break your skeleton. New Scientist, 12,
January 2002, p. 14.
27
Greene M (1995), Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
28
Ghostkeeper E. (2002), Greetings to the First Annual Summer Institute of the Institute for Olympic Education.
Edmonton: University of Alberta, 8 July 2002.

382
 References

Binder D. (2002), Curriculum Odyssey: Facilitating an International Olympic Education Project, Edmonton: Universit
Alberta, Doctoral Dissertation.
Binder D. (2001), "Olympism" revisited as context for global education: Implications for Physical Education,.
Quest, Vol. 53, No 1, Februar}-, pp. 14-33.
Foundation of Olympic and Sport Education. (1997), Proceedings of the 2'"1 (H') Preliminary Conference for the Introduc
of Olympic and Sports Education in Schools, Naoussa, Greece: January.
Gessmann R. (2002), "Olympisches Erziehung in der Schule: Zentrales und Peripheres", Sportunterricht, Schorndorf,
51, Heft 1.
Ghostkeeper E. (2002), Unpublished greetings to the P< Annual Summer Institute of the Institute for Olympic Educatio
Edmonton: University of Alberta, July 8.
Greene M. (1995), Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change, San Francisco, CA, Jossey-
Hardman K. (1998), "Threats to physical education! Threats for Sports for All?", paper presented at the VU
International 'Sportfor All" Conference: Sportfor All and the global educational challenges, Barcelona, Spain: November 19
Heiland K. (1994), "The educational programme during the Olympics in Lillehammer intentions and experiences
before, during and after the Olympics". Ancient Olympia, Greece: Paper presented to the International Olympic
Academy, 2"d Joint International Session for Directors ofNO As, Members and Staff ofNOCs and IFs, June 1994.
Motiuk A. (2002), "Best catch 'em young A crucial couple of years can make or break your skeleton", New Scientist,
12, January.
Mller N. (Ed.) (2000), Pierre de Coubertin: Olympism - Selected Writings, Lausanne, Switzerland: International Olympic
Committee (IOC).
Mller N. (Ed.) (1992), International Olympic Academy - IOA: Thirty Years oflOA as mirrored by its ledures (1961-1990
translated by B. Kuebler-Mabbott, Lausanne: IOC.
Olympic Aid (2001), Narrative report on Olympic Aid activities, p. 2.
Spangenberger, M. (1994). Olympische Ennehungsprogramme fuer die Schulen. Ein internationaler Vergleich u
Beruecksichtigung der Lehryjele, didaktischen Konzepte undpeadagogischen Wirkung. Mainz: Johannes-Gutenberg-Unive
Unpublished Diplomarbeit.
Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (2000), Official Report of the XXVII Olympiad Education and
Friendship: The Olympic Youth Camp, http://www.gamesinfo.com.au/postgames/en/pg000688.htm accessed Sept. 2002.
The Nagano City Children's Environmental Conference: http://www.city.nagano.nagano.jp/english/school/kodomokaigi/
kodomo-e.htm Accessed Sept. 2002
Toohey K., Crawford S., Halbwirth S. (2000), Sydney's Olympic legacy and educational resources, Orana, March,
Vol. 36, lss. 1, pp. 14-20.
Tzikas A. (1996), Celebration of the Centennial of the Olympic Games Athens: Unpublished speech delivered in
Athens, April 9,1996.

383
384
 Communication Papers

Olympic Education and Documentation Legacies

386
 The Contribution of the Olympic Youth Camp Programme
to the Legacy of the Olympic Games

Maria Eleftheriou
A T H O C 2004
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science
Democritus University of Thrace
Greece

1. Introduction

Sport and youth are identical concepts. Each new generation in the Olympic Movement relies on the
cultivation of the Olympic Ideal among young people. The founder of the Olympic Movement, Baron
Pierre de Coubertin, had a vision of a global movement that would transcend barriers of race, political
systems and beliefs; a movement uniting the youth of the world in friendship, solidarity and peace.

The Olympic Youth Camp (OYC) offers a period where individuals can forget all differences of race,
status, religion and politics and focus on the joy of effort, the ideals of peace and the appreciation of
world harmony.

The aims and goals of the O Y C are for young people, representing almost every nation in the world, to
come together every four years in conjunction with the Olympic Games to develop skills and
knowledge that relate to the Olympic Movement. The Youth Camp allows youth to grow and mature
both culturally and spiritually in an environment that mimics the ideals proposed by the founder of the
modern Olympic Games - Pierre de Coubertin. The ideals, including qualities of initiative, teamwork,
sportsmanship and fair play. Pierre de Coubertin aimed to "Educate young people through sport in a
spirit of better understanding between each other and of each other, thereby helping to build a better
and more peaceful world", The OYC allows participants to sustain a network of friends throughout the
world and to practice the ideals of peace and unity on return to their home country. The ultimate goal
of the Youth Camp then is that, through sport and Pierre de Coubertin's ideals of the modern Olympic
Games, the ambassadors of the Camp can spread the world of Olympism, peace and unity throughout
their own country and the world through sports.

Since 1912, O Y C s have attracted the attention of many young individuals, as well as Olympic
administrators in 1968. As soon as the Mexico Games were over, heads of delegations from various
countries requested the I O C to include the OYCs thereafter in the Olympic Programme (Seoul, Post
Games Report).

The O Y C is considered to contribute significandy in the education of the individuals who participate.
In order to promote and play a future role in the Olympic Movement, it is imperative that youth, who
would be the leaders of the future, would take part in the Olympic Games. Their participation should
be different from athletes and they should pass on their experience in the excellence of sport
impressions of the Games and message for peace to the next century. The youth Camp provides a
meaningful forum for the realization of these goals.

The programme is based on Article 58 of the Olympic Charter (1999, p. 75), which stipulates "an
Olympic organiser may organise an International Youth Camp during an Olympic period under its
responsibility". Each city is expected to provide the theme, contents and "personal seal" of its O Y C
according to its own cultural personality and way of organising youth activities.

387
Since the first time it was held at the Stockholm Games in 1912, when King Gustav V invited 1,500
scouts to put up their tents beside the Olympic Stadium providing organisational aid, OYC has become
a strong tradition. Since then, there have been OYCs at 12 Olympic Games.
After the interruption of the World War I, the OYC was introduced again in Berlin '36 where, along
with the boy-scouts, young sportsmen studying at physical education colleges from 23 countries
attended.
The World War II caused yet another break in the celebration of the Olympic Games and the OYC
was not to be held again until the Helsinki Games in 1952. Approximately 5,000 young people aged
between 16 and 22 years old from seventeen countries took part. Girls participated for the first time.
Since 1960 in Rome, an OYC has been held at every Games, except in Los Angeles 1984, where it was
substituted by a sports promotion programme in schools. During the 1984 Olympics, the organisers
decided not to stage a camp and organised sports programmes for youths instead, in a policy to foster a
pre-Games boom among young citizens. However, an unofficial camp was held at strong urging from
major youth organizations of West Germany and some other European countries (Post Games Report,
Seoul, 1988).
During the 18th Games in Tokyo 1964, the OYC was an integral part of the Summer Olympic activity.
In the Munich Games, 1972, the IOC approved the Youth Camp as part of the Olympic Programme.
The first Winter OYC was held in Lillehammer in 1994. The camp held in Nagano was the first to be
officially recognised by the IOC, as an important programme.

Table 1
City, year, number of participating N O C s
and number of participating people in the Olympic Youth Camps
City Year NOCs Participants
Stockholm 1912 5 1,200
Berlin 1936 23 700
Helsinki 1952 17 3,000
Rome 1960 5 1,250
Tokyo 1964 23 1,018
Mexico City 1968 19 819
Munich 1972 45 1,514
Montreal 1976 44 907
Moscow 1980 54 1,085
Seoul 1988 43 882
Barcelona 1992 67 497
Atlanta 1996 152 458
Sydney 2000 187 382
Source: Post Games Reports, Barcelona 1992 and SOCOG 2000.

2. Concept and goals of the OYC

The main aims of the OYC are:
To organise recreational, cultural and sporting activities which aim to show that, in spite of
different races, frontiers, religious, political and ideological beliefs, human beings can get to know
and understand each other in order to build a better world.
To attend the Olympic sports competitions and live the experience of the Games.

388
- T o give the young people at the O Y C a chance to get to know the host city, from tourist point of
view in terms of social aspects, especially those related to young people.

People who participate in the programme have a responsibility to share their increased understanding
of the world with others in their community. Thus, regardless of socio-economic and cultural
background, one needs to recognize the dignity and worth of every human being and show goodwill in
dealing with other people.

The O Y C by providing all these activities tries to extract and develop from participants those
characteristics, related to their personalities that are hidden. Campers by participating in activities, such
as working together as groups, team building activities, problem solving and decision making activities,
communication, creating thinking, evaluation and feedback after the implementation, have the chance
to be responsible for their tasks, give their best performance, set targets and they try to accomplish
them, without any kind of discrimination between the members of the team.
"The future is the most expensive luxury in the world". D e Coubertin was aware that youth
represents the happy future of mankind and that peaces as well as civilisation of modern
nations depend on the careful education of youth. He thus had the inspiration that "he could
achieve through sport competitions, exactly what the ancient Greeks had accomplished in the
education of youth", Nikos Filaretos, President of the International Olympic Academy, said
(IOA, 1987).

Platon expressed the idea that "we grow to be like the things we love". Accordingly, it is through
developing in the young a love of pursuing excellence in the Olympic spirit that the young will grow to
become the kind of athletes, and human beings, who have, as integral parts of their being, those
Olympic qualities. According to Paddick (1999), they will have been made into characters they are:
"The process begins with fun and enjoyment of a certain kind of sport, accompanied by the
development of sound habits which are the outer face of sportsmanship or fair play. T h e
development of a love of serious competition, as the pursuit of excellence, does not begin
with the immersion in serious competition, but with the form of play appropriate to the
capabilities and interests of young children. It continues into later childhood and adolescence
with a careful matching, and leading, of students and activities, always in the context of
deepening the understanding and linking of honourable competition".

3. Sydney O Y C study
The importance of the O Y C Programme was investigated during the Sydney Olympic Games, where
more than 380 participants from all around the world, one male and one female, aged between 16 to
18, participated. The research investigated the degree to which the participants perceived the
programme as important and well organised. The primary purpose of this study was to measure the
potential effectiveness of the programme on issues related to the principles of the Olympic Movement.
N o previous research has been done on the OYC as part of the Olympic Games.

The research sought to measure the potential effectiveness of the programme on issues related to the
principles of the Olympic Movement. More specifically, this study aimed to examine the following
aspects:
how effective the programme was;
to what extent the programme accomplished its goals;
to which extent the participation in the programme affected participant's behaviour, set of values,
and awareness;
what was the level of participants' satisfaction;
what was the impact of the programme on them;
to suggest its value for the future OYCs.

389
 3.1. Aims of the study
This was an exploratory study designed to pursue leads from theory and to fill gaps in empirical
knowledge regarding the importance of the OYC. Specifically, it was concerned with selected
characteristics of those who were chosen as participants to investigate:
socio-demographic characteristics of the participants;
participation in sporting activities and level of participation;
reasons of participating in the OYC programme;
examination of the criteria of their selection;
level of awareness in issues related to the OYC, Olympic Games, and Environment;
examination of the purpose of the programme, from their point of view;
examination of their feelings about the programme;
evaluation of the effectiveness of the programme;
the impact of the programme to the participants;
evaluation of the importance of the activities;
examination of the scope of each activity;
evaluation of the job that the OYC management team had done;
examination of the problems that participants dealt with.

3.2. Statistical hypothesis

In order to answer the questions that the research had set, it was a common feature the idea of the null
hypothesis. A number of null hypotheses were set:
The major research question was the "importance of the OYC programme". It was assumed that
the programme was not important, hence, that was the reason that the OYC was not officially
included in the Olympic Charter as a compulsory component of the Games, as the different sports
or the Cultural Olympiad (Olympic Charter, 1999). Therefore it was assumed that there was no
difference between participants' attitudes before and after their experience in the camp.
One of the research questions was whether or not "the OYC plays an important role in promoting
peace", "develop lasting cross-cultural relationships", "teach to appreciate the way of life of other
participating countries", and "contributes to equality/fairness among participants". Therefore it
was assumed that, the OYC programme does not contribute to the universal peace.

3.3. Methodology Data collection

Primary data were collected through questionnaires, which were anonymous and comprised multiple
choice format questions. A limited number of open questions were also included. The use of the closed
questions facilitated the statistical analysis of data. Two questionnaires were given to the Sydney
participants, during the operational days. One questionnaire (Part 1) was given the first day of
participants' arrival and the second (Part 2) the last day of the Programme.
Participants had been asked to circle or tick one of the options that were suitable for them in both
questionnaires. Some of the questions included Likert scale. In this technique respondents were asked
to indicate their agreement or disagreement with a proposition or the importance they attached to a
factor, using a standard set of responses. In the current situation the scale was from 1 to 5.
Furthermore, the Campers had been asked to number their choices (put 1 in your first preference, 2 to
your second etc.) or to answer the open questions available. An example of an open question was
"What is your overall assessment about the programme". Open questionnaires were used in order to
give participants the opportunity to express their opinions without any frameworks.

The Part 1 and Part 2 questionnaires included the "personal details", the "Olympic Movement", the
"Olympic Youth Camp", and the "Environment and the Olympic Games" sections. In addition, Part 2

390
included another section with questions regarding the evaluation of the programme. The questions
were based on the aims of the Olympic Movement, in order to see how participants considered the
Ideals of the Olympic Movement as important or not. Moreover, were based on the OYC mission
statement in order to check if the aims and objectives had been met. One section for the Environment,
which was one of the three pillars of the OYC, was included in order to estimate the effectiveness of
the programme by participating. Questions with negative meaning were expanded to the questionnaires,
in order to check participants' accuracy. Finally, some questions about the evaluation of the programme
were included at the end of Part 2 questionnaire in order to evaluate the programme and make
recommendations to the future OYCs. The questionnaires were divided into three sections:
Section one: The first section included socio-demographic questions related to the name of the NOC,
gender, ethnic groups that the participants belonged to, and the education level of parents. Moreover,
this section included questions regarding the participation in sporting activities, level of participation in
sporting activities, reasons of participation in the OYC and criteria of their selection. Furthermore,
questions related to how well informed they were about the programme before their arrival, how much
important they had considered to be, and finally if they thought that the programme was part of the
Olympic Games, were placed.
Section two: The second section contained common questions in both Part 1 and Part 2
questionnaires. In the second section, participants had been asked to indicate the extent to which they
agree or disagree with statements concerning the participants' awareness on the Olympic Games and
the OYC. Analytically, participants were quested on issues related to the Olympic Games, as a model
for the young people, as a source of national pride, as a symbol of international cooperation, principles
which were derived from the Olympic Charter (Olympic Charter, 1999).
Section Three: Questions were set in order to examine programme's impact on participants'
behaviour, level of awareness after attending the programme and the Olympic Movement's influence in
issues related to the Environment.

Questions for the evaluation of the programme: these questions were included only in Part 2.
Participants were required to indicate and evaluate the purpose of the programme, to rate the OYC
activities according to its importance to them, and to indicate the scope of each activity, according to
their opinion. The questions were placed in order to extract information about which of the listed
activities were more attractive to them and what were the characteristics of each of them separately.
Moreover, some questions in Part 2 were set in order to use a comparative analysis of participant's
opinion before their participation and the aims of the programme. That is to say that it was examined if
the goals of the OYC programme had been achieved or not.

3.4. Results
Some of the most important results extracted from the research were the following:

Participation in sporting activities: Participants had been asked to indicate whether they participated
in sporting activities or not. The data analysed shows that from the total number of responses (#331),
301 Campers (90.9%) participated in the sporting activities and only 30 of them (8.8%) had not any
involvement in sports. The level of participation was also examined in this research. Those that had
answered "Yes" were also required to indicate their level of participation. Furthermore, the results
show that most of the OYC participants were professional athletes, as their level of participation was
national and international.

Reasons for participation in the OYC Programme: Participants were asked to indicate their reasons
for participating in the Camp. The results showed that the most important reason for attending the
Camp was to "meet people and discover other cultures" (31.1%).

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 Table 2
Reasons for participating Frequency Percent
Meet people and discover other cultures 103 31.1
Meet people from all around the world and to attend the O G 71 21.5
Meet people and have the experience 64 19.3
Meet people, go Olympics, have fun 38 11.5
To discover other cultures and the O G 30 9.9
N O C s decision 19 5.7
Meet people in my age, know Australia, I like travelling 13 3.9
To learn about Sports and to be a future Olympian 12 3.6
Professional athlete 11 3.3
Total 331 100.0

Importance of the Programme: The results from the Part 1 questionnaire showed that 43.9% of the
participants had answered that the OYC programme was "Extremely important", 44.5% "Very
important" and 9.7% "Quite important". In the Part 2 questionnaire, participants indicated that the
programme was 48.2% "Extremely important", 40.5% "Very important" and 10.4% "Quite
important".

Purpose of the Programme: For the majority of respondents, the most predominant answers for the
purpose of the programme were "Friendship and cultural awareness" (39.2%), "Education about the
Olympic Movement, environment, and friendship" (13.1%) and "Education about Olympics, Australia,
friendship, and environment" (11.6%).

Importance of the OYC: Moreover, participants were asked to express their opinion on statements
related to the OYC Programme. In the Part 1, participants had given more "Strongly agree" answers
than Part 2, in the question "The OYC contributes to education about the Olympic Games" (the
answers tended to be more "Agree" in the Part 2), where in the question 'The OYC contributes to
building a better world through young people', participants had given exactly the same answers. In the
last question, can be seen that participants before the implementation of the programme had more
"Disagree" answers in the question "The OYC does not aspire to promoting friendship". There was a
negligible improvement of the "Strongly disagree" answers in the second questionnaire.
Moreover, participants had been asked to indicate their extend they agree or disagree with statements
regarding the goals of the OYC. The results, after comparing their answers in order to see any possible
impact on the Programme, were the following:
(Likert Scale: EStrongly Agree, 2:Agree, 3:Neither Agree or Disagree, 4:Disagree, 5:Strongly Disagree)

Means referred to the statements:

1) "The OYC created an international understanding by overcoming the differences in participants'
religious, racial and political beliefs".
Parti Part 2
Total mean 1.57 1.49

2) "The OYC programme contributed to equality/fairness among participants".

Parti Part 2
Total mean 1.62 1.71

3) "The OYC helped to develop lasting cross-cultural relationships".

Parti Part 2
Total mean 1.65 1.62

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4) "The OYC played an important role in promoting peace".
Parti Part 2
Total mean 1.72 1.77

5) "The OYC taught you to appreciate the way of life of other participating countries".
Parti Part 2
Total mean 1.60 1.61

Level of satisfaction: Participants had been asked to indicate how close the OYC Programme was,
compared to what they had expected. The level of participants' satisfaction was high as the programme
was "Much better than they had expected" (63.5%).

Feelings about the Sydney OYC: In regard to how participants were feeling towards the Sydney 2000
OYC, they evaluated the programme as ver}' positive. "I just loved everything" about the programme
(55.2%), and "It was a good programme" (41.2%), were the most predominant answers.

Recommendation of the Programme: The Programme was highly recommended by participants

from all around the world. There was a substantial difference between participants who answered
"Strongly recommend" the programme (67.0%) and those who answered "Somewhat recommend"
(21.7%). The number of participants who did not recommend the programme was tiny.

What did you like most about the OYC Programme: What participants liked most about their
participation in the programme was the opportunity they had "to meet new people from all around the
world" (19.6%), and to "make new friends" (15.9%). 15.9% of the popularity answered that they liked
"evetything" about the programme.

3.5. Discussion
In general, the OYC was an effective educational, recreational and cultural Programme. It was a unique
and one in a lifetime experience, according to participants.

Most of the participants were professional athletes, and they were competing in national and
international level. The results showed that the reason for participating in the OYC was their interest to
have the experience, as their goal was to become future Olympians. The percentage of those that they
had been selected by the NOCs or they were sport achievers was high. The OYC Programme targets to
increase the number of Olympians, by motivating them to follow a sport career, having as a parallel
goal the creation of individuals with positive contribution to the community.

One way to evaluate the OYC was to ask participants about their overall assessment of the Programme.
Specific questions were set in order to indicate the importance of the programme. The then IOC Vice
President Anita DeFranz saw participants to create, to play, to interact and she said that "what happens
in this Camp is worthwhile, and needs to be continued, because youth is our future" (Athena Database,
2000).

The importance of the camp had been rated by the majority of participants as extremely important, in
both questionnaires. Participants strongly agreed with the principles of the Programme (Olympic
Movement's principles), that contributes to education in issues related to the Olympic Games; aspires
to building a better world through young people; aspires to promoting friendship, creates an
international understanding by overcoming the differences in participants' religious, racial and political
beliefs; contributes to equality/fairness among participants; develops lasting cross-cultural relationships;
plays an important role in promoting peace and social development; and last but not least, teach you to
appreciate the way of life of other participating countries.

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The OYC participants had indicated as the most predominant purpose of the Programme the
friendship and the cultural awareness. A positive cross-cultural interaction is ensured only when the
parties involved effectively communicate. The cross-cultural interactions were positive, as participants
had answered that the opportunity to meet people, to make friends and to learn a lot of things about
their future, were the things that they liked most.

Participants had the opportunity of 22 days to live all together and have the experience of all the above
principles. Therefore, despite the fact that the results between the two questionnaires were not
significantiy different, there is a positive improvement on their responses in the Part 2, that enables to
conclude that participants were well informed before their arrival about the programme and they
confirmed that the programme was important to them after the experience. In addition, the majority's
level of satisfaction by participating in the Camp was high, as the findings showed that more than 50%
of the population had answered that the Programme was "much better than they expected".

By having the IOC's positive opinion about the Programme, and participants' overall assessment, in
combination with Coubertin's setting of the Olympic Ideals, it can be concluded that the programme is
recognised and evaluated as a worthwhile event. Coubertin knew that youth represents the happy future
of mankind and that peace and civilization of modern nations depend on the careful education of youth
(Olympic Museum, 1994).

It was important that a cultural experience was gained by all participants and that the ideals of initiative,
sportsmanship, teamwork and fair play were incorporated into the programme. It was also important
that the various activities reflected aspects of the Olympic Movement and that had an impact on
participants' attitude.

After the 22-day experience, the OYC participants returned to their home countries fully educated
about the Olympic Movement, the environmental protection, the international relations and how young
people can contribute to the peace of around the world. The experience of living the spirit of the
Olympic Games and to meet people from every country will be something that will never forget.

The main results of the research were the following:

the programme affected participants mentally, physically, and spiritually; developing respect of all
countries and human dignity;
the programme was successful as the level of participants' education was increased;
the majority of participants were satisfied with the daily schedule of the programme;
participants evaluated the programme as a very important programme and they strongly
recommended it to the following OYC candidates; and
the IOC confessed that the education of the children is vital to the future of the country.

Considering all the above, the OYC programme seems to contribute significantly to the legacy of the
Games and the Olympic Movement, in general. This long tradition (since 1912) proves that the
programme is an important component of the Olympic Games.

The Athens OYC programme will follow the tradition of the Games, as the Athens Organising
Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) has considered it as a part of the overall programme and
an important component for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. ATHOC, by respecting the history of
the OYC programme and its contribution to the legacy of the Games, has carefully planned a
programme with a lot of innovations. This programme is briefly presented below.

4. Athens OYC Programme

"The mission of the Athens OYC is to provide a unique Hellenic experience in an environment that
fosters the Olympic ideals of teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play. The ulterior goal of the

394
programme is to motivate and encourage participants to become the next Olympians, only when this
attempt is accompanied by a behaviour that promotes and keeps a balance between mind and body".

It is estimated that more than 450 participants from all around the world will be part of the
programme, one male and one female, aged 16 to 18.

ATHOC has already drawn the attention to the NOCs regarding the selection of the youth campers. It
is probably the first time that the OYC Programme has been scheduled in such a way, in order to
motivate participants to become the next Olympians.

The programme being planned for the Athens 2004 OYC will include a number of components and
innovations, offering the opportunity for more youth involvement in activities related to the Olympic
Games and the Olympic Movement. Because of these innovations, the programme can be
differentiated from the previous OYCs, providing a unique experience to all the participating people.

The programme is planned to educate, motivate, entertain and provide action to the youth participants
in an exciting and globally aware environment. It is divided into three sections: in Athens; outside
Athens and via a one-day cruise to the islands of Saronikos.

In Athens: The Campers will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Games, as well as four sport events
of their preference. More than ten participants will take part in the torch relay acting as torchbearers.
They will have the opportunity to visit the Olympic Village, to participate in the Team Welcome
Ceremonies, to visit cultural events from the Athens 2004 Culture programme, and to observe athletes
training. Other activities will be based around arts, sports and cultural exchange, which will take place
in the Camp.
Moreover, workshops related to the Olympic Truce, the environmental protection, painting, dancing,
music, all of which are connected with the Olympic spirit, will be included in the programme.
Furthermore, special nights have been organised, such as beach parties, for participants' entertainment.
Local sightseeing trips in Athens and to several destinations out of the Olympic City will also be an
integral part of the programme.
Out of Athens: The Ancient Olympia day has been included in the schedule as one of the most
important day of the programme. During participants' visit in Ancient Olympia, they will have the
chance to meet IOC members and representatives, during seminars, workshops and lectures that will
take place at the International Olympic Academy's Headquarters.
It is planned for the participants to visit the archaeological areas of Epidauros, Nafplion, Mycenae and
Delphi, and to spend three days in a marvellous hotel in Porto Hydra the last days of their stay in
Hellas.

One day cruise to the Islands of Saronikos: After staying two nights in Athens, participants and
staff will go on a cruise to the Islands of Saronikos. After the unique experience of visiting some of the
most famous islands of Hellas, the group will return to the OYC premises. The next day they will
celebrate the Closing Ceremony of the OYC programme, leaving Hellas with a memorable experience.

5. Conclusion

The Olympic Youth Camp is an educational programme which contributes to enrich youth with the
philosophy of Olympism which, as expressed by the established Olympic principles, is basically a
philosophy of culture and education. With this philosophy and the implementation of Olympic
principles in education, modern states can prepare their youth to become worthy citizens who will
approach perfection.

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The OYC Programme, although it is not a compulsory part of the Olympic Games, contributes
significantly to the education of youth around the world. It prepares t h e m to be knowledgeable,
enthusiastic hosts of the Games and encourages their participation in sports, educational and cultural
programmes. Therefore, in a broader sense, the G Y C contributes to the legacy of the Olympic Games.

References

Athena Database (2000), Transfer of Knowledge Package, Sydney Organising Committee of the Olympic Games
(SOCOG).
Barcelona Post Games Report, 1992.
Filaretos N. (1987), Speech presented in the International Olympic Academy.
Horrocks J.E. (1976), The Psychology ofAdolescence, 4th Ed., Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
International Olympic Academy (1987), Centre for Olympic Studies, Conference.
International Olympic Committee (1999), Olympic Charter.
Paddick R. (1999), Paper presented for the Conference "The Olympics in the Next Millennium", The University of
New South Wales, Centre of Olympic Studies, Sept. 22 & 23,1999.
Seoul Post Games Report, 1988.

396
 T h e Olympic Expedition to the 21 st Century
International Research Project

O l e g A. M i l s h t e y n
International World Youth Games Committee
Russia

1. Preamble

In the early 90's we launched "The Centennial Olympiad", our international scientific research project
dedicated to the 100 th Anniversar}' of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement. Its subject was
the contribution of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement to the civilization and culture of
the 20 th Century. The first stage of this research comprised interviewing 500 experts - the Olympic
Family members. It was generalized and resulted in the author's first book of "The Olympic Saga"
trilogy. The book was published in June 2001 and presented to the I O C Executive Committee during
its 112th Meeting in Moscow. At the same time, all these 500 audio taped interviews were donated to
the Olympic Museum Lausanne.

The project's second stage called "Olympians Life Story and Sports Career" was purposed to establish
the World Videotaped Interviews Fund and started during the Sydney Olympics. It is now continued
and supported by the I O C Athletes Commission and the World Olympians Association (WOA). In
1997 we offered to the I O C "The Olympic Expedition to the 21 st Century" - the project's third stage.

2. Objectives a n d t a s k s of
" T h e O l y m p i c E x p e d i t i o n to the 21 st C e n t u r y "

"The Olympic Expedition to the 21 s t Century" is patronised and adequately supported by the I O C and
its President. The Expedition aims to study and generalise positive experience and achievements in
different countries, cities and organisations in the promotion of the Olympic Movement and Olympism
up to the beginning of the 21 s t Century; to research the Olympic Cities' historical, social, cultural, sport
and other legacy.

The tasks identified for the expedition are the following:

Searching for items of historical, bibliographical and museum value in national and municipal
libraries, museums, collections related to the Olympic History, Olympic Games and Olympic
Movement for the Olympic Museums in Lausanne, Moscow and other cities and countries.
Scientific searching for respective historical information: life and activity of the Olympians of all
ages, especially of the Olympic Seniors in good health; I O C members, primarily those having no
biographies available via the I O C compilations; materials on the G a m e s ' heroes, all I O C members,
the Olympic Movement's outstanding people; for further publication of the special series "The
Minor Olympic Library" and "The Olympians' Life Story and Sports Career Video Memoirs
Fund".
Analysing perpetuation of the Olympians' memory, G a m e s ' heroes, the Olympic venues in the
Olympic cities, establishing museums, exhibitions and other cultural and historical centres
dedicated to the Olympic Games and Olympic Movement.
Analyzing functions of the Olympic venues, Olympic villages, etc. in the Olympic cities.
Generalizing the positive experience and the most efficient working methods of National Olympic
Academies (NOAs), Olympic clubs, Olympic societies and other similar organizations and
associations.

397
- Displaying basic traditions and innovations of the Olympic Movement and Olympism in different
countries, including the Olympic education, Olympic mentality, Olympic values, new behaviour
modes for the youth, new organizational forms and models, new sports and disciplines, etc.
- Systematizing the positive experience of sport, youth and other organizations in athletes' social
adaptation after finishing their Olympic sport career; their experience in the settlement of various
legal contradictions, in defending athletes' personal and human rights in sport, in athletes'
education.

3. The Expedition's dates, routes and stages

The Expedition was planned to start in Summer 2002 and finish before the beginning of the Olympic
Games' 2004 in Greece.
The Expedition's routes comprise all host cities of the Olympic Games and Winter Olympics
Moscow, Athens, Sarajevo, Rome, Cortina d'Ampezzo, St. Moritz, Innsbruck, Chamonix, Albertville,
Grenoble, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Munich, Berlin, Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam, London, Oslo,
Lillehammer, Stockholm, Helsinki, Barcelona, Montreal, Lake Placid, St. Louis, Atlanta, Mexico City,
Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Squaw Valley, Calgary, Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagano, Seoul, Melbourne,
Sydney, Lausanne.

4. The Expedition's staff and organization

The Expedition's mobile staff includes an international research group of three to five experts in
history and sociology of sports and the Olympic Movement, museum experts, librarians, TV experts
and cameramen.
The main group is to be directed by the international research project's author. He is to recruit the rest
of the group on voluntary terms, i.e. on the terms of mutual agreement to participate in one or more
project's stages. The responsibilities and functions will be distributed between the group members by
the project's author. Voluntary research groups are to be established in all destination points of the
Expedition former and acting athletes, Olympic seniors, scientists, school and university teachers,
students and others may join such groups as volunteers. They may be recommended by the IOC,
NOCs, NOAs, etc., and recruited during the International Olympic Academy Sessions in Olympia or
via Mass Media in the course of the Expedition. The author is to hold 2-hour training sessions for each
group of volunteers upon arrival in Olympia and all other destination points. The Expedition's general
objectives and various particular tasks for each Olympic City are to be discussed. Recommendations
and instructions should be given on search and generalization of working materials related to sports
venues, culture, arts, etc. Also individual and group instructions should be given to all members of the
research groups according to their functions, preparation and participation in public relations, their
further contacts and cooperation with the Expedition, the IOC Coordination Centre, etc.
The above Coordination Centre, staffed with an expert and an assistant, is to be functioning for the
whole Expedition term within the structure of the IOC Olympic Museum's. The Centre will elaborate
the particular research tasks of the IOC and its sub-structures prior to the Expedition. Also, the Centre
is to be in charge for technical co-ordination, all relevant information and data processing.

5. Results
The Expedition will generally result in a report during an IOC Session. In the course of the Expedition,
upon completion of each respective stage, its Director is to submit, at IOC President's discretion,
intermediate, subject-matter and other reports to the IOC Executive Committee meetings, as well as to
the IOC Commissions, working groups, sub-structures (e.g. museums, libraries, departments, etc.). If
necessary, an IOC Session may recommend a publication of the Expedition's general report and its

398
further distribution to N O C s , IFs and other interested organizations, scientific research centres,
national libraries, etc.
T h e Expedition's substantial results obtained during the scientific research will be donated to the
Olympic Museum in Lausanne, its Library, the I O C Archives, the Olympic Museums in Moscow and
other cities, in accordance with existing procedure. Various exhibitions, scientific seminars and
symposiums may be held on the basis of this work. In case that there is a respective I O C order, a TV
serial a n d / o r motion picture, slides, C D - R O M , videos and other production may be released in the
I O C official and working languages.

T h e Expedition's materials characterizing the state of the Olympic Movement and Olympism in the
beginning of the 21 s t Century are to be a basis for a book (books) compiled by the Expedition members
from different countries, sponsors, etc.
T h e materials on the I O C members' life and activity, outstanding Olympians, coaches and other
famous Olympic Family members will be essential for series of books and brochures, such as the IOC's
"Minor Olympic Library", "Who Is W h o " series, "Olympic Encyclopaedia", "Olympic Saga" and other
Olympic Movement's publications. For this purpose the I O C might hold a special international
authors' contest.
A separate thematic International Olympic Academy Session, as well as N O A Sessions and a number
of other international and national events might be dedicated to the Expedition's results.

6. Financing
T h e financial support for the Expedition is to be provided by sponsors, donations a n d / o r participants
(i.e. resources obtained by means of other actions undertaken during the Expedition).
In case that there is a possibility to sell TV rights to a broadcasting company (companies), all respective
revenues will be also the financial support for the Expedition.
All exhibits for the Olympic Museum and I O C Library will be accordingly at the expense of these
organizations. The I O C will only bear the expenses regarding technical and informational support,
communications, and render its possible assistance in negotiations on the financial support of the
Expedition with T O P programme sponsors and others.

7. I n f o r m a t i o n a n d c o v e r a g e of t h e E x p e d i t i o n
T h e Expedition should start at the same time with a Mass Media campaign supported by the I O C and
its Commissions, primarily Press Commission and Radio and Television Commission. It is preferable to
publish the Project in an Olympic Review release, including I O C President's appeal to all N O C s , IFs,
N O C s ' regional associations, N O A s and other interested organizations and persons.
A special I O C press release regarding the Expedition might be sent out to major broadcasting
companies, press agencies, newspapers and other mass media. The project might also appear on the
I O C website.
T h e information on the Expedition and its intermediate results may appear in the I O C information
bulletins, Olympic Review, and other releases of the I O C and Olympic Museum; in N O C s ' information
bulletins; in magazines, such as "Around The World", "National Geographic" and others; on T V
channels - E S P N , N T V + S p o r t , etc.
T h e Summit of the Mayors of the World was held in Athens in September this year. T h e Global Union
of Olympic Cities was created at this Summit. I suppose "The Olympic Expedition to the 21 s t Century"
will be one of the first projects of this new international organization as well as another of our projects
"The Olympic Festival" that we suggested in cooperation with our German colleagues and that was
supported by the I O C President Jacques Rogge.

399
400
 VIII

Organising and Planning Future Olympic Legacies

Moderator:

Gilbert Felli
Director
Department of Sports, Olympic Games Coordination
and Relations with International Federations
International Olympic Committee
Switzerland

401
402
 Olympic Games M a n a g e m e n t :
From the Candidature to the Final Evaluation,
an Integrated Management Approach

Christophe Dubi
Department of Sports, Olympic Games Coordination
and Relations with the International Federations
International Olympic Committee
Switzerland

Pierre-Alain H u g and Pascal van Griethuysen

International Academy of Sports Science and Technolog)'
Switzerland

1. Introduction - Christophe Dubi

Our presentation will be split into two parts: the first part will handle the Olympic Games management
integrated process from the candidature to the final evaluation of the Games. My intention in this part
is to look at the current IOC management of the Olympic Games, and if possible from the legacy point
of view. In the second part, Mr Hug will speak about OGGI, which is a method that has been
developed to look at the Olympic Games Global Impact.

2. The IOC management of the Olympic Games

The following statistics show the difficulty of the task of the Organising Committee to fulfil its duties:
Accreditations 195,000 Buses 3,800
Volunteers 40,000 Contracts 4,600
Contractors 100,000 Competition venues 39
OCOG personnel 3,500 Non-competition venues 25
Security 17,000 Events 300
Cars 4,700

It is recognised that organising the Games is a very complex task. This is mainly due to the
concentration of resources in time - seven years of organisation and 15 days of operations. All these
resources are concentrated in one region and one city.

More importantiy, one can easily understand that a project of this magnitude generates many
opportunities, but also some risks. Some of the opportunities relate to the development of
infrastructures for transport and sports venues. Organising the Games also makes it possible to develop
management practices such as event management.

Organising this ver}' complex event necessitates the development of unique techniques in areas like
environment or the integration and interaction between public and private sectors. Here, the
Organising committees (OCOGs) and the other entities of the organisation have to be creative in order
to find new ways of managing their relationships. Nevertheless, this not only helps with the
organisation and with the Games themselves, but it generally leaves a legacy for the city, which can
make use of these techniques afterwards and export them. Today, we see many Americans and
Australians who export their brains and their knowledge on how to organise this very complex event.

403
The Games provide the opportunity to involve the community through various volunteer programmes,
schools programmes or integration projects. A budget of USD 1.5 to 2 billion for the Summer Games
also offers many opportunities for the business community in the area of sport, culture, through
organising the ceremonies, developing the image of the Games, construction, and obviously other
services such as banking and insurance. Tourism, both prior to the Games, during and after them, can
be boosted by the Games. If these Games are successful, and if they are seen positively by those who
took part, attended, or watched them on television, this can also constitute a tremendous boost to the
image of the city, the region or the country.

The other side of the coin is the risks that are attached to the organisation of the Games, such as
environmental issues with the concentration of resources, or construction issues relating to the Winter
Games where the number of infrastructure have to be developed in sometimes sensitive areas.

Construction runs risks because the investments are enormous and the long-term use is not necessarily
well planned in all cases. The concentration of resources in one city or one region can lead to an
imbalance in growth between one region and another. There are also risks related to the operations:
such as transport, security, or technology, which are very difficult programmes to put in place. Should
these factors fail during the Games, then this could have a long-term, negative image on the city that
will be remembered as the one that failed to either put in place efficient transport services or to run
efficient technology systems.

When looking back at this list, we see that the impact covers three main dimensions social, economic
and environmental. These are obviously the dimensions for sustainable development. This tells us that
the Games and any other hallmark event are the project of a community. It is not only a few people
that will make this happen, but the whole community has to be involved. In this context, where the
activities of the organisers will have a financial impact, an impact on natural or built environments, and
social effects, it is necessary for the organisers (in the widest sense: the OCOG, the government, the
business community, as well as the IOC the franchise owner) to be involved. In this context, it is
necessary to have a strong vision for the entire project.

For the IOC, this vision is one of a project that lasts 15 years.

Figure 1
Management Cycle

First, we have to establish that framework of activities: this is what is referred to as the rules, the
Charter, the Host City Contract. Then we have the candidature phase, where the foundations are
established. These are important, as every decision made during that phase will have an impact further
down the road.

404
We then enter into the actual management of the Games, for which there are tools to help reduce the
risks for the organisation. Eventually, we have to evaluate every addition and understand whether it was
successful or whether it failed, and in which area.

We have a number of rules that cover the concept of legacy. Starting with the Olympic Charter, where
it is stated that the IOC must ensure that all activities are respectful of environmental elements and
ensure a positive legacy. The same conditions apply to the Host City organisers of the Games.
Technical guides, like the Agenda 21, or the Olympic Village guide, all contain the concept of legacy.
These constitute the framework.

The actual process of management itself starts with the candidature, where all the important strategic
choices are made. This is a period when the candidature committee, the NOC, the government, and
industry work together to develop a project, study the feasibility, and think about their responsibility
towards the community. Being a large project, these people have to think about not only the Games
but also about what will happen afterwards.

From the IOC's standpoint, the questionnaires for candidate cities contain a number of criteria in
themes such as the concept of the Games, the venues, transport, and the environment that are all
linked to legacy. From an evaluation and judgment criteria, the IOC has some tools that have evolved,
but the dimension of legacy is important and genuinely present.

Where the situation will evolve further, or has evolved recently, is in the assistance and the educational
services that we will provide to the applicants and candidate cities. Not only will we need evaluation
criteria, but we also to provide information to the applicants and candidate cities that will help them
build stronger foundations. This work is being carried out by a company created by the IOC the
OGKS (the Olympic Games Knowledge Services).

When looking at the project life cycle (see Annex 1: Project life cycle), its foundations and strategic
planning, the bid, the host city contract and all the activities in these two phases are key because they
will condition every activity down the line. What is decided during the bid, during the strategic phase or
by the organising committee, will have repercussions on the Games themselves and afterwards. Hence
the necessity to think about legacy during the very early stages.

For the actual management of the Olympic Games, the IOC has developed a project management tool
called the Masterplan, which helps us to analyse all the key events that are necessary to be delivered by
an Organising Committee in a timely manner. It is a time and risk management tool.

We have also developed a programme, as of 1998, which is a concept of knowledge management. The
objective here is to capitalise on experience and expertise from one edition of the Games and transfer
this to the next edition. Essentially, our objective is to speed up the learning curve of the Organising
Committee. In the past, a great deal of time was spent, during this phase of the first two years, on
understanding what had to be delivered. It is hoped that by providing this information, we shall be able
to reduce this time.

From a more political standpoint, what has surfaced in the last decade is the increased popularity of the
Games, and this has raised some challenges. The Games have grown bigger: they are more spectacular
but more difficult to manage and to organise. Early in 2002, President Rogge established the OGSC
(Olympic Games Study Commission), with the objective to look at the product and try to find a way to
ensure its success over time. The idea is to try to contain the growth and manage the growth and costs
in a more efficient way. The preliminary results of this commission were the following: some of the
quantitative parameters will have to be contained in the future, the venue planning and management
should be improved, and the Games management efficiency could be improved by developing tools
such as knowledge management.

405
The evaluation of an edition of the Games comes at the end of the 15-year cycle. In the evaluation, the
objective is to analyse the strength and weaknesses of this edition. During the Games we have an
observer programme, in which experts look at the way the Games operate and the issues or strong
factors that should be replicated in the future. Following the Games we have a formal debriefing with
the OCOG that will produce an official report. In this exercise, we ask the OCOG to take a step back
and have a critical look at their activities and tell us frankly what they felt was good and should be
replicated in the future, and what should not. This is a very technical view of the organisation of the
Games.

Receny, we have also developed a methodology called OGGI, in which Games aims to study the
Games wider impact (social, environmental and economic dimension). This is more a general
evaluation than a technical one, and the idea of developing this method was to develop a consistent
method that can be applied edition after edition. It was not developed to compare one edition with
another, but really to analyse one edition in relation to the next, one using a consistent approach.

3. Olympic Games Global Impact

Introduction - Pierre-Alain H u g

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Department of Sports, Olympic Games Co-ordination
and Relations with the International Federations expressed a desire to have an analysis tool for
identifying and measuring the global impact of the Olympic Games. To this end, in September 2000
the IOC commissioned the Acadmie Internationale des Sciences et Techniques du Sport (AISTS International
Sports Science and Technology Academy) to execute this project.

The AISTS entrusted Pascal van Griethuysen and Pierre-Alain Hug with the task of carrying out this
mandate through a project named the Olympic Games Global Impact (OGGI) Project. A steering
committee supervised the work of the project team. The steering committee consisted of Gilbert Felli
(IOC), Christophe Dubi (IOC), Jean-Loup Chappelet (IDHEAP), Yves Fliickiger (University of
Geneva), Daniel Oyon (University of Lausanne) and Joseph Tarradellas (EPFL).

In order to link a general framework of analysis to a set of specific indicators, a "procedure for
identifying the global impact of the Games" is proposed. For the impact of the Games to be captured
in a consistent and comparable manner from one Olympiad to the next, this procedure must be both
common to all Olympiads and also compatible with the individual nature of each one. Similarly, the set
of indicators resulting from this procedure must not only record the individual nature of each
Olympiad and its host context, but it must also form a database of information common to all
Olympiads and comparable among them.

4. General procedure for identifying

the Olympic Games' global impact
The organisation of an Olympiad is an event of limited duration that influences the development of the
region hosting the Games. This relationship between an event and the context within which it occurs is
the meaning of the term "impact". This relationship influences the event - the organisation and
holding of the Games - as well as the context - the city or region hosting the Games. Therefore, just as
the host region's individuality (at a geographical and socio-cultural level) influences the form of the
Olympic event, the staging of the Games also requires the host context to adapt, and has an often
decisive influence on the evolution of this context.

Theoretically, the impact of the Games should be grasped by comparing the evolution of the context in
which the Games are held with the evolution of the same context but without the Olympic event taking
place. This alternative (or counterfactual) situation is impossible to determine simply because it does

406
not occur (and any attempt at theoretical reconstruction cannot reproduce the complexity of actual
evolution). Other methods must therefore be considered.

Reflecting the dual nature of the notion of impact, which links an event to its context, two types of
method are proposed for determining the impact of an event on its context. Applied to the Olympic
situation, these two methods are as follows:
1) identifying the Games' impact through the effect induced by the activities directly set in motion
when the Games are organised and held;
2) identifying the Games' impact through the evolution of their host context.

The first method is aimed at identifying the impact of certain activities on the context in which they
take place. As it is suited to the study of a specific impact, this method poses a double problem when
applied to the global impact of the Olympic Games.

It means that the boundaries of the Olympic event must be very precisely determined, i.e., which
activities form part of the Olympic event and which do not. In a certain way, any activity taking place in
parallel with the Olympic process is linked to the Games: the Games have an important triggering
effect and stimulate numerous activities whose connection with the Games is difficult to identify. These
connections mean that non-Olympic activities cannot be clearly distinguished from Olympic activities,
which is why the boundaries of the G a m e s ' impact are blurred.

The second method does not try to identify the complex relations linking the various aspects - i.e.,
economic, socio-cultural and environmental - of the global impact. It captures the global impact as a
whole, which makes it more suited to the situation in question. Nonetheless, identifying the Games'
global impact through the evolution of their host context also poses a double problem: first, this
method means that the boundaries of the host context have to be determined; and, secondly, it cannot
isolate the intrinsic impact of the Games from within the evolution of the context, since this evolution
is also influenced by numerous events occurring in parallel with the Games.

These methodological difficulties can be partially overcome with a combination of the two methods. By
determining the boundaries of both the host context and the Olympic event, these methods set real
boundaries to the abstract notion of global impact. Furthermore, since the two methods point to both
the evolution of the host context and the most representative Olympic activities in terms of their
impact, the global impact of the Olympic Games can be grasped more effectively.

The proposed general procedure for identifying the global impact is therefore based on a two-pronged
approach to the Games' impact, at the levels of both the host context and the event itself. It results in
having two types of indicator, "context indicators" and "event indicators". The procedure is consistent
with the premise that the global impact is best thought of in terms of the relationship between a
specific process and the context in which it takes place.

The O G G I Project is based on the premise that the impact of the Olympic Games can be discerned by
studying the evolution of a set of suitably selected indicators. In view of the scale of the Olympic
Games in relation to the economic, social and cultural evolution of a region, this premise seems
reasonable.

Apart from the difficulties associated with describing the Olympic Games' impact, however, there is an
inherent limit to any method for identifying impact by means of indicators: it is impossible to
completely isolate the observed event, in this case the Olympic Games. This limitation is inherent to
any real phenomenon, which cannot be reproduced under laboratory conditions, i.e., without any
influence on or from external developments.

407
 5. Defining the Olympic Games' global impact

The first step in identifying the Olympic Games' global impact is to determine the boundaries of the
impact in both space and time. To do this, the boundaries of "the Olympic event" on the one hand and
those of "the context in which the Games are held" on the other are considered together.

5.1. The spatial boundaries of the global impact

This study starts with the hypothesis that the geographical areas involved in the organisation and
holding of the Olympic Games are those most affected by the impact of the Games. This hypothesis is
based on the fact that these regions, as well as being those most involved in the logistical activities
connected with the organisation and holding of the Games, are also those most influenced by the
staging of the Games. It does not rule out the possibility that other regions may be equally affected.
The zone of impact, in fact, varies with the type of activities considered. For instance, whereas facilities
are constructed within a clearly delimited geographical area, media coverage reaches out to the whole
world.

The context in which the Games take place is necessarily multidimensional; only by taking the local,
regional, national and worldwide dimensions into account together can the Games' global impact be
grasped. Since the regional dimension is suitable for understanding most Olympic activities, the region
is the best study context for understanding the Games' impact. Certain indicators will, however, be
collected at other scales (local, national or worldwide), for two reasons: 1) some impacts occur and are
best grasped at other scales; and 2) some indicators can only be collected and are therefore only directiy
available at particular scales.

5.2. The time boundaries of the global impact

It is not possible to define strict time boundaries to the impact period for an event of the scale of the
Olympic Games. While influenced by numerous parameters characterising their host context culture,
social values and practices, ways of thinking, institutions, etc. the Olympic Games also interfere with
the development of their context, within which they can have a decisive and durable influence.

Having become an integral part of the history of a region or even a country, the Olympic Games have
an influence on their host context that gradually fades with time, but it is not possible to specify an
exact end point to the period of influence. Identifying the impact of the Games therefore involves
understanding the evolution of the host context of the Games, and this evolution is not limited in time.
In this sense, therefore, there is no end point to the impact period of the Games.

5.2.1. T h e four phases of the Olympic event

Unlike the impact period, the Olympic period can be defined exactly. For this purpose, four
characteristic stages should be distinguished in the Olympic Games:
Conception (Phase 1) begins when the city's official candidacy is announced by the NOC and
continues up until the host city is elected.
Organisation (Phase 2) begins when the Games are awarded to the candidate city by the IOC, and
ends with the opening of the Games.
Staging (Phase 3) of the Games begins with the opening of the Olympic Village and ends with the
closing of the Paralympic Village.
Closure (Phase 4) corresponds to the period following the Games. It ends with the dissolving of
theOCOG 1 .

1
The O C O G is not dissolved at a set time. Therefore, Phase 3 is the reference for time periods that follow the closure of
the Games.

408
The four phases of the Olympic Games together determine the time boundaries of the Olympic event.

5.2.2. T h e choice of time boundaries

In order to associate a definite impact to the Olympic event, the impact period must be given time
boundaries. In the framework of the OGGI Project, the following boundaries have been defined:

The initial situation corresponds to the characteristics of the host context before Phase 1
(conception) of the Games.
The final situation corresponds to the characteristics of the host context two years after the
staging of the Games (Phase 3).

The impact period defined here is the period in which the OGGI Project's procedure for identifying
the impact is tested.

5.3. The three dimensions of the global impact

In order to grasp the impact of the Games on their host context, there are three main dimensions:
1) the economic dimension (Ec);
2) the social dimension (So);
3) the environmental dimension (En).

These dimensions are those commonly associated with the concept of sustainable development.
Understanding an event through its economic, social and environmental dimensions should result in a
better assessment of its global impact, particularly its complexity and duration.

Each of the three dimensions is appropriately represented by a "sphere of activity", so the analysis
bears on the assessment of three spheres: 1) the economic sphere, 2) the social sphere and 3) the
environmental sphere. Like the dimensions to which they refer, each of these spheres interacts with the
others. In this context of reciprocal influence, the boundaries delimiting the spheres are blurred: the
spheres may overlap, and certain elements may form part of more than one sphere at the same time.
Distinguishing the spheres may therefore seem arbitrary, but nonetheless it is necessary for the analysis
and is a first step towards the development of the impact indicators.

5.4. The impact study frame of reference

By defining the time boundaries of the Olympic event and the three host context dimensions, a frame
of reference can be set up for identifying the impact of the Olympic Games. Figure 2 illustrates the
boundaries of this frame of reference. It shows that the four phases of the Olympic event occur within
the three host context dimensions environmental (column En), social (So) and economic (Ec). In
turn, when the four phases of the Olympic event occur, they affect the three context dimensions. This
frame of reference applies whatever the context of the Games may be. It is in fact an analysis tool that
provides a common basis for identifying the impact of the Olympic Games, no matter what the
characteristics may be of the Games being studied.

409
 Figure 2
G e n e r a l framework for identifying t h e O l y m p i c G a m e s ' global i m p a c t
HOST CONTEXT
En So Ec ,.__. INITIAI.
" " SITUATION

FIN AI.
SITUATION

6. M e a s u r i n g t h e O l y m p i c G a m e s ' global i m p a c t

T w o steps are needed to measure the Olympic G a m e s ' global impact:

1) Activities likely to generate an impact must be identified; these are termed relevant activities.
2) Fields of measurement must be targeted that will capture both the relevant activities and the
impact itself.

T h e first step requires one or more criteria that can distinguish relevant activities from non-relevant
ones. T h e second requires a method that can make the transition from an abstract concept, the global
impact, to concrete measurement tools, the indicators.

6.1. Determining relevant activities

6.1.1. R e l e v a n t a n d n o n - r e l e v a n t activities: a n initial criterion
In general, all activities performed during the four phases of the Olympic event conception,
organisation, staging and closure can be considered relevant for identifying the global impact.
By itself, however, this criterion cannot deal with two essential aspects of the problem: (1) it is difficult
to draw a firm line between what are termed Olympic activities and those that are context activities, i.e.,
those relating to the adaptation of the context for the Games to be hosted; and (2) activities like
building a stadium or upgrading an airport take several years to accomplish; as a result, certain activities
may have begun before the Olympic period or may continue beyond it. In order to capture these
aspects, the criterion for identifying relevant activities must be further refined.

T o d o this, Olympic activities need to be distinguished from context activities.

6.1.2. O l y m p i c activities
Olympic activities, in the sense used in this report, are those deriving exclusively from the occurrence
of t h e four phases of the Olympic event. They cover the activities initiated during the conception,
organisation, staging and closure of the Games.

6.1.3. C o n t e x t activities
In addition to specifically Olympic activities, the Olympic Games generate numerous activities within
their host context. In particular, the Olympic Games require the existence of local and regional
infrastructure suited to the scale and complexity of the event. Those activities that need to b e
performed in order to put this infrastructure in place are termed "context activities" and can be divided
into two categories: service networks and service centres.

410
6.1.4. R e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n O l y m p i c activities a n d c o n t e x t activities
Drawing a firm line between Olympic and context activities is an arbitrary exercise. This is a potential
issue for all urban redevelopment activities, which are at once a cause and a consequence of the fact
that the Games are held. Development, construction and renovation activities depend on the state of
the available infrastructure before the Games are awarded, as well as needs of the Games themselves.
But they also depend on the readiness of the host city or region to make the most of staging the Games
in order to renovate certain facilities. In this respect, there is n o objective criterion for determining
which of the activities actually undertaken should be put down to the Games rather than to local drive
and determination.

Context activities may be looked at in two different ways: on the one hand they form an integral part of
the Olympic event, since the Games could not take place without some adaptation of the host context;
on the other hand they are part of the Games' impact, since this adaptation would not take place
without the Games (or it would take a different form). As both event and impact, context activities
show just how blurred the boundaries of the global impact are.

In view of this difficulty, we shall not attempt to determine which context activities should be
attributed to the Games and which should not. It therefore seems consistent to look at the evolution of
the context during the Olympic period, whether or not this evolution is necessary to the hosting of the
Games.

This approach has a major advantage for the understanding and description of the G a m e s ' impact,
since it means that the "trigger" or "catalyst effect" of the Games on the host context can be taken into
account.

6.1.5. T a k i n g t h e d u r a t i o n of activities i n t o a c c o u n t
In order to take the duration of infrastructure development both Olvmpic and context - into
account, the time criterion presented above must be adapted. Thus we apply the following criterion to
all development, renovation and construction activities that take place during the Olympic period": any
activity connected with development or construction will be considered relevant if it meets both of the
following conditions:
1) its financing was agreed after the city's candidacy was lodged with the N O C (Phase 1); and
2) the development, renovation or construction was completed before the Games opened (Phase 3).

6.2. From global impact to indicators:

The successive renement method
T o measure the Olympic Games' global impact by identifying the changes induced in the host context
of the Games, it is necessary to move from a vague notion global impact to concrete measurement
tools the indicators.

In order to be as exhaustive as possible while ensuring overall consistency, as much information should
be gathered as possible while avoiding redundancy and omissions. The successive refinement method
can be used to determine the best direction to take: starting with a global understanding of the
situation, the most representative information is extracted by means of successive selections. Through
the successive refinement method, the most relevant indicators for grasping the G a m e s ' global impact
can be identified.

The procedure proposed is based on four selection stages:

2
A similar version of this criterion is proposed by Gouguet & Nys (1993:204).

411
 Figure 3
Refinement process from spheres to indicators

1) The main spheres of activity affected by the Olympic event are determined; in accordance with the
three dimensions of sustainable development, three spheres are used environmental, socio-
cultural and economic.
2) For each sphere, the dimensions that are most representative in terms of impact are distinguished;
these dimensions are represented by three systems per sphere.
3) For each system, the fields for impact measurement are then defined; the number of fields varies
from one system to another.
4) For each field, the indicators that are likely to provide the most representative information are
identified.

This last stage corresponds to the concrete dimension of the study. It must therefore take account of
the operational nature of the indicators chosen. In particular, the availability of the data and
measurement methods is a further selection criterion. Thus, as the successive refinement method
approaches the concrete dimension of the impact, the operational criterion of availability gradually
takes over from the methodological criterion of representativeness3.

Each refinement implies a loss of information, since the representativeness criterion means that certain
aspects of the impact are not selected. This loss is exacerbated by the fact that some representative
indicators are discarded because of lack of availability.

This information loss is compounded at each refinement stage, so that the information contained in the
final selection of indicators is only partially representative of the global impact they aim at describing.
This information loss is the price to pay for moving from an abstract concept, the global impact, to a
database of concrete information, the set of indicators. In the end, the method used results in a
consistent set of indicators, each of which represents an important facet of the interactions between the
Olympic Games and the context in which they are held.

The context indicators reflect the most representative aspects of the consequences induced by the
Olympic event on the host context. The event indicators reflect the main characteristics of relevant
activities. They include the characteristics of Olympic activities and some context activities.
The set of indicators as a whole is intended to provide the best possible representation of the Olympic
Games' global impact.

Each indicator is the subject of a specification sheet, which both defines the object to be measured and
describes the measurement procedure.

3
The operational criteria for selection are not absolute: an indicator may prove representative to the point of justifying the
collection of data and the development of specific methods.

412
 References

Griethuysen P. van, Hug P. A. (2002), OGG1 Olympic Games Global Impart. Framework oj analysis for identifying the glob
impact of the Olympic Games, Lausanne: AISTS.
Griethuysen P. van, Hug P. A. (2001), Projet OGGI Olympic Games Global Impact. Cadre d'analyse pour l'identification
l'impact global des Jeux Olympiques, Lausanne: AISTS.
Hug P.-A. (2001), "Sports event assessment" in: Sports Event Management <& Organisation Seminar. Proceedings
Lausanne: AISTS, pp. 104-109.

Annex 1
Project Life Cycle

G E N E R I C P L A N N I N G PROCESS

OPERATIONAL TEST OPERATIONAL

DISSOLUTION
FOUNDATION STRATEGIC PLANNING PLANNING EVENTS READINESS

G-90 G-84 G-78 G-72 G-66 G-60 G-54 G48 G42 G-36 G-30 G-24 G-18 G-12 G-6 G G*6 G12
G-87 G-81 G-75 G-69 G-63 G-57 G-51 . G45 G-39 G-33 G-27 . _ & 2 G-1S G-9 SJ_, Jbi. G*9
v :R I v i s : v_^ v.i VLO 11 v_i

MASTER SCHEDULE
CORPORATE FUNCTIONAL OPERATIONS
Legal, Finance, Procurement, Human Resources
Host City
Contract Global strategic plan OCOG's
Overall mission, overall Master
vision, Master Plan, Plan
GOP, stakeholders.
initial budget and
human resources plan
FUNCTIONAL
o
STRATEGIC PLAN
by PROGRAM SCHEDULE (WBS structure at work)
(mission, requirements
& levels of service, BUDGET
stakeholders, budget. =
key milestones, staffing, STAFFING / HR S
ops. risks)

o
Concept of Functional
6
operations 1 Ops Plan Update 8
The actual , The actual approach
Functional Plan
approach for $ i , > ofservcesbythe
delivenng the function wthr and
services of the out of the Olympic
function

j Compe-
Design,
Construction. Generic Venue
Overlay & Overview'
JjjMajor non-
Integration Strategy Definitions
(includes the OCOG ^ including document
strategy with the m training Generic Venue
agencies)
How e operate n a
cjrver venue modell
rr
- O p r a iibonal Plansforcomp. & non comp venues

TEST DEFINITION T.E. TEST

EVENT OF
Ops
WCLVBJBil
STRATEGY Plans.
OPERATIONAL.'
NREADNESS/

Phase 1 : Foundation
Phase 2: Strategie Planning
Phase 3: Operational Planning
Phase 4: Test Events
Phase 5: Operational Readiness
Note: this document is written by FAs and is facilitated by OPS teams. Line index:
It provides answers to the questions: The coloured lines indicate the boundaries for:
- What is a venue? (OPS team + FAs) The Functional Planning Process
- What are the generic operations and functions within a venue? (OPS team + FAs) The Functional Operational Planning Process
- What is a generic operational chart? (OPS team + FAs) The Venue Operational Planning Process
This is designed by sport, FAs and OPS teams.

413
 Athens 2004
Planning and Organising Olympic Legacy

Y a n n i s Pyrgiotis
Executive director
Organising Committee for the
Olympic Games Athens 2004 (ATHOC)
Greece

1. Introduction

In a conference held at the Olympic Museum two years ago and organized by the I O C and the
International Union of Architects, I addressed the question of what is at stake for a city to compete for
holding the Olympic Games.

Geopolitical and national considerations are of course always prevalent. In the case of Athens, for
example, the return of the Games back where they were born and the rebirth of the ideals associated
with them was an important consideration. There was also recognition of a new face of Greece,
outward looking and ready to take-up the challenges of globalisation.

The cities themselves benefit in direct ways from the staging of the Games. O f course there are direct
and indirect economic benefits, but more tangible ones are:
infrastructure improvements, especially in transport;
enriching their sports infrastructure; and
provision of housing projects that are used to accommodate athletes during the Games.

T w o new considerations though have emerged in the post-modern era:

The first is the city's attempt to reach out beyond its traditional boundaries and compete directly in
a world market for jobs and investments: to put the city on the world map.
T h e second is the environment, which passes from the margins to the foreground of public policy
as it is recognized, that it place an important role in local development. That makes it easier for a
city to ask for increased attention on improving its quality of life.

The Olympic Games offer unique opportunities for a city to face the global challenges of
competitiveness and sustainability. By confronting the issues of organising the Games, a city can
successfully tackle many problems that burden urban areas.

Where does Athens stand in all this? In preparing its successful bid for the 2004 Olympics, Athens
committed itself to two things: technical excellence and long-term legacy. Committing to technical
excellence was a commitment to provide the athletes, the media and the spectators with state-of-the-art
installations, media facilities and competition venues. Committing to the long-term legacy of the Games
was a c o m m i t m e n t to urban renewal, new infrastructure projects and other city improvements that
would make Athens more attractive, better equipped, more functional and friendly to its citizens and
visitors.

First a few words on the context to understand the importance of this commitment for the city.

Greece underwent rapid transformations in the last fifty years, changing from a rural society to an urban
one, developing from a war devastated area to a modern economy competing at a European and
international level. The role of Athens has been instrumental in this process. Its population more than

414
tripled surpassing last year the 4 million mark. Public infrastructure investments could not keep-up with
these rapid urbanization rates. In spite of its deficient infrastructure, however, concentration of
population, isolation of the country from its neighbours, centralization of administration were some of
the conditions that concentrated development in the Athens area. This has triggered a strong sentiment
against growth in Athens, leading to policies of relative neglect for long periods. The Olympic Games
have been a unique opportunity for the metropolis of Athens to catch up with long-needed investments.

By carefully matching the needs of the Games some lasting solutions can be effected; which will be
dealt with in turn.

2. Transport infrastructure
One of the key factors for the success of the Games is reliable transport. It has been estimated that on
a single day of the Summer Games of 2004, transport needs increase by as much as 50% over a typical
busy day in Athens.
In this respect, Athens is implementing some lasting solutions that will be an important legacy for the
city. Over 210 km of ring roads and highways are being constructed or improved and the public
transport infrastructure is being enhanced and upgraded. A new light rail, 25 km long, will connect the
city centre to the coastal communities. A new suburban rail, now in its final stage of construction, will
span over 150 km. The two new lines of the metro are being extended, with one serving the airport,
more than doubling the present capacity and serving up to a million passengers a day. The original
metro line is being refurbished and its capacity increased. The rolling stock of all means of public
transport is being modernized and extended: the bus fleet is being replaced by new, low pollution,
handicap-accessible buses and new trains, trolleys and tramways are being procured to roll on the new
infrastructure. And, a new Traffic Management Centre will coordinate Olympic Transport needs and
will, in the years to come, greatly facilitate the flow of public and private vehicles.

3. Territorial balance
The main requirement of the Games is state-of-the-art competition venues and training facilities. In
Athens we have located new venues in less -developed neighbourhoods in order to enhance their
sports infrastructure and equip them with installations of metropolitan-wide importance.

4. Urban rehabilitation
In planning for new venues, many opportunities arise out of the need for developing sites as public
projects. We have used this opportunity to implement one of the most ambitious urban rehabilitation
projects in Europe. Athens is a coastal city. Its waterfront on Faliron Bay was once an important
recreational and summer resort area. In recent decades however, the area has been degraded through
extensive landfills and the construction of an elevated highway that tore the fabric of the city away from
the sea. In a way, the city turned its back to the sea. Through Olympic projects, an ambitious land
reclamation and rehabilitation programme is being implemented that will create in the city 100 acres of
land for urban recreational uses, including an ecological park of 33 acres, and reconnect the urban
space of Athens to the sea.

The ecological park, marine leisure centre, open-air theatre (that will temporarily host the Olympic
Beach Volleyball Competition), new aquarium and the eventual relocation of the highway, will combine
to create a major centre of attraction for the residents of Attica.
Linking the regeneration of Faleron Bay to the building of temporary Olympic venues provided the
push and the commitment of resources necessary to materialize a plan that had been on the drawing
boards for the past thirty years.

415
 5. Ecological regeneration

The Schinias Rowing Centre, which has attracted a lot of international attention, is also a flagship
restoration project that will upgrade and protect a degraded wetland ecosystem through compatible
development. The rowing lake is constructed in the site of an old airport, which has been removed, and
an old military base is also being removed. The overflow of the lake will enrich and regenerate the
wetlands, which had been drained in the 1920's to make way for agricultural land. The whole area will
be listed and protected through the Natura 2000 sites of European importance.

6. Public space upgrading

In addition to infrastructure and competition venues, the city itself has to be prepared to receive
Olympic visitors and to be the centre of attention for billions of Olympic television spectators. Visitors
to large cities can often see behaviour towards public spaces that is disorderly or undisciplined. This is
the blessing and curse of the modern city. It is what makes it charming, lively and exciting, but also
frustrating. Of course, discipline should not be imposed through overly-strict police measures, nor
through the Olympic Games alone: changing behaviour is a question of awareness and education.
These take time. For Athens, there are many things that are being done that will, in the long-term, make
the city more livable and improve the daily lives of its citizens. In time, these changes will improve the
behaviour of citizens towards their public space. Improving accessibility, making the sidewalks safe,
applying quality standards to street furniture, better sign-posting, making the city more readable,
cleaning and restoring facades in selected areas, and lighting and controlling outdoor advertising are
some of the actions being implemented. And there are even more ambitious projects underway in the
historic city centre of Athens. A series of parks and extensive pedestrian routes will unite all the
important archaeological sites of Athens. Visitors to the city will be able to experience the Acropolis,
the Agora, the Roman Forum, the new Acropolis Museum and the other unique monuments through a
network of pedestrian zones, squares and parks that recapture the feel of the ancient city and blend it
with the vital energy of modern Athens.

7. Technology

Technology is another field with major positive impacts and legacies. Major projects are underway in
the telecommunication and energy sectors, which will modernize the city's infrastructure. Technology
though is also the backbone of Games organization and operations. In effect, technology acquired a
major role since the staging of the Games in Atlanta and became dominant at the Sydney Games. The
challenge is not in frontier innovations but in consolidating and integrating state of the art technologies
widely diffused.

We have faced this challenge by building a simulation area for all technology systems that will be used
during the Games: the Integration Test Laboratory. It is the most complete technology test laboratory
in terms of infrastructure, the largest in terms of capacity, the most modern in terms of equipment and
the safest in terms of the use and transfer of data. All major operations will be tested under real
conditions, events timing systems, announcement of results, score board registration, commentators
information systems, etc. Overall, the technology of 37 sports and 8 additional operations will be
simulated (room reservations, accreditation, printing network, etc.) Any mistakes will be corrected,
programmes improved and 4,000 staff and volunteers who will operate the systems in competition and
non-competition venues will be tried and trained.

The Integration Test Lab will be yet another "legacy", since in the post-Olympic era it can be utilized by
the public sector or private companies to try new systems with a simulated geographical dispersion, to test
and achieve perfect cooperation, to control safe and uninterrupted communication and to secure the

416
cooperation of different system models. The impact of Olympic Games technology demands on the
market is also beneficial as we are already witnessing consolidation and partnerships in a dynamic but
highly fragmented structure of technological firms.

While we are in the field of technology let me briefly refer to another application that we have
developed which I believe is a major legacy. It is a games simulation model that we call PLATO, a tool
that was developed by ATHOC and is currently being extensively used to support venue operations
planning. The objective of the PLATO methodology is to support the effective design of all procedures
that are necessary to serve various user groups (spectators, athletes, staff, etc.) and to identify and
optimize the resources that are necessary to achieve the desired level of service. We have used it with
significant results in optimizing procedures and costs and we believe it will be a legacy for the IOC and
for other OCOGs.

Let me conclude with some perspectives on institutional and cultural legacies.

8. Education

To paraphrase an old slogan: "Olympism is not an event, it is a movement". People see the Games as
great feast but are often unaware of the ideals associated with them. We feel it is our duty to promote
the values that are associated with the Olympic Movement and its historical foundations. They are
more than ever pertinent in an ever-changing world and are a basis for understanding that runs across
cultural differences. Hence, we have developed our education programme, which specifically targets
younger generations. Our programme is being extended through cooperation with the European
Union, the IOC and Turin.

9. Volunteerism

It will take 4,000 trained professionals, 90,000 subcontractor staff and 60,000 volunteers to run the
Olympic and Paralympic Games, contributing to the improvement of know-how and to the
development of a new corporate culture. The mobilization of volunteers is one of the pillars for the
success of the Games. In Greece there is a strong rooted tradition in solidarity expressed in support
mechanisms that develop among members of an extended family of a community or social grouping.
The Olympic Games is an opportunity for civil society to participate in a common cause. Already we
have collected more than 43,000 applications. This number is 25% larger than any other host city two
years before the Games. Instilling the culture of volunteerism will be a major legacy for Greece.

10. Institutional changes

The Games of 2004 are the first truly European Games that are being implemented under conditions
of full integration. All procurements and services, even sponsor contracts are being tendered and over
150 small and large scale projects are being constructed in the framework of European legislation, in
full respect for the rule of Law, private and collective rights, strict environmental directives and
competitive procedures. No discounts in obeying the rule of Law were made to save time. On the
contrary, Olympic legislation provided for transparency by upgrading all normal procedures to allow
for the security scrutiny of the courts and of public criticism of all Olympic works.

It normally takes over five years for a complex project to mature: basic studies, environmental studies
and permits, design studies, building and land use permits, land reclamation, approval of funding,
tendering procedures. We have managed to cut this time in half by instituting new legislation and new
mechanisms that speed up the processes without compromising their transparency.

4P
One of the greatest legacies of the Games will be this new culture in managing public projects. The
creation of competent agencies, the upgrading of procedures, the readiness and effectiveness of
administration, the creation of effective monitoring and project management, the networks of
cooperation and coordination put in place to implement projects with immovable deadlines will leave
their imprint in promoting investments.

At the end of the day, Athens will be a better and more functional place to live and work, to enjoy
culture, tradition and modernity in a lively and safe environment. But at the same time, the citizens of
Athens and Greece will emerge out of this experience more confident and better prepared to face the
challenges of globalization. This legacy is less tangible and hard to quantify but may prove in the long
run to be more effective in pursuing a common vision for the future and in "putting the city on the
world map".

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 Torino 2006
Planning and Organising Olympic Legacy

Valentino Castellani
President
Organizing Committee for the
XX Olympic Winter Games (TOROC)
Italy

Our vision of the Olympic Games is linked with the real development of our region and of our nation as
well. Only by making an enduring event we can aspire to build an effective and positive legacy. Ever)' great
sport event generates an inheritance, but without a clear vision and a firm strategy of implementation, the
results could be erratic or even negative with budget deficits and poor outcomes. Thus the post-Olympic
legacy has been one of our top priorities since the bidding for the 2006 Winter Games.

The Torino 2006 Olympic Games are part of a broad strategy of urban and mountain development.
Our region has heavily suffered for the industrial decline and since the early nineties local authorities,
urban planners and citizens associations have developed a strategic plan for Turin and its area: a project
to build a bridge to the future for our cities and region. This vision is strategically connected with the
Games and all the other infrastructures and facilities included in the Olympic dossier are part of this
broad strategy.

In our planning scheme, the Olympic Games should facilitate the development of a coherent and
realistic perspective. By observing the real potential of our urban and mountain areas we define a
strategy of common development with the vision of Turin and Piedmont as a territory on the move.

It is fundamental for us to leave infrastructures and facilities that will enrich the territory, by projecting
immediately their post Olympic use and destination. Past experiences have taught that sportive venues
should be imagined in a strategic manner, to be manageable and useful in the future for the community.

Our strategy is centred on a clear challenge: the city and its mountains should join their forces to build
their Olympic future based on:
urban transformation: similar to the Barcelona case, new identity and positioning as an
international city;
alpine transformation: similar to the Savoie case of Albertville, development of infrastructure,
services and tourist identity.

The urban transformation involves infrastructure projects that will improve the urban and regional
transportation system with realistic goals based on:
long period strategy: Olympic venues and sites planned in coherence with the strategic urban
plan of Turin (started in 1993 and leading to 2011);
urban restoration: from a city divided by its industrial history (historical and industrial area) to a
coherent sustainable urban centre.

The Games will leave a coherent network of sports event, the first line of the Metro in Turin will be
ready for the Olympic Games in 2006 and other projects as the underground railway link and the high
speed railway line are in their building stage. The fair and exhibition vocation of Turin will be also
enhanced by adding new spaces potentially offered by the Oval. The Olympic Games will play a

419
fundamental role as a catalyst factor, by accelerating the funding and building process developed by
local, regional and national authority.
Regarding the alpine transformation our goal is to develop a close and networked mountain with:
Infrastructure: roads, railway link, airport connection, integrated water cycle.
Sport facilities: slopes, lifts and cableways, artificial snow systems, ski jumping, bobsleigh.
A network of sport venues with the city.
Cable networks in the Olympic valleys.

Every Organising Committee should look at the post games impact but they face a fundamental
dilemma between short term success and long term legacy. On the one hand:
Organising Committees should deliver perfect Games on time;
time and resource restraints might reduce attention over long term legacy;
others actors involved in the Games might have a short term strategy.
on the other hand:
legacy should be a strategic goal since the early stage of the bid process;
citizens are the key stakeholders of the legacy;
cohesion of institutions, business and NOC's is fundamental for the success of the legacy.

Therefore, we should focus on early planning and public involvement to reduce the risk of short
termism. We can now highlight how this plan will be organised in different legacies:

Sport legacy: We will build new venues and some existing ones will be reclaimed. Furthermore we will
develop a network system of sport venues, a system that link not only venues in Turin but also of the
overall Olympic system of cities involved in the mountains.

Olympic villages will be located in Turin and in the mountains, a decision that gather at the same level
and progress the urban and the mountain system.

We have planned these sites with the perspective of an enduring sport system for the city and the
mountains, avoiding resolutely to build venues without a clear definition of usability.

One of our top priorities for the post Olympic era is to preserve, and even improve, the quality of the
environment in which the Games will take place. Our environment vision aims at monitoring and
evaluating the performance of our organisation in order to achieve the environment sustainability of
the Games. In particular, Torino 2006 will probably be the first Olympics with a certified audit scheme,
the EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme).

Another goal of the general strategy of Turin and Piedmont is the development of the tourist offer of
the city and the mountains. The promotion of the region has been developed in the last years by using
great events as the Holy Shroud exhibition. In this context the building of new upper range hotels for
the Olympics will be a fundamental part of this strategy to position Turin as an international tourist
choice, for his cultural, sportive and gastronomic heritage and offer.

Turin is aiming at positioning itself as a centre of excellence for education and training. In the years
to come the University system is completing a process of enhancement and diversification. The
Olympic Games will strengthen this process by providing a relevant number of new halls of residence
for students with the post-game destination of the Olympic media village.

A fundamental aspect of our planning vision is to define and manage the critical situations in advance.
In the case of bob sleigh and the ski jumping, we will use the profits gained to create a foundation to
manage these critical structures.

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Another of the strong legacies will be the development of a cable system, which will link Turin with the
mountains. This system will create a leverage effect that will enhance labour skills and help create new
jobs, developing competencies and tele-working possibilities within the alpine territory.

In addition, our regional Health system will be improved by adding the anti-doping centre (after the
Games it will be a centre of excellence in sports medicine), re-organising the Emergency Unit and
creating a system for managing high emergency crisis.

Finally, the Olympic Games will be an historical success if the young generations will remember this
event. We are placing great attention in our Educational and young volunteers / raga^i del 2006
programme. This project is moving forward to build an "Olympic generation", which will serve during
the games as volunteers. By this way, the Olympic values will be spread from the young generations
creating a valuable "human legacy" for the future.

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 Beijing 2008
Planning and Organising the Olympic Legacy

Xu, Da

H e , Chuan
Head, Information Centre

Ping, Xiang
Programme Expert
Beijing Organizing Committee
for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG)
People's Republic of China

In the Report of the IOC Evaluation Commission on the five candidate cities issued on May 15, 2001,
it is clearly stated that if Beijing is awarded the 2008 Olympic Games, it will leave a "unique" legacy to
China and sport. We fully understand that leaving a sound legacy is a great mission that the Organizing
Committee, the city of Beijing and the whole nation of China have been striving for. We hold that
highlighting the research on the Olympic legacy from the moment a city is awarded the Olympic
Games is of extreme importance for both the Host City and the Host Country. Bearing this in mind,
we have been working intensively on the subject ever since we won the bid. We have held a number of
meetings and seminars, at which experts and scholars specializing in Olympic matters looked into the
potential legacy that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will leave us. At present, the research program is
going on and more work will be done to further define the scope of the Olympic legacy.

1. T h e legacy that the Beijing Olympic Games will leave us

1.1. Social legacy of the Beijing Olympic Games

th
At its 112 Session on July 13, 2001, the IOC decided to award the Games of the XXIX Olympiad to
Beijing, China. This solemn decision is historical and history making. The Olympic Games is going to
be held in the most populous country, where 1.3 billion people will join in the celebration of the Games
on the land of their birth, and tens of millions of Chinese youth will accept and cherish the Olympic
values. These should be deemed the most precious legacy and wealth the Games will leave for the
country and the Olympic Movement. We are confident that the Olympic Movement will be promoted
and the Olympic ideals will be carried forward in the most extensive way at the 2008 Olympic Games.

For the last two decades, China has been opening up to the outside world. New ideas and international
practices have been accepted in various areas of the social life. Hosting the Olympic Games will surely
add momentum to China's reform and modernization. For instance, in the competition for the
conceptual design of the Olympic Green and Wukesong Cultural Center, we invited design institutions
from all over the world. Over 170 institutions submitted their proposals and the first prize went to a
joint creation by a foreign company and a Chinese design institution.

The Olympic Design Competition is another example of international cooperation. So far, over 1,300
qualified design companies and professionals have been engaged in the design of a new emblem for the
2008 Olympic Games. All these are evidences of the continuation of the opening and development of
the country.

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Since our bid for the Games, we have faced the challenges in the protection of the Olympic symbols
and the Olympic Intellectual Property Right (IPR), which is also a new frontier of China's legislation. In
a joint effort with the Beijing Organizing Committee, the legislative departments of the Municipality
and the State Council issued laws and regulations for both the city-wide and nation-wide protection of
the Olympic Symbols and the Olympic IPR. At present, these laws and regulations are effectively
enforced and education programs are carried out in the country to raise the awareness of and respect
for the intellectual property right, which will have a long lasting impact on the legal aspect of the
country.

The Olympic Games will mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers and arouse the spirit of dedication
among millions of citizens. After the Games, the city will have a culture of dedication and a large
number of enthusiasts in public affairs. Furthermore, the unyielding spirit and courage demonstrated by
the athletes at the Olympic Games, particularly the athletes with disabilities at the Paralympic Games,
will inspire the younger generation in their pursuit of the Olympic ideals. All these will leave the city a
spiritual legacy for many years to come.

1.2. Economic legacy

For Beijing, the capital city of a developing country, the Olympic Games will help advance the
economic development of the city, particularly in the areas of urban infrastructure, investment, tourism
and sports industry. More importantly, the Olympic Games will have a positive impact not only on
Beijing, but also on the vast areas far beyond Beijing.

Beijing is a city with a long history. While the historical and cultural heritage in the city is well
protected, new developments have been taking place at an astonishing speed every day. The
preparation for the Olympic Games will give new dynamics to the construction of the urban
infrastructure. By 2008, Beijing will have well-developed transportation, telecommunication, energy and
water supply systems, which will not only provide favourable conditions for the Olympic Games, but
also make the city one of the top metropolises in the world.

In our bid for the 2008 Olympic Games we introduced the concept of "Green Olympics", which is also
incorporated in the city's modernization drive towards an international metropolis. On the one hand,
the preparation for the Games will help the city achieve substantial progress in the areas of pollution
prevention and control, and ecological environment improvement. To this end, the city will allocate
USD 20 billion in the next few years to conduct a number of projects. For instance, the rail transport
system, which is environmental friendly, will be expanded; clean energy will be widely used to replace
the current coal consumption; polluting industries will be removed out of the urban area; waste will be
better treated; and more trees will be planted in and around the city. On the other hand, in the
construction of the Olympic venues and the operation of the Games, environmental friendly designs,
technologies and materials will be widely applied to materialize the theme of environmental protection.
What the people will see at the Games will be a green, pleasant and ecological city of Beijing.

The Olympic Games will also give a tremendous boost to the tourist industry of both Beijing and
China. It is estimated that international tourist arrivals will increase at a rate of 6% between 2002 and
2005, and grow to 8% in 2006. Beijing will receive 4.5 to 5 million international visitors annually in the
years after 2008, which represents an increase of 50% to 70% compared with the current number of 3
million. The domestic tourist market will experience similar growth, and domestic tourist arrivals will
grow by 5% annually in the years to come. By 2008, domestic tourist arrivals will reach 103 million.

Both international and domestic tourist revenue will increase along with the increase in tourist arrivals.
In a word, the impact derived from the Olympic Games on the development of Beijing and even
China's tourism will be far-reaching.

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 1.3. Sports and cultural legacy
The sports legacy will be rich and abundant as the 2008 Olympic Games will leave Beijing a large
number of sports venues and cultural facilities such as the Olympic Green. Unlike the cases of some
other host cities, what the Olympic Games will leave us are not "white elephants", but the long-craved
facilities needed to meet the demands of a city with 13 million residents, whose per capita occupancy of
sports facilities is still much lower than that of the developed countries. These facilities will serve as
public centres for sports and cultural activities for the local residents while will remain to be the ideal
venues for both international and national sports events at the same time.

Apart from the physical legacy, the Olympic Games will leave something more important in people's
mind. That is the love for sport, which will, for a long time, inspire the people in sports activities and
raise their interest in sports and their awareness of health, thus facilitating the popularization of the
"Sports for All" movement. It is expected that the proportion of the population who participate in
sports activities on a regular basis will rise from 34.9% to over 40% because of the Games.

The Olympic Games will provide an unprecedented opportunity for the development of China's
sports. The State Sports General Administration has set up a target for the sports circle of China. That
is to participate in all the Olympic sports and more events at the 2008 Olympic Games, which will
represent a big leap forward in the capacity and strength of China' sports. The Olympic Games will be
a training venue for sports personnel. The hosting of the Olympic Games will help China foster a large
number of sports professionals, including athletes, judges, referees and sports managers, who will make
great contribution to China's sports as well as to world sports. Additionally, the Olympic Games will
directly stimulate the further growth of China's sports industry.

In terms of the cultural legacy, the Beijing Olympic Games will serve as a platform for the exchange of
East and West cultures, where the world will gain a better knowledge of China and China will better
mix with the world. The Beijing Olympic Games will bear strong features of oriental culture. The
cultural programs of the Games such as the Torch Relay, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be
wonderful chances to introduce the Chinese culture to people all over the world. Although the
celebration of the Olympic Games lasts for only 16 days, some of the Olympic cultural activities will be
turned into regular events after the Games and the cultural tradition of the Games will go on for
generations.

2. Planning and organizing Olympic legacy

2.1. Strong support from the government

The governments at all levels are the strong backing for the creation of the Olympic legacy. The leaders
of the Chinese Government have made commitments on many occasions to support Beijing in its
effort to host the 2008 Games and called on the whole nation to put together the resources to support
the preparation. The Chinese Government has promised to take the final responsibility should there be
any shortfalls in the revenue of the Organizing Committee, and has provided the latter with preferential
policies in the respects of taxation, customs and quarantine.

The Beijing Municipal Government will spare no efforts in the preparation for the Olympic Games.
On July 13, 2002, the Beijing Municipal Government officially issued the "Beijing Olympic Action
Plan", which is the guideline for the whole city in the work for the preparation and organization of the
Olympic Games. In accordance with the "Action Plan", specific schemes will be designed and actions
will be taken for the creation of the Olympic legacy.

Not long ago, under the leadership of the State Council, the State Sports General Administration held
the National Conference on Sports, which proves to be a very important meeting for both the future
development of China's sports and the preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. The State Sports

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General Administration has formulated the "Olympic Competition Organization Action Plan" and the
"Guidelines for Winning Olympic H o n o r s " to guarantee the success of the competition organization of
the Games and the best performance of the Chinese athletes.

2.2. Active business involvement

It is well known that since the Games in Los Angeles, Olympic marketing has become more and more
successful as a result of the active involvement of domestic and international businesses in the
marketing programs, and marketing was able to secure ample financial resources for the creation of the
Olympic legacy. N o w that the Chinese economy is developing at a healthy pace, hosting the Games
brings about tremendous market opportunities for both domestic and multinational corporations. Ever
since the success of Beijing's bid, many world-renowned businesses have shown great interest in the
marketing programs of the Beijing Olympic Games, and the same is true with numerous domestic
businesses. They have expressed their willingness to make contributions to the Games and Olympic
Movement, and thus contributing in various ways to the Olympic legacy.

2.3. Extensive participation of the people

As you may have seen, the Chinese people made a sustained effort in the pursuit of the Olympic ideals
and demonstrated enormous enthusiasm in the Olympic Movement in the days of the bid and at the
moment w h e n Beijing was awarded the Games. With the participation of 13 million residents in
Beijing, and with the support of the 1.3 billion people in China and the assistance of millions of
Chinese nationals overseas, Beijing enjoys the strongest public support in its effort to build up the
Olympic legacy.

2.4. A competent team

T o have a competent, efficient and hard working team is fundamental to the success of the Games and
the creation of the Olympic legacy. Towards this end, we will keep our doors open to the professionals
both at h o m e and abroad w h o are willing to participate in Olympic matters. We have carried out
various training programs for the staff and we will do more to help them acquire expertise in venue
planning, Games operation, marketing, logistics, etc. so as to build up a strong team for the
organization of the Games.

2.5. Public supervision

T o be open, fair and transparent is the principle that B O C O G will firmly hold up to in the preparation
of the Games. Under the guidance of this principle, we have set up an effective mechanism of
supervision soon after the founding of the Beijing Organizing Committee, and later on, issued a series
of rules and regulations for the staff members to observe in their work. We have also made public our
telephone numbers and e-mail addresses to invite public opinions and supervision. We do all these
because we fully realize that what the people would cherish is the legacy of an excellent and clean
Olympics.

2.6. Valuable experience of the host cities of previous Games

The experience of the host cities of previous Games in terms of the Olympic legacy will surely be of
great value to us. Since 1984, the host cities have been very successful in the aspects of Olympic
marketing, urban infrastructure construction, post-Games uses of the venues, and improvement of
people's awareness of environmental protection. We deem their experience to be of particular
significance to the creation of the legacy of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Right now, we are still at the early stage of our preparation for the 2008 Games. In other words, we are
laying the foundation of the Olympic legacy, which will forever stand in the city and, more importantly,
in the mind of the Chinese people and the people of the world as a m o n u m e n t of the Olympic
Movement.

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426
 Communication papers

Organising and Planning Future Olympic Legacies

428
 T h e Legacy of Olympic Games:
Lessons and D e m a n d s on African Countries

Clement Fasan
University of Lagos
Nigeria

1. Introduction

It is quite interesting that an event, a phenomenon, an institution and a movement which started like a
"grain of mustard seed" many years ago has now metamorphosed into a big event that has influenced
and changed the system of government in terms of politics, business, economic and social life and
education of the whole world.

Every four years, people of all races, different socio-economic and religious backgrounds gather in a
particular city for a ritual called "Olympic Games". The Olympic Games has become such a big force
that survival of the fittest is the order of the day when it comes to the hosting rights. The Olympic
Review April-May 1997 stated that at the closing date of 10 January 1996 for the receipt of applications
to host the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in 2004, eleven cities had formally presented their
candidatures to the International Olympic Committee (IOC): Athens (Greece) Buenos Aires
(Argentina), Cape T o w n (South Africa) Istanbul (Turkey), Lille (France), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil),
Stockholm (Sweden) and St. Petersburg (Russian Federation). What are these eleven cities looking for?
It therefore shows that staging Olympic Games is competitive and worthwhile venture.

In terms of preparation and organisation, there are many lessons to learn. Each Olympic Games has
been a point of reference to the next organiser. They want to learn the secret of their success, surpass it
and also learn from their mistakes to avoid repeated performance.

A look at the organisational acumen and deep sense of commitment of the organising committee
indicate the level of seriousness attached to the outcome of the Games. Even though the Olympic
Movement does not support government interference, the host city still enjoys the support of its
government. The Olympic Games have since become a source of pride to the host city and nation. The
success is seen as a national glory. This is demonstrated in the principle of total support given as seen in
the attendance at the venues, sponsoring, marketing and volunteer services.

However, one pertinent issue is that the Olympic Games have gone through all the continents of the
world except Africa. There are many reasons that can be adduced for this. However, the concern of
this paper is the lessons that can be learnt from the success stories of those who have hosted in order
to achieve success planning for the future.

2. L e s s o n from t h e legacy of O l y m p i c G a m e s

2.1. The lesson of adequate planning and organisation

O n e of the fundamental and enduring legacies of Olympic Games is adequate planning and
organisation. Wareen Bennis and Burt Nanus (1994) stated that a business short of capital can borrow
money and one with a p o o r location can move. But a business short of leadership has litde chance for
survival.

Bridges and Roquemore (1996) defined management as achievement of predetermined objectives

working through others. Managers in any type of organisation located anywhere engage in the basic
process of management as they work through people to achieve objectives. This basic process involves

429
the functions of planning, organising, implementing and controlling activities. I have made reference in
this area to show the significance of purposeful leadership and organisational ability of Olympic Games
organizing committees.

I want to make a reference to 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. I have called this "the legacy of good
management and leadership". It has to do with one man called William Porter "Billy" Payne. President
and chief executive officer of the Adanta Committee for the Olympic Games (1996) observed that it
was Payne's inspiration and leadership that led to the pursuit and successful attainment of the 1996
Centennial Olympic Games.

The mayor of Adanta, Bill Campbell, said Billy Payne has a rare combination of vision, bulldog-
handwork and old-fashioned Southern charm. T o show the vision Payne stated that "Atlanta will do
more than just put on a highly efficient games organisationally, logistically, technologically. We're going
to be the best that the world has to offer". T h e organising committee included the famous Andrew
Young, D o u g Cratlin, Cindy Fowler, Linda Stephenson, Horace Sibley, Gingeer Waikins, Charles Battle
and Porter Payne.

I have taken time to look at the success story of the organising committee of Adanta Olympic Games
because of the will power, vision and ability to harness other resources to stage one of the most
spectacular events of the century. This is a challenge to Africa if we want to achieve successful planning
for the future. I cannot but buttress this by the statement of Drucker (1974) when he identified three
popular explanations for the c o m m o n failure of service institutions to perform: their managers are n o t
business like; they are "better m e n " and their objectives and results are intangible.

We need people of vision and commitment to stage an event of such a magnitude and still succeed.
Closely linked to this is the power of planning. Planning is thinking through and futuristic. It is an
attempt to identify what we intend to do in the future now and work on how to accomplish it. What
has been the bane of our planning effort in developing countries is the closeness of planning and
execution period. This is what has led to the term "fire brigade" approach. Instead of preventing the
fire from occurring, we are looking at people w h o will put out the fire.

O n e thing we have to learn from past Organizing Committees is that it was not w h e n they w o n the bid
that they started planning. It would have been an ambition nurtured long time ago and enough chance
is given for planning and evaluating.

This we can see in the various committees set up. It was n o t just setting up committees but also making
it functional. There were close relationships between the committees. This was in a form of
networking. For example, there was a close relationship between the accreditation committee and
security committee. We might think there was n o need for this but the situations in our society leading
to insecurity of life and properties made it mandatory that the organising committees must network and
be security conscious. This is another big lesson for African countries.

2.2. The legacy of good funding through adequate

sponsorship and marketing
There cannot be any successful sports outing without good funding. The Olympic G a m e s is a complex
event with a multi-dimensional outlook and greatly influenced by market forces of demand and supply.
The success of it depends on huge capital ouday.

Preuss (2000) writing on revenues of an organising committee, stated that the organising committee of
Olympic Games ( O C O G ) is responsible for the entire organisation of the Olympics and must also
ensure that the sports venues comply with its requirement. H e observed that the size of today's
Olympics increasingly calls for host cities to finance the required urban infrastructure, in particular
sports facilities themselves, in order to enable the staging of the Games. This is a huge capital ouday
which most developing countries may not be able to bear. Even before Los Angeles 1984 there were

430
n o Olympic Games without the contribution and financial disposition of the host countries, Preuss
(2000) stated that in the seventies the O C O G revenues almost exclusively depend on special financing
means. Consequendy, they depended on the favourable attitude and financial power of the host
countries.

From the beginning, O C O G revenues come from the following sources: sponsors, media, N O C (fees),
I O C (share in TV rights, sponsoring, state, banks interest, etc.), licenses, population (financial and work
donations), entrance fees and merchandising.

Special financial m e a n s
I want to draw your special attention to one of the sources of revenue for O C O G and this is entrance
fees and ticketing. This is an area where the populace in developed countries need to be congratulated
for their support. Most of the time the stadia and other venues were filled up. That is, people show
their patronage by buying the tickets at a price which people in developing countries will feel
outrageous when compared to their own money. I once took a survey of some 500 graduate students
doing a masters programme in sports management and others in their final year of their degree
programme trying to find out how m u c h can afford to watch the opening ceremony of the 8 th All
Africa Games about to be staged in Abuja (Nigeria). The question was how many of them could pay
N 2000 (about 10 or less than U S D 20) for gate fees. 80% of them said they could not afford it.
Therefore, a good legacy of the Olympic Games for Africans is our ability to look outward for good
sponsors and marketers to assist.

Preuss (2000) observed that the Olympic Games are hardly conceivable without close cooperation with
private industry. The I O C gains from the financial support of private industry and, in return, private
industry gains from the worldwide attention which the Olympic Games receive, thereby making them
an ideal platform for advertising.

African N O C s need a lot of assistance in the area of training for sponsorship and marketing purposes.
There are many multinationals that can be contacted but the method of approach is not there. Another
area to be examined is the economic returns on the investment of marketers and sponsors in African
countries. This is a big area which needs to be addressed. Most of our funding for big sporting events
come from government. When this is n o t forthcoming it will negatively effect the organisation and
expectation of the event.

However, what has not been successfully exploited is money from T V rights. This may be due to lack
of knowledge of the cost-benefit of it. Miquel de Moragas i Sp (1996) noted that the increase in
television rights fees for the Olympic G a m e s can logically be explained by the increase in competition
that is a general feature of modern sports worldwide. The European Broadcasting Union paid USD
19.8 million in T V right for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, while USD 225 million for Adanta
1996 and U S D 350 million for Sydney 2000. D e Moragas (1996) concluded by saying that this was a
challenge for the future of the Olympic Movement and that these new relationships between sport and
T V pose significant organisational challenges to the Olympic Movement.

T h e l e g a c y of e c o n o m i c b u o y a n c y a n d financial a u t o n o m y
Eede (1992) observed that according to the Olympic Charter, N O C s must always preserve their
autonomy, resisting all the political, religious and economic pressure, which could harm the
development of sport and the International Olympic Movement. H e pointed out that marketing is a
key factor in ensuring that sport remains financially independent of government support. He
mentioned that financial independence enables a N O C to pursue its own policies and to participate in
the gains even at times of government decision to boycott them. This is a big lesson for developing
countries, especially in Africa. Most African countries depend on government funding to prepare and
participate in the Olympic Games. " H e w h o pays the piper, dictates the tune". This is why most of the
time the N O C s cannot do anything but boycott some Games e.g. Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980.
Kidane (1996), looking at government as the main sponsor in developing countries, stated that the state

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remains the primary sponsor of sports in developing regions like Africa. Without government support
there is n o salvation for support.

Palmer (1992), discussing government support for sports, observed that many political leaders have
acknowledged the social importance of sport. However, it has traditionally been relatively easy to
translate this political support for sports into both direct and indirect financial assistance. In the future,
however, the effects of economic recession and the increasing tendency to change to market-led
economies will probably make it harder for N O C s to secure government support. This prophecy has
come true in African countries. Lack of finance has hampered participation in some events at the
Olympic Games. T h e number of athletes that participate in Olympic Games from Africa will increase
when the funding situation increases. African countries will spend more money when marketing
situation improves o n training tours and developing athletes. However, the warning note from Palmer
is equally timely in that he suggested that N O C should beware of the Greek gift from government
because money from them can become a direct involvement, which can translate to interference and
becoming a stooge of government.

2.3. The lesson of good documentation

Every Olympic host city wants to stage an event that will surpass the previous one and avoid the
mistake of the past. H o w can this be possible? G o o d documentation is the answer, I am aware of the
dearth of information on sports and Olympic Games in some African countries. The problem has to
do with procuring, storing and retrieving information in data forms. This is one of the areas where the
International Association for sports Information (IASI), an organisation recognised by I O C , is trying to
assist Africa.

In April 2001, IASI held a congress in Lausanne, on "Sports information in the new millennium". Also
with the assistance of the I O C , a book on "Establishment and management of Sports Information
Centres" was produced. All these are geared towards procuring information.

Olympic G a m e s documentation has been a good legacy, which African countries can learn from. It
becomes a platform for good organisation of events. Modern technology has made sports
documentation easier.

A lot of information can also be obtained on the Internet. The Sydney organising committee provides
Games information service via Internet on www.sydney.olympic.org. Others sources of sports information
on the Olympic Games are: www.olympk.org, www.australian.olympic.org, www.olympic.org.uk,
www. blues, uab. es I Olympic, studies.

Olympic documentation is advantageous in the area of planning, such as providing statistics o n those
committees, management and organisation, funding, research and logistics. This should not be in the
paper w o r k only but also in electronic format.

Closely linked to documentation is Internet connection: a legacy to buy. A report from the Olympic
Marketing Newsletter identified the I O C ' s move to raise awareness through the use of Internet. The
I O C embarked on a campaign to broaden the public's experience of Olympism. O n e way in which this
can be accomplished is through the use of Internet. The purposes of the Olympic W e b sites are:
1) to raise public awareness of Olympism and the workings of the I O C ;
2) to unite the Olympic family through constant worldwide election communication;
3) to p r o m o t e the Games and to provide an archive of their history;
4) to provide updates on Olympic athletes and foster a relationship with the public;
5) to electronically sell Olympic memorabilia books, videos and other souvenir merchandise.

The question is how many of African N O C s have a web site.

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 2.4. The lesson of service and patriotism
through the use of volunteers
One of the enduring legacies which African countries can learn from Olympic Games is the use of
volunteers. We are all aware that there is no way the Organizing Committee can meet the demand of
the Games in terms of supply/recruitment of personnel without the use of volunteers.
Volunteers are groups of people, talented, committed individuals with different skills, background,
experience, exposure, age and socio-economic status, who, for the love of their country and service to
humanity, decided to sacrifice their time, energy and skill as a demonstration of patriotism and
nationalistic spirit to the cause of the Olympic Games without undue demand for wages or
gratification. These volunteers have demonstrated commitment and sense of belonging to the cause
they believed in, providing assistance to several aspects of the Games and visitors. Their effect is felt
right from the Airport to the Games' venues, hotels, Olympic village, community and religious places.
The aged, retirees, are not left out. The vision of arousing the collective will of the people via the use of
volunteers makes the organising committee enjoy the support of the populace. We salute the courage
of this humanistic gesture and unparallel loyalty.

However, what was responsible for this commitment? It was as a result of economic potency, believe in
their government and political supremacy. These you hardly find in majority of African countries. To
them nothing is free. They feel the government is corrupt. They need to take their share from the
national cake. No confidence in government or the organising committee. There must be remuneration
for their services. Poverty and illiteracy may be reasons for their inability to want to volunteer.

Preuss (2000), saw volunteers as the donation of work by private individuals. This started as far back as
Stockholm 1992. The labour they give nearly for free is difficult to evaluate. He observed that if the
work of volunteers in their thousands is to be paid for, it will cost millions of doars.
One important lesson learnt from the volunteers scheme is the huge financial investment on their
training and caring. This is a big lesson for Africans "If you don't train them, don't blame them".
Pescante (1996) reported that the Atlanta Organizing Committee (ACOG) recruited more than 40,000
volunteers. They offer their assistance in public information, merchandising, guide and driver services
for visitors, coordination of special events, etc.
We can therefore say that the use of volunteers by African countries will reduce the wage bills of
workers and develop in them a true spirit of nationalism.

2.5. The lesson of athlete development

There is an adage that says the end of one Olympics is the beginning of another one. Most developed
countries catch their athletes young and develop them to be able to participate in at least two to three
Olympic Games. Athletes' development is the bedrock of winning Olympic medals. There is no way we
can win medals if the athletes are not developed. Haynes (2001) gave a beautiful picture of athletes'
development that proved to be efficient for the Sydney Games. She stated that in July 1994, the
Australian Federal Government announced the Olympic Athlete Programme (OAP) an AUD 135
million programme designed to develop Australian elite athletes to their highest potential to enable
them represent Australia with distinction in the 2000 Olympic Games.

Almost six years of preparation led to the success of Australia in the Sydney Games. The beauty of it is
that there were a time framework, a financial commitment and evaluation criteria. There is much to
learn from this long time planning framework, it will consolidate the gains of their labour by bringing
laurels and glory to the government. However, it is not just committing money for athletes'
development. They must also be monitored and there must be a yearly review.

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 2.6. The lesson of infrastructure development
Infrastructure development represents a deep financial capital ouday and the architectural design of
these venues is masterpieces that become tourist centres after the Games. The cost is colossal but the
legacy is everlasting.
Pescante (1996), discussing the planning and management of the 1996 Aanta Games facilities, stated
that knowing how the designers and organisers of Atianta Games have met these requirements
(environment and management) is undoubtedly a valid help for those who are about to face a similar
enterprise. The lesson from the Atianta Olympics helps. The Olympic Games have always been an
occasion to build new urban structures and new sport facilities. Economic reasons connected to the
post-Olympic management and environmental problems often add courage in choosing to bid.

2.7. The lesson of culture

A look at all the Olympic Games staged is a reflection of the culture of the people and the nation at
large. This includes the culture of friendliness, accommodation, caring, service politeness, good
management, maintenance and beautification. All these have a lasting impression on participants and
visitors. This is a great lesson for Africans.

3. Demands on African countries

Even though African countries belong to the third world, we are however blessed with human
resources, which we can see in the number of technocrats in international bodies. We are equally
blessed with some mineral resources which, if well managed, can assist us to fund the Olympic Games
of the future. Therefore a combination of human and financial resources with good articulation
coupled with strategic planning can assist us in our future bid to host Olympic Games. However, for
our part we still have some basic problems to solve relating to judicious use of our economic resources.
Abbah (2002) wrote in United Nations Development Project (UNDP) country report on Human
Development about its effects African countries. He stated that Nigeria ranked 148th of the 173
countries studied. He stated that poor human development is associated with poor economy, which of
course leads to mass poverty. The researcher used the following factors to measure Nigeria's ranking:
poverty, demography, health, education, technology, income and corruption index.

Using the benchmark of the U.N. suggestion that human beings should be able to live on a least USD 1
per day, the world body came out with this ranking % of people who live below the benchmark.
Egypt 3.1% Morocco 34.9%
Cte d'Ivoire 12.3 % Ghana 38.8 %
Nigeria 20.2 % Gambia 53.7%
Kenya 26.5%

Nigeria, the world's sixth largest exporter of Petroleum, has an economy that contributes as low as
0.22% to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). I am not trying to paint a dark picture of African
countries, but to challenge for the need for prudent spending and redistribution of wealth. If the
majority of Africans live below the benchmark of USD 1 spending per day, how can they buy tickets to
watch Olympic Games? If the governments in Africa even borrow money to stage an Olympic Games
there cannot be any economic returns. How many marketers or sponsors will come in? The debt on the
part of African nations will be too great for generations unborn to bear.
Another demand the legacy of the Olympic Games has on us is that of stability in government and
security. Not that other countries do not have security problems, but a situation where there is
instability in government as witnessed in Cte d'Ivoire is not ideal for sports. The West African
Football Union football competition was going on when there was a mutiny in the army and force the
competition to stop abruptly.

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The demands on funding are such that African countries should start looking elsewhere and not
depend on government to sustain the principle of non-interference.

References

Abbah T. (2002), So, they know us so well?, Comment on Human Development Report 2001 Sunday Punch Sept. 15,
p. 50.
Bennis W. and Nanus B. (1994) in: Mitchelson E.B., Perspective on leadership. A paper presented at the 10th
Commonwealth Games Conference in Victoria Canada.
Bridges F.J. and Roquemore L.L. (1998), Management for Athletic/Sport Administration Theory and Practice, 2 nd ed.,
Georgia ESM Books.
Drucker P.F. (1974), Tasks Responsibilities, Practices, New York: Harper and Row Publishers Inc.
Eede A.V. (1992), Olympic Solidarity Marketing Manual, Lausanne: International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Kidane F. (1996), "Government the main sponsor in developing countries", in: Olympic Message, sources of
financing sports, IOC, July-August-September.
Palmer D. (1992), Olympic Solidarity Marketing Manual, Lausanne: IOC.
Perscante M. (1996), Adanta 1996 Olympic Games, Spa^osport, Comitato Olimpico Nationale Italiano, Roma
Preuss H. (2000), Economics of the Olympic Games. Hosting the Games 1972-2000, New South Wales, Walla Walla Press.
De Moragas i Sp M. (1996), "Television Courage of the Olympic Games", in: Olympic Messages, sources of
Financing Sports, IOC, July-August-September.
Olympic Marketing Matters, IOC Newsletter, no. 14, Jan. 1999.
Olympic Review, Official Publication of the Olympic Movement XXVI-14, April-May 1997.

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 Planning Torino 2006 Olympic Games Heritage

Alessandro Guala

Sergio Scamuzzi
Department of Social Sciences
University of Turin
Italy

1. Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games

Some researchers from Polytechnics and the University of Turin are carrying out many projects and
investigations about perspectives and implications of next Winter Olympic Games (2006) that will be
held in Piedmont, Italy (in Turin and three Alpine Valleys: Susa, Pellice and Chisone).
Many institutions, such as Torino lncontra, the Chamber of Commerce of Turin, some Departments of
the University and some of Polytechnics, among them the htituto di Science Umane, sponsor the research.
The attention is concentrated on the long-term effects of Big Events, or Mega Events, as the scientific
literature has been outlining in these last years (Getz, 1997; Hall, 1992).

In a recent meeting held in Athens (The Pulsar Effects, 21-26 September 2002) urban planners and
architects, with the contribution of economists, sociologists and geographers, analyzed the effects that a
big event as Olympics creates on environment and cities, considering not only the implications of the
Games (Athens will host the Summer Games in 2004), but also other kinds of phenomena, such as
International Fairs and Expos, other top sports events, international art exhibitions (Guala, 2002). In
Athens, the conference paid particular attention to big public works: e.g. the bridge between Denmark
and Sweden, the Messina bridge project, the Vasco De Gama Bridge in Lisboa, Alexander Platz in
Berlin, the recovery of the old ports of Barcelona and Genoa, the controversial case of Millenium
Dome in London, etc. (Isocarp, 2002).

The aim of our paper deals with the general implications of the Games, looking forward to Torino
2006: we will try to present an overview about the research that institutions, local authorities, University
and Polytechnics are planning to carry out, in order to monitor perspectives and implications of next
Winter Games, that is a focus of this meeting too.
An international congress (Turin, 21 May 2001), opened with a discussion about the particular situation
of the 2006 venues in Piedmont. The problem is the considerable distance between the Piedmont chief
town and the Alp venues (80 km far): this means that a certain number of sport facilities and
competitions (e.g. ice skating or hockey) and some Media and Olympic Villages will be located in the
urban context. The main results of the Torino 2001 congress have been published, deepening a
discussion already opened in the bidding period (Bobbio, Guala, 2001).
Considering this situation, Torino 2006 is facing policies, decisions and development issues similar to
those experienced by cities that have been hosting major summer Olympics in the past (Preuss, 2000).
A Mega Event such as Olympics compels the city to reflect about its future. The implications of the
Games for Turin remind us the general problems linked to urban transformations, depending on
tertiarization of the economy, industry derealization and dismantling (Pichierri, 1989; Essex, Chalkley,
1998): it is a well known process that affects the old industrialized cities (in particular Turin, Glasgow
or Detroit) and the old ports (as Genova, Barcelona, Bremen or Baltimore).

Turin is facing a re-development model, based also on tourism, culture, leisure, sport and recreational
facilities, in order to improve the quality of life for inhabitants, city users and visitors. This goal is now

436
much more strategic considering the crisis of the Fiat Company: we are looking at the end of the
"Fordist town" and/or "Fordist economy".

2. General implications of the Olympic Games

A common output of socio-economic and urban research confirms that Mega Events are formidable
catalysts of urban change (Essex, Chalkley, 1998). Although the original definition of Mega Events recalls
"short time events, but of high profile" (Hall, 1992; Hiller, 2000), or "Hallmark Events" (Richtie, 1984),
we face a sort of differentiation of these events. For example, we may consider top sport events such as
the Olympics, or other sports events like the World Soccer Championship, the America's Cup, the
Formula 1 network (with a differentiation of people involved), international summits, or top music and
art exhibitions (at a different economic impact scale). We just mentioned International Fairs or
Expositions, and we can also consider special religious meetings or recurrences (e.g. Rome 2000 Jubilee).
Organizing Olympic Games involves 7-8 years of social planning before the event, and it's well known
the quantity and quality of buildings, public works and facilities that have to be planned, from the
Olympic Village to the Communication Centre, from public transportation system to pedestrian and
bike routes, from sport facilities (new, recovered or adapted to new security standards) to restaurants,
bars, hotel accommodation, tourist and visitors information system. Urban planning involves the
recover)' of old districts and out-of-use areas and the building of new malls and shopping centres.
There is a problem of possible "uses" of the "notoriety" associated to the mega event: the city
marketing strategy is developed in the conclusions of our paper. Among other problems, we may also
remember the environmental issues and the security systems.
The history of cities hosting Olympic Games presents a broad variety of experiences, with high
differences in success and failure: logistics and public transportation difficulties (Atlanta summer 1996),
environmental problems (Calgary winter 1988, partially winter Lillehammer 1994 and summer Sydney
2000), dismanded facilities (Sapporo winter 1972), facilities too expensive to be maintained (Rome
summer 1960, Calgary winter 1988, Grenoble winter 1968), economic failure (Montreal summer 1976,
Grenoble winter 1968).
A peculiar problem, directiy linked to the "pulsar effect" investigated in Athens, is the "happy
intermezzo syndrome", that indicates a situation of sudden economic success, that usually only lasts a
short time (months, or weeks). Then the decline begins, after the Event, for the community it's difficult
to come back to the previous conditions, forgetting the high expectancies before the Event. This
syndrome has been investigated considering Lillehammer 1994 (Spilling, 1996; Lesio, 1992).
The lesson we can learn from economic literature on Mega Events, especially from Lillehammer
(26,000 people), is that they have a negative effect on too small community. It is very difficult for a
small community and a local economy to grow significantiy thanks to the effects of a big event. In the
case of Lillehammer 1992, the host city came back to the previous situation when the Games ended,
but Norway gained a great visibility in the international arena, especially for new visitors, attracted by
the environmental issues, the preserved nature and the friendly people.
On the other side, and in a strong economic context and with developed infrastructure and facilities,
the big event can have a positive effect and can work as a "multiplier". These positive effects can be
stronger if the Mega Event or the Games are planned carefully and adapted to the city and the local
economy. The best cases of positive effects in an already strong and rich economy/territory are
probably Barcelona 1992 and Albertville 1992.
The lesson to be learnt is that on one side, a strong system becomes strong (e.g. Barcelona or
Albertville), and on the other side, a weak system remains weak as it cannot survive to the
"intermezzo" syndrome, also described in the expression "the parly is over" (Kariel, 1991; Cochrane at
al., 1996). Expressions as "urban boosterism" and "pulsar cities" show the risk of a sudden
development which is not followed by a stable and efficient economic growth after the Games.

437
Past Olympics show a very strong differentiation in the concrete practices and uses of the Games.
Sometimes we see contradictions, failures and success: e.g. the Adanta Games 1996 were successful
from an economic point of view (budget, sponsorships, merchandizing, etc.) but unsuccessful
considering logistics and public transportation system (Unione Industriali Torino, 2000). Sometimes
Olympics have been utilized as an occasion of political legitimization (Seoul 1988), or as a catalyst of
urban transformation (Barcelona 1992). Some problems have been underlined in Adanta (as before
mentioned), in Calgary winter 1988 (Purchase, 2000; Kariel, 1991) or in Sapporo winter 1972 (Kagaya,
1991; I O C , 1998).

O n other occasions, the Olympic Games have contributed to develop tourism, as for Barcelona 1992
and in Albertville 1992 (a case of promoting and reinforcing the Savoy French ski district). We have
underlined the different "pulsar effects" in a weak area (Lillehammer) and in a strong area (Albertville-
Savoie) (Dailly et a l , 1992; Andreff, 1989; Kukawka, 1998; Rnningen, 1995). We can also consider
other kinds of "uses". In 1994, Norway took advantage of symbols and values diffused a m o n g visitors
that focused on "respecting the environment" and "green G a m e s " (Klausen, 1999; Rnningen, 1995).
The last example, Sydney 2000, was an occasion of reconciliation between cultures, with the
legitimization of the aboriginal culture (Cashman, Hughes, 1999; Purchase, 2000). T h e concrete
experience of the Games shows a wider differentiation between winter and summer Olympics,
considering many variables, such as the number of athletes, sports and nations involved, the typologies
of sport facilities and structures, the dimension of accommodation system for media and Olympic
Family Villages, the budget, investments and consumption, the number of visitors arrivals, tickets,
spectators, the problems related to radio, newspapers and T V audience, or logistics, communication and
public\private transportation system, the geomorphology, climate and meteorological conditions, etc.

Other variables, correlated to the success or failure of the Games, are the dimension of the hosting city,
the structure of the local economy, the role of local actors and the (dis)homogeneity of the local
political system. T h e local decision makers can be united or divided (for political or economic
interests). In fact, a differentiation between administrative levels (local administration, region or state)
reduces the possibility of success; the bidding process can be weakened by these contrasts (a conflict
between Swiss central administration and some Cantons explain the failure of past nominations for the
winter Games in Switzerland). The role of intellectuals and professional groups, as well as associations
and social networks, is very important to legitimate and support local decisions. A strategic variable is
the recognition of population towards local identity that can implement communication and city-
marketing processes. All these considerations can be assimilated to the concept of "social capital", as
we underline in the conclusions of this paper.

3. M o n i t o r i n g T o r i n o 2006

We know that planning Olympics means also planning the heritage that can be material (sport facilities,
recovery of old districts, new buildings...) or non-material (values, notoriety, symbols...). T h e bidding
itself lasts several years and the final decision (the conclusive nomination) occurs 7 years before the
event (for Olympic Games).

T h e city hosting the Games has to face many problems related with notably the fears of population, or
segments of it, about projects and public and private works:
- problems about the local identity, to be recognized or re-built for the community;
- problems of managing the "Olympic heritage", or "legacy": what to do after the Games?;
- problems of checking the economic long term effects, when the Games end ("intermezzo"
syndrome) (Spilling, 1996; Preuss, 2000);
- problems of utilizing the Event within a strategy of city-marketing: Mega Events such as Olympics
are always Media Events (De Moragas, 1996).

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An output of the recent studies about the implications of the Games is that we have to pay much more
attention to the post-Games period rather than to the precedent stage: each step of the Event must be
planned very carefully. Planning for the Olympic legacy is the real issue to be checked and programmed
in advance. That is why local administrations (Comune of Torino), Chamber of Commerce, University and
Polytechnics of Turin, are realizing a sort of joint venture to pursue the following goals:
Six longitudinal surveys on population are planned from September 2002 till Spring 2006; the
instruments are Computer Aided Telephone Interviews, conducted both in Turin (900) and the
Valleys (500, with the collaboration of the Provincid). The main purpose is to check attitudes
towards the Games and their heritage; the main questions dealt with the degree of knowledge
about the bidding process, the location of the venues, pride or fear about the Games (specially
about public works, tube and transportation system, sport facilities, etc.), positive or negative
expectations after the Games, especially about the labour market and the long lasting jobs. Other
items are the interests of population about sport practices, watching sport on T V , leisure time,
cultural interests. T h e aim is to define the main clusters of population in order to understand the
degree of an active participation. This knowledge will facilitate and implement a reliable
information and communication process to be realized by T O R O C (Organizing Committee) and
local and regional authorities.
T h e first survey o n Turin has been completed and the first results are now available. It is possible
to summarize the main trends of the data collected as follows:
People know that the Winter Olympic Games will be held in Piedmont (yes: 80%);
The majority of interviews people link the Games to the Alpine Valleys more than to Turin;
People are "favourable" or "slightly favourable" towards the Games (79% and 1 3 % ; total
92%);
A high percentage of uncertainty affects specific questions about public works to be planned;
The majority is proud the Turin won the bid process (67% are strongly proud);
Everybody knows the two public works (underground and new railway lines), not directly
linked to the Olympics, will be achieved by 2006 ( 9 1 % agree);
In a multiresponse set about the advantages and disadvantages of the Olympics for Turin, the
main results about advantages are: "improvement of infrastructures" (88%), "new facilities"
(84%), "international visibility" (87%), "tourism and culture" (84%). The disadvantages are
"too heavy public works" (72%), "traffic and parking problems" (70%), "confusion and
queues during the G a m e s " (62%), "sport facilities too difficult to be maintained after the
G a m e s " (52%), "corruption" (79%) and "environmental risks" (35%);
The population investigated is confident that Piedmont in general and Turin in particular will
gain many advantages from hosting the Games (74%), and that the advantages will be
"durable" (39%) many years after the end of the 2006 Winter Olympics;
A general problem, very diffused among interviewed people, is the request for "more
information" about facilities, public works, recovery of old districts, etc.; the "information" is
considered "sufficient" by only 3 9 % while "not sufficient" by 55%. This will be one of the
most important issues that local authorities and T O R O C will have to face in the next years;
Summarizing some other questions, we can say that a large majority of the 900 people
investigated have big expectations towards the next Winter Olympics; they hope that 2006 will
be a great occasion for Turin to improve its international visibility as well as its leisure and
cultural facilities. This attitude can help local authorities and the Organizing Committee, w h o
received from the local community ("social capital") a clear and strong signal of confidence. In
the same time, the institutions must pay attention to some fears and signals of uncertainty and
must make new efforts in a better information strategy (Guala, 2002).

- Creation of a Social Indicator Observatory, to monitor some variables during the years. A large set
of data, from private and public sources, will be collected, with attention to demography, social

439
 mobility, economy, cultural consumption, tourism and visitor, new entrepreneurship, labour
market, and so on. A longitudinal file will be built, and a comparison between Turin and the
Valleys will be available, with attention also to small areas and villages not direcdy involved in the
Games.
Creation of a "risk map" locating on the territory the effective or potential situations of crisis to be
controlled and prevented. This research is currendy working, a number of meetings and
discussions between local authorities and population have already been organized and others are
planned. Through this map, local authorities can monitor the fears and mediate the opposition,
especially in the districts heavily affected by public works (new underground, railway station to be
moved, main sport facilities to be built or recovered).
Definition of a communication strategy, in the perspective of giving population, groups and
associations, correct information about issues of public interest.
Improvement of monitoring environmental effects (specially in the Alpine Valleys), opening a
second step of the VAS (Valutazione Ambientale Strategica: strategic environmental evaluation),
carried out by some Departments of Polytechnics. It is the very first time that this "preventive
research" is made in Italy; the VAS will be followed by VIA (Valutazione di Impatto Ambientale:
evaluation of environmental impact) after the most important and heavy works in the Alp Valleys.

A new initiative, directly organized by the University of Turin, has began to work at the end of 2001: a
special committee, the "University Cultural Commission for Torino 2006", has been appointed in order
to coordinate a high number of researches, of a more specialized nature, belonging to different
Departments. We can consider the following main areas where different researches can be located
(approximately 20):
improvement of the Alpine environment, with attention to tourism resources;
specialized chirurgical surgery for sport traumas, paediatrics, sports and youth;
events simulation system, with attention to monitoring territory and logistics variables;
fashion and sport in the 20th century;
sport and collective identities education;
sport management and events management, with attention to Olympic Games;
literature, sports and sociolinguistics.

4. Conclusions
Torino 2006 and the role of place image
Olympic Games are only one kind of great world event that can attract visitors and investments to
cities and places, a huge chance of place marketing. The Games may be the right moment for the
complex work of designing and distributing a place's image at an international level. Even when such a
work has not taken place, an image is an obvious, though unintended, casual consequence. But also the
opposite can be true: an image and marketing is necessary to obtain the allocation of such an event as
Olympics. This double-sided phenomenon has been hidden from the attention of operators and
scholars for a long time. As long as Olympics were situated in historical capital cities (Berlin, Rome,
etc.), world politics has been a leading criteria in the choice of settiements, such "smaller" Olympics as
Winter Games did not gain importance. Heightened economic impact rather than political, intended,
effects of propaganda - of the Olympics, Winter Games and sports made the difference. Olympic
Games are perhaps the oldest "world event", and their analysis can be very helpful for the study of
other more recent events as well: UNESCO's cultural capitals of the year, G8 Meetings, Guggenheim
of Bilbao-like new galleries, and so on. They have also become global since their beginning in a fuller
way than other historical great events such the 19th century's world expositions (e.g. Great Exhibition
of 1851 in Paris).

440
Little attention has been given so far to another aspect of the phenomenon, the inner place image that
is the image of a place in the eyes and minds of its resident population. An obvious hypothesis is an
effect of self-perception of status enhancement and pride from being chosen as the city7 hosting the
Games, with various changes in the content of the image.

Image building - both inner and outer image - is a factor of local development, not only as a part of
marketing but also as a change in local culture that can shape local development, and offer a new
legitimacy and capacity of governance to local elites, willing to take profit of new opportunities in the
competition among cities on the world market of tourism, business and estate localizations.

A case in study is how Turin and Piedmont (Northwest of Italy) are preparing for the Winter Games of
2006. It shows clearly that the strategies of image building are a rich empirical indicator of local change
in a global society, and Olympic Games are an accelerator for such a change.

A survey on the image of Piedmont by the Italians, controlled by a sample of residents of the region,
showed that it was scattered among different symbols, many of them rather outdated. Mountains and
Fiat are among the most frequently cited. But there are other more widely known mountains in Italy,
and Fiat has a sharply declining impact on local economy. Marketing men would say. This was not a
distinctive image, not a competitive one. The satisfaction towards the region and the town was higher
among the older people than the younger. O n the opposite side more updated symbols emerged such
as culture and ICT (Information and Communication Technolog}'), differentiation of local industry and
economy. They are the first effects of a rather long-term (about ten-years) effort, that the local
business, political and intellectual elites carried on to adjust the industrial decline and post-Fordism.

Various local actors are working on international marketing strategies with image building, and several
forms of coordination have been started. Thanks to this long-term strategy, the opportunity of Games
was caught and Turin was able to win the bid. As a follow up, very important investments have been
made, and obtained a wide consent in the assemblies of local government and among the population.

Many political conflicts due to the competition between opposite majorities in the different levels of
local and central government - have so far been overcome. Another survey among the inhabitants
confirmed such consent, diffused pride for the choice of the I O C , high expectations of returns for self
and collective interests. These opinions will be monitored year after year.

Such a positive evolution needs explanation. O n e hypothesis is that a successful city marketing like this
depends upon three requisites of the local elite and on a requisite of local society:
well recognized, visible, legitimated;
new, at least partially, and composite (business, administration, culture as well);
long sighted, or at least a medium term vision of local development, and should be part of its
mission and legitimacy;
global in its relationships; the local society should either have or build some "social capital".
Usually such requisites are not met by " m o d e r n " growth machine elite (Logan, Molotch,1987) but
rather by elites with a "glocal" attitude to development and network making (of Castells-like
network society).

Research is going on in order to test this hypothesis. The study of social practices of image building is
the experimentum cruets of such a research: the validity and credibility of an image is a requisite of its
success, not the only one of course, but this is just another way of saying that society and culture count
on development. Weber might be still right.

441
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 The Athens 2004 Volunteer Programme and its Implications
for Citizen Mobilization: The Greek Case

Olga Kikou
Manager, Volunteer Programme
Organizing Committee for the
Olympic Games Athens 2004
Greece

The 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be an event of worldwide significance requiring the
investment of vast economic, human and moral resources. For Greece, a small country of over ten
million people, there's a great deal to be done, in building up the infrastructure and making the
necessary preparations in terms of organizational readiness. The mission of fulfilling such a wide scale
event is regarded as a unique challenge for the Greek people. The Athens 2004 Organizing Committee
(ATHOC) has undertaken the organization of the Games and one of the most important components
in this undertaking involves the formation of a volunteer corps that will support the Games and
contribute to their success. In this respect, the Volunteer Programme has received a high priority on
the agenda of the Organizing Committee.

Far beyond their contribution to organizational and technical aspects of the Games, volunteers
represent the living spirit of the Games. They imprint this important event with the symbolic needs
necessary for its continuation. As Olympic volunteering has become an integral part in the organization
of the Games, the volunteer corps has emerged as a force not to be overlooked. In previous organizing
committees, volunteers, being part of the workforce, were integrated in the larger context of paid and
contractor personnel. The task of organizing and managing the volunteer force was, therefore, usually
assigned to Human Resources. For the Athens Games, however, a different model is being followed, in
terms of organizational structure, planning and activities. ATHOC has established a separate Volunteer
Division reflecting a different way of organizing Olympic volunteers. Incorporating previous Olympic
experience is a necessity not only for ATHOC but also for all future organizing committees. In this
case, however, the Programme that has been developed also considers the distinctive history and
features of the volunteer concept in Greece, thus making all necessary adjustments in order to achieve
our goals.

Before discussing further the functions of the Volunteer Programme, it is necessary to present the
context in which it operates. Through a brief look at the past, we see that up to the middle of the
second half of the twentieth century, volunteerism in Greece had followed a different path from other
Western countries. Volunteerism was present in more traditional ways through informal networks.
Volunteer activities, in unorganized ways, were carried on through community practices of sharing
which usually entailed an element of reciprocity. Volunteerism, in more organized forms, existed
through the established networks of the Church, private philanthropy, and a few established
organizations like the Red Cross and the Scouts. In all, volunteerism was part of community life but not
in an organized fashion.

Within the last two decades, however, a more organized form of volunteerism clearly emerged.
Contemporary Greek society now moves forward with traditional remnants of volunteer activities as
well as more organized forms that have emerged from the recent establishment of a significant number
of non-profit organizations based on the volunteer spirit. Here, I will briefly mention some of the
reasons that contributed to this change:
From the 1950s onwards, there was rapid economic growth and urbanization.

444
 The rise of a more stable democratic political system permitted an increase in the number of non-
profit organizations that have become more visible.
An array of social issues has come to the forefront, as Greece became a member of the European
Union.
Socio-economic changes that are quite pervasive in western societies, such as the decrease of
working hours for the average worker, have contributed to the increase of available time for the
average person.
Finally, the considerable importance contemporary society places on the individual and his/her
personal participation in the process has impelled people in taking a more active approach.
However, despite the fact that in the last decade volunteerism in Greece has become more organized,
and is slowly emerging as a third sector of society, something which has already taken place in other
Western countries, it still remains less developed and less organized while it also needs a significant
influx of people. At the same time, public interest in this matter needs to grow and the role of the
citizen as an active participant in the process needs to be promoted. The majority of older people are
not accustomed to the idea of organized volunteering. Although, this changes considerably for the
younger crowd, the overall levels of participation still remain low as well as the number of activities
where volunteering is essential. The right atmosphere, therefore, needs to be created if we want to see
any substantial change in this field.
Taking all this into consideration, ATHOC had to also take into account the special circumstances
involved in Olympic volunteering as it has become a key factor in the success of every organizing
committee. Volunteering for the Games, involves a twofold challenge: on one hand, it needs to be
ensured that the required volunteers in terms of numbers and skills are selected, trained, uniformed and
accredited on-time and are available and "Games-ready" to the relevant Functional Areas. On the other
hand, the individual needs of each volunteer must be respected, his/her preferences favoured and the
volunteer experience must be positive and fruitful for every single individual who has expressed interest
in volunteering for the Games, regardless if that person will finally decide to participate or not.

In view of all this, ATHOC formed the Volunteer Division recognizing at the same time, the fact that
volunteers as a group, have unique characteristics. The Division's size and role reflect the importance
placed in a more central approach for the development and implementation of the recruitment,
selection, training and retention of the 60,000 volunteers needed for the Olympic and Paralympic
Games. For a small country, this undertaking entails an immense effort, as a national recruitment
campaign has been undertaken for the engagement of thousands of volunteers.

The programme is divided into different projects: Awareness, Recruitment and Retention, Selection,
Training, Participation in the Games and finally Recognition after the Games, are different phases of
the Programme. Implementing them is a difficult task, as the Volunteer Division works together with
the other ATHOC departments where the volunteers will finally end up and where they will team up
with the rest of the staff, paid and contractor.
As the first step in the process, public awareness is a major undertaking. Since the inauguration of the
Programme through an initial forum for contact and exchange of ideas with a number of governmental
and non-governmental organizations, a lot has happened. A national awareness campaign has been
initiated aiming at volunteer recruitment. This awareness campaign has included certain high-profile
volunteer events that have been organized in order to raise support from local communities, attract
high numbers of volunteers and spread the message of Olympic Volunteering all over Greece. Taking
into consideration the important role of the media in shaping public opinion, a wide scale advertising
campaign will be launched in November 2002 in order to support all aspects of the Volunteer
Programme. This systematic publicity campaign will include television, radio, print and outdoor
advertising and will also target the internet through the existing Athens 2004 website. In addition, the
Athens 2004 Road Show will start in 2003 aiming to reach over 30 cities throughout Greece. Although

445
it aims to inform the public about the Games it will also spread the message of volunteering.
Throughout the process, a team of Greek Olympic and Paralympic medallists who have been declared
"messengers of volunteering" work with the Volunteer Division and support many events.
So far, the response from the public has been great as more than 45,000 people have signed up in the
Programme. All this, has been the result of various recruitment methods that have been implemented,
while a significant amount of time has been spent in planning the recruitment process. Recruitment of
volunteers for general and specialized tasks is ongoing. Important steps have been taken in order to
recruit volunteers through targeting the right audience and using the right tools and tactics to get the
message out. In particular, recruitment has been broken down into the following projects: recruitment
from the public at large, recruitment through governmental organizations, recruitment via non-
governmental organizations and the private sector, and recruitment via sports associations. Finally,
targeted recruitment is also being implemented in cooperation with other ATHOC departments in
order to reach those audiences that can offer volunteers with specialized skills. Indeed, success is
possible only through the mobilization of many sectors of Greek society7.
Overall, the recruitment project has targeted over 800 organizations regarding the involvement of their
members in the Games. Throughout the process, each organization is being evaluated in order to
determine the best possible way of cooperation. Moreover, special Memoranda of Understanding have
been signed with organizations such as Ministries, Municipalities, Labour Unions and certain NGOs
such as the Greek Red Cross, the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts. These memoranda, act as multiple
volunteer recruitment channels that promote citizen involvement and ensure that citizens are kept
informed on Olympic Volunteering and Games preparations. Mobilizing the public is also achieved
through other methods, such as operating informational kiosks and stands in various locations in the
city of Athens and elsewhere, and managing a volunteer hotline providing information and updates on
the programme. This line is free within Greece and supports continuous communication and
involvement of the citizens in this process.
Recruiting Volunteers for the Olympic and Paralympic Games through the ways already described
(advertising campaign, organizations, etc.) is of prime importance, however, it is only one side of the
coin; the other side, equally important, is retaining those volunteers and ensuring that they will remain
interested in offering their services during the Games. Volunteer retention, in the context of the
Games, is a highly challenging task because of the wide time frame between the decision to volunteer
and the actual time of doing so which can be years. A structured and targeted retention programme is
therefore essential in order to reduce attrition. For ATHOC, such a programme is multifaceted and
consists of a series of communication activities and events, all aiming at keeping the interest of
volunteers high from the moment their interest is expressed up to the moment they start working for
the Games and through all stages of the volunteer process. Frequent communication with the
candidates is essential. Keeping them interested is the key and this is achieved through frequent
mailings that provide them with updated information on the Programme.
A detailed analysis of all positions and roles is necessary for the next phase, which is the selection
process. This process involves a categorization of volunteers through the information they have
provided in their applications. This aids in finding those with similar qualifications and preferences
while comparing this information to the actual needs in declared numbers and roles other areas have
given for volunteer positions. The interview is the major step in this phase, as the interviewer will have
a chance to evaluate the candidate and his/her skills. Scheduled to start by January 2003, this process
will separate general and specialized volunteers, and those with specialized skills will proceed to a
second interview with the Functional Area representative for further evaluation.
One of the keys to a successful Volunteer Programme, is an effective training programme. To achieve
this, Athens 2004 is implementing early on, the first of three phases of training. General or orientation
training will include an overview of the history of the Games, information on the venues, scheduling,
transportation, etc. In addition, an important part of these sessions will cover the history of Olympic

446
volunteering and information on the volunteer movement in Greece and the variety of activities
volunteer organizations are engaged in. The next important phase includes specialized training on the
responsibilities and duties required for the positions volunteers will be assigned to. And finally, training
in the venues will take place shortly before the Games begin. Training serves a number of purposes, the
most important being: to provide volunteers with the skills needed to perform the tasks assigned to
them, to familiarize them with the venues they are going to work at, but also other purposes that go
beyond Games-related information, such as, to make volunteers feel part of a team, give them a sense
of the preparations, instil in them the spirit of the Games, and convey to them the important role they
play by their participation in the Games.

D u e to the increasing numbers of participating volunteers and the importance of Games-volunteering

in Athens, the Volunteer Programme will not cease its operations during the Games but will be part of
the Venue teams as an independent Functional Area. This is done for a number of reasons in order to
ensure that volunteer policies and procedures are followed and implemented, problems involving
volunteers are solved and volunteers themselves have a point of contact in the Venue. This is the first
time in the history of the Games that the Volunteer Programme will be present at Competition and
Non-Competition Venues and is a proof of the importance that the Athens 2004 Organizing
Committee places on it.

After their participation in the Games, recognition of all those volunteers is the last step of the
Programme. This will be achieved by holding a series of events, issuing certificates of appreciation, etc.
It is considered essential to reinforce the positive experiences and personal gratification that comes out
of the participation in the Games.

From this brief overview of the Athens 2004 Volunteer Programme, one realizes the complexity
involved in managing a 60,000 volunteer force and supporting the activities of the Programme
throughout the processes of recruitment, selection, training and communication. Besides the activities
described so far, the Athens 2004 Volunteer Programme brings to the forefront a wide array of issues
as volunteering surges into the Greek public arena. In order to discuss the implications of the
engagement of thousands of individuals as volunteers for the Athens Games, we first need to set the
right framework. We need to look into the meaning of volunteering for the individual and society.

Volunteerism is associated with public participation. It is an expression of the individual willingness to

contribute to the community, through services and time offered. It involves the decision to invest time
and effort in a worthwhile cause as judged by those who express this interest. Volunteerism links the
individual with a variety of social causes and it has the potential to transform the individual from
passive to active citizen. Volunteer action, therefore, contributes to social change and shapes new
patterns of behaviour. This collective action at the level of community and society can be an important
element of social progress as it looks to new resources in order to solve problems and enhance the
quality of life. F r o m the environment to culture and from political rights to medical services,
volunteerism proves that the individual can be a factor in social development and in shaping the future.

Social movements are based on the notion of participation in an organized context and have made a
tremendous difference in the 20 th century, just as volunteering initiatives have. In the dawn of the 21 s t
century, the notion of Olympic Volunteering gains prime importance in the Olympic Movement. Its
practices, challenges and processes stemming from the size and the complexity of the Games, have an
undisputable impact o n society and are a testament to social mobilization in the decades to come.

T h e concept of volunteerism in Greece is just evolving as a significant driving force. Until recently, it
had not been the subject of systematic research. Lately however, there has been an important
breakthrough as volunteerism, especially Olympic Volunteering, through the attention it has gotten
from the media, has been brought to the centre of a public dialogue, with advocates for and against it.

447
In fact, the prospect of volunteer participation in the Games has brought to the forefront a wide array
of issues that non-profit organizations have fought for, such as the bill that will be presented to
Parliament regarding volunteering. This bill includes provisions that will allow employers to grant leave
of absence to volunteers and prepare the overall institutional framework for the participation of public
employees in organized volunteer work. Providing the appropriate infrastructure for volunteering is
necessary and increasingly recognized, as a responsibility of the government. Although volunteering
activities do not replace the government, they can have a supportive role to many governmental
initiatives. It is only recently that the Greek government has seen volunteering as a n e w force and
recognized its potential.

The Volunteer Programme has recognized the role of non-governmental organizations early on as an
important participant in the process. By sending out a call to non-governmental organizations to join,
the Athens 2004 Volunteer Programme reinforces their importance as a force in Greek society. It is
certainly expected that N G O participation will rise in the years to follow the G a m e s . Olympic
volunteering can have a positive effect on citizen participation in this sector and this participation can
be greatly enhanced and promoted, in both direct and indirect ways. Olympic volunteering itself
encourages public participation and promotes activism in different social causes. Olympic volunteers
constitute a great and, so far, unexploited national asset and can contribute towards social development
by either forming new organizations or participating in existing ones. In this respect, volunteer
involvement in community projects after the Games is also expected to rise, as it was the case in
previous Olympic cities.

There is, however, another way that Olympic volunteering and N G O s come together. Besides
promoting organized volunteering, the wider campaign for volunteer support for the G a m e s and the
media coverage of this great sporting event also promotes involvement and participation in sports and
sport organizations. In addition, as the youth are more likely to get involved, other volunteer
programmes can be implemented. A T H O C has to seriously consider the above in channelling this
volunteer force into other organizations and volunteer activities after the Games.

T h e Volunteer Programme also sets in place the need for a systematic approach to be followed in
volunteer management as many N G O s engage more volunteers in their ranks. A T H O C ' s volunteer
planning process and its implementation in recruiting, selecting, and training volunteers can be a useful
guide in the success of any organized volunteer programme. N G O s can benefit from the professional
know-how and experience of such a large-scale project when applying their own programmes to the
Greek context.

At the individual level, volunteerism contributes to personal satisfaction, to a feeling of personal growth
and development, and to the enhancement of the quality of life. The feeling of a rewarding life is
moreover enhanced by volunteerism through the interaction and the relationships that are being
formed. The awareness campaign of the Volunteer Programme triggers the main motivation factors of
volunteering creating the right environment for further enhancement of individual and organized
volunteer actions. But, most importantly, it creates volunteering awareness and sensitization that will
consequently lead to citizen mobilization during and after the Games. This is why it is crucial and a
challenge for A T H O C to make this volunteering experience for many first time volunteers a positive
and rewarding experience.

T h e strategies and implementation of the Volunteer Programme will have implications for citizen
mobilization and involvement in organized volunteer activities after the Games. Olympic volunteering
in the Athens 2004 Games, a programme unique in the history of the country and of a size mostly
unknown even to countries with a developed notion of volunteerism, is expected to transform the
traditional informal volunteering practices by promoting citizen involvement. In this respect, as many
first-time, mostly young volunteers take part, it is important that positive experiences are created for
those who will volunteer as well as those w h o will interact with them.

448
After the Games, the success of the Programme will be judged not only by whether it achieved its
predetermined goals of successfully engaging 60,000 volunteers in all areas of the Games, but also by a
number of other factors, such as:
whether it transformed, even for a time, individuals from passive to active citizens;
whether it created a worthwhile experience for many first time volunteers but also for others;
whether it brought about a sense of empowerment for those w h o participated;
whether it enhanced community bonding;
whether it transformed the discourse from traditional to modern;
whether it created a new perspective for volunteerism in Greece.

More than in other countries, 2004 Olympic volunteering does n o t concern only the Games. It signals
the transformation of social and behavioural attitudes in Greek society. It also signals a clear and visible
transition towards a new era in Greece. The Games constitute a major challenge for Greece, but they
also provide a golden opportunity for Greek society at large. Raising the consciousness and mobilizing
people's will for voluntary action may be the single most important legacy the Volunteer Programme
has to leave.

449
 T h e Olympic Bid Process
as the Starting Point of the Legacy Development

M a r t h a J. M c i n t o s h
I O C Olympic Studies Centre
Olympic Museum
Switzerland

1. Introduction

There is kttle doubt that hosting the Olympic Games can indeed provide a city with the potential
opportunity to leave behind legacies. This point is made clear when one examines the history of the
Games and sees that these potential legacies can and have been realised in many different ways. 1 In
addition, such an examination also makes it clear that the hoped for potential has not necessarily always
been realised. Nonetheless, whether tangible or intangible in nature, legacies do not begin when the
Olympic flame is extinguished nor during the busy years of preparation undertaken by a Games
Organising Committee. Instead, the true origins of the potential to leave behind legacies can be found
along side that of a group's dream of hosting the Olympic Games.

Never has this hypothesis been truer then in recent years. The introduction of the International
Olympic Committee's stipulation that a bid group's dreams will become the reakty of the event has
made it so. 3 Nonetheless, there has been Uttle attention given to examining or acknowledging the
importance of this stage of legacy development, until now. T h e purpose of this paper is to take the first
small step towards doing exactly that.

More specifically, this paper will focus on using primary information, such as that found in the bid
cities documents and the I O C publications, in order to address a series of questions relating to the issue
of legacy and the Olympic host city bidding process. These questions include the following:

1) W h e n and why did the concept of leaving behind legacies first appear in the bid process?
2) Precisely how d o we see these legacies being defined within the bid process?
3) H o w does the development of legacies still continue to need to evolve and why must this
evolution take place within the bid process?

Thus, in seeking answers to the above questions, the findings presented in this paper will serve to
demonstrate the two most significant but equally distinct ways in which the bidding process truly serves
as the starting point of legacy development firstly, through the pre-Games, Games, and post-Games
legacies that are identified during the development of the candidate city file and, secondly, through the
legacies specifically associated with bidding for the Games.

1
A direct example of a legacy "in action" is that which was made possible by the 1984 Games of the Olympiad in Los
Angeles where the surplus revenue are used, to this day, to fund the programmes and resources that are offered by the Los
Angeles Amateur Athletic Foundation. See uniw.aafla.com/who/whojrmst.htm.
2
"Rapport de la Commission d'enqute sur le cot de la 21e olympiade", Qubec: Service des impressions en rgie de
Bureau de l'diteur officiel du Qubec, Avril 1980, vol. 1, pp. 31-49.
3
Manualfor the Cities Bidding for the Oljmpic Games, Lausanne: IOC, 1992, pp. 7 & 21.

450
 2. G a m e s - r e l a t e d l e g a c i e s :
W h e n , w h y , a n d h o w they exist in the bid p r o c e s s

If one were to look only for the mention of the word "legacy" when searching the documents
associated with the bidding process, the idea that it is a part of this segment of the history of an
Olympic Games celebration might easily be incorrecdy summarised by a researcher as being very close
to non-existent. In fact, in the candidate city documents which have been preserved in the I O C
Historical Archives, the use of the word "legacy" can not even be found prior to its inclusion in
Melbourne's bid proposal for the 1956 Games of the Olympiad. Fortunately, however, the additional
references to "benefits", "post-Games use", and the proposals for the future that are found both
before and after the date of this example instead show the researcher that there is more to explore than
the single word "legacy". Equally fortunate is the fact that the additional references serve to tempt the
researcher to do exactly that, to explore further, thereby opening the door for another part of the
overall history of the topic of legacy development and the Olympic Games to be discovered. Thus, the
first stage of this further exploration - the effort to precisely understand when, why, and how the
expression of the Games-related legacy proposals were introduced and evolved within the host city
bidding process will be the focus of the first section of this paper.

In the time prior to the inclusion of the word "legacy" in the Melbourne bid documents for 1956 the
examples of "leaving something behind" mentioned in the bidding process can at best be described as
being only vague and fleeting in their pattern of inclusion. Instead, the early potential candidate city
hopefuls largely wrote of how suitable and capable they were, 3 of what an "honour" it would be to
serve the Olympic Movement in this capacity, or of what their promises would include in order to
ensure that the celebration of the Games would be a success. T o these bidders this primarily meant
focusing on their abilities to provide all the necessary requirements to ensure the successful celebration
of the Games. In other words, the provision of the necessary facilities, finances, administrative
expertise, and qualified sporting officials that were solely specific to the running of the Games. If, for
example, facilities were in the process of already being built for other reasons their designation as a
potential Olympic Games venue was only presented as a natural extension of the overall normal use of
the facility. Where additional facilities were required, the bid groups emphasised only the building of
these as being specific to the Games. There was n o mention of the fact that they would in any way be
left behind for the benefit of a segment of the community after the Games were concluded.

Despite this initial apparent lack of legacy identification or planning in the formative years of Olympic
Games host city bidding process there are still a limited number of early examples which can be found
in the I O C Historical Archives. It should be noted, however, that this evidence is best categorised as
merely being promises to develop and leave behind potential legacies. Nonetheless, they are worthy of
mention. Thus, the first of these examples comes from the documents, which have been preserved
from the candidate city bid race of 1920 and Havana's (Cuba) interest in contributing to the early
expansion of the Olympic Movement. What is interesting about this evidence is the fact that the
correspondence from Dick Grant to Pierre de Coubertin does not merely convey the eagerness of
Cuba to play host to the event. In addition, these letters repeatedly refer to the bid group's enthusiasm

4
XVI Olympiad 1956: Melbourne's plan, Victoria: McLaren & Co. Pty. Ltd., n.d., IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne.
5
Lewald, Dr., le Prsident du Deutscher Reichsausschuss fr Leibesbungen, letter to IOC President Comte de Baillet-
Latour, February 5, 1927, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne.
6
D'Ailly, J.D. and Spruijt, G.C., letter to the IOC, May 16, 1947, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Rowater, Frakn H.,
letter to Count de Baillet-Latour, December 19, 1938, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum, Susanne, and Furuno, I., letter to Baron
Pierre de Coubertin, March 18,1936, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum I Susanne.
7
Mallwitz, U., Das deutsche Stadion im Grunewald, Berlin: Verlag fr Voltshygiene und Medizin G.m.b.h., 1909; and Olympian
Korne, Rome: Italian National Olympic Committee, 1939.
8
XVI Olympiad 1956, Detroit: Detroit Olympic Committee, 1949, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne.

451
and willingness to encourage other Latin American countries to also participate in the Games.9 In the
case of the second example, that of the 1932 bid for the Olympic Winter Games, it is in a letter from a
sporting organisation expressing their support for the candidature of Bear Mountain that a reference is
made to the concept of legacy development. More specifically, when writing of their support for the
bid, the chairman of the Newburgh Figure Skating Association, Harold Cohen, also wrote: "We are
conscious of your intense interest in the development of Bear Mountain Inter-State Park from a
recreational standpoint. We do not know of anything that will focus more favourable light in this
connection on your efforts than holding the great winter programme of the 1932 Olympics here."

Finally, amongst these early examples it is also possible to observe the evidence of the emerging focus
on the goal of revenue generation and its potential beneficial uses as expressed in two United States
based bids. In the first instance, it was the understated offer by the Detroit Olympic Games Committee
for 1944 that stated: "Our request habors no desire for tangible gain. The Detroit Olympic Games
Committee has pledged that all funds received over and above the expense of presenting the 1944
games shall be allocated to the International and American Committees for use at their discretion."
This idea of donating any surplus would later be mirrored in the more confident predictions made by
the Chicago bid group for the 1952 Games of the Olympiad:
"We believe the net profits arising from the Olympiad held in Chicago would be between
USD 2,000,000 and USD 3,000,000. Chicago, to further the fine work of the Olympic
Committee will give the entire net profits of the Olympiad events to the International
Olympic Committee and to the United States Olympic Committee to help expand their
activities throughout the world. As Chairman of the Chicago Committee I have given Mr.
Avery Brundage carte blanche to arrange for distribution of profits with your committee."

Evidence of the shift away from the desire of a city to host the Games merely for the sake of more
honourable motives to that of the emerging recognition that the Games could potentially make a profit
and leave behind tangible legacies is more clearly visible from the 1960s onward.13 It is interesting to
note, however, that the IOC's initial recognition of this trend still shows evidence of the honourable
motives of old. First included in the 1955 " p r o o f of the Olympic Charter, this only slightly modified
text in the 1962 edition stated:
"[The Olympic Games] are not intended to be a money making enterprise, and any profits
derived from holding the Olympic Games (after payment of all proper expenses in connection
with their organization) are paid to the National Olympic Committee of the country in which
the Games are staged, to be applied to the promotion of the Olympic Movement or the
development of amateur sport. There has in fact been litde or no profit from past Games. The
intangible benefits, however, are incalculable. In the first place, there is the pleasure enjoyed
by the citizens of the community in acting as host for the greatest of all sport events.
Secondly, the facilities provided for the Games become civic assets, which benefit succeeding
generations. Thirdly during the Games the fortunate city becomes the capital of the world of
sport and the center of attention for the sportsmen of every country."14

9
Grant, Dick, letter to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, February 15, 1916; IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne; Grant,
Dick, letter to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, October 4, 1915, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne & Grant, Dick,
letter to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, n.d., IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne.
10
Cohen, Harold, letter to the Commissioners of the Palisades Interstate Park, February 2, 1929, IOC Archives, Olympic
Museum Lausanne.
11
"A Brief Review of the Invitation Presented by the Detroit Olympic Games Committee Requesting the Awarding of the
XIII Olympiad to Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.", presented at the conference of the IOC, London, England, June 5-8, 1939,
n.p., IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne.
12
James C. Thompson, letter to Otto Mayer, June 12, 1947, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum Lausanne.
13
Innsbruck Tirol Austria: Innsbruck applies for the lXth Olympic Winter Games, printed text of speech by Dr. Franz Greiter,
Mayor of Innsbruck, n.d., IOC Archives, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, and Community Economic Impact of the 1984 Olympic
Games in Las Angeles, Los Angeles: Economic Research Associates, 1984, pp. 13-21.
14
The Olympic Games: fundamental principles rules and regulations general information, Lausanne: IOC, 1962, p. 38.

452
Although the organisation of the Olympic Games today has evolved into more of a business, much of
what was included in the above quoted I O C reference to legacies remains intact today. The benefits
such as community pride, facility endowments, global recognition, support for sports and the
promotion of the Olympic Movement are all still the potential legacies which can be realised from
hosting the Olympic Games. In addition, these benefits have expanded over time and can now also be
connected to social welfare, tourism, culture, and education to name but a few examples. Perhaps the
key difference is that we are now seeing these legacies taking shape as solid realities rather than
remaining as only more unshaped promises made by bidding groups. Barcelona's citizens, for example,
benefited from plans, which incorporated new sporting facilities, new housing, and the revitalisation of
the waterfront into the existing design of the city. Canadians, on the other hand, may have learned the
hard way but they did learn. Rather than the legacy of debt left behind by Jean Drapeau's grandiose
plans for the 1976 Games of the Olympiad in Montreal, 16 Calgary's unique bid time proposal for an
Olympic Endowment Fund became a real and lasting legacy of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games
celebration. While this focus o n legacy development by the Calgary bid group was financially
measurable, it also reflected the more idealised and intangible concept of legacy as well:

"The legacy of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games will be one of sharing; sharing the Olympic
spirit with neighbours from many nations; sharing the look of joy that comes from victory; the
tears of pride that come with individual accomplishment; sharing in the world's greatest
celebration of youth.
Part of the legacy in Calgary will be specialized sports facilities that will continue to challenge
athletes as they test their abilities and hone their skills. A special Olympic E n d o w m e n t Fund
will be created as part of the Olympic budget. Sufficient funds will be set aside to guarantee
the continued use of Calgary's modern Olympic winter sports facilities. Athletes from abroad
will be subsidized to encourage regular use of the facilities for international class competitions.
T h e Spirit of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games will inspire the youth of future generations to
share the Olympic ideals together at some other place, some other time." 17

A final document worth examining in the search for how Games-related legacies might potentially be
expressed within the bid process is the questionnaire that forms the basis of the candidature file of a
bid group. It is interesting to note that when this document was originally introduced it contained no
questions regarding the potential for leaving behind legacies. 18 Instead, it was introduced in reaction to
the I O C ' s need for more information from bid groups about their proposals for the celebration of the
Olympic Games. 19 However, over the years the questions have been expanded to match the growing
complexity associated with staging an event of this magnitude. In addition, the reality of the host cities'
c o m m o n desire to leave behind legacies has also become an added dimension to the types of questions
now being asked. In the 2008 bid race, for example, the candidate cities were asked to provide details of
post-Games financing of infrastructures, consideration had to be given to the post-Olympic use of the
sports venues, agreements had to be obtained from future owners of the facilities that were to be built,
and the bid group had to offer proof that plans for the Olympic village fit in with the overall city
development plan. 20

15
Barcelona 92: pre-project presented in Las Angeles 1984, Barcelona: Luna Wennberg, 1984.
16
"Rapport de la Commission d'enqute sur le cot de la 21e olympiade", Qubec: Service des impressions en rgie de
Bureau de l'diteur officiel du Qubec, Avril 1980, vol. 1, pp. 51-53.
17
Calgary Canada, Calgary: Calgary Olympic Development Association, 1981, p. 132
18
The Olympic Games:fundamentalprinciples rules and regulations general information, Lausanne: IOC, 1962, p. 41.
19
Brundage, Avery, circular letter to members of the International Olympic Committee, Ref. No. 15, September 21, 1953,
IOC Archives, Olympic Museum, Lausanne.
20
Manualfor Candidate Citiesfor the XXIX Games of the Olympiad 2008, Lausanne: IOC, 2002, pp. 31, 42 & 59.

453
 3. B i d - r e l a t e d l e g a c i e s : W h a t are they?

In addition to examining how Games-related legacies have been included within the stage of the bid
process, the concept of legacies being applied to the actual process of bidding for the Games is equally
if n o t more important to consider. More specifically, it will be argued here that there are two key
reasons to examine the issue of legacy in this way. The first reason is linked to the fact that until recent
times the pattern of a group's attempt to bid for the Games has time and again shown a lack of initial
know how, a lack of a clearly defined and easily accessible methodology for a bid group to readily
follow.21 Secondly, in most cases when an attempt is made to research the records of a city's or a
National Olympic Committee's history of involvement in this area of the Olympic Movement it
becomes rapidly clear that it has suffered from a lack of emphasis being placed on the efforts to
preserve its related documents. Yet, at the same time, it cannot be denied that it is an important part of
the Olympic Games record. Thus, it is essential to recognise that the bid process must be thought of in
terms of not only being the starting point for Games-related legacy development but also as a legacy in
itself. As such, the remainder of this paper will be focused on doing exacdy that.

Fortunately the first of these two issues has been recognised and is in the process of being addressed
via the introduction of such I O C documents as the "Manual for Candidate Cities", the Transfer of
Knowledge programme, and the creation of the Olympic G a m e s Knowledge Services. F r o m a
methodological standpoint all three of these innovations can be regarded as both resources and legacies
for future bid groups. While candidate city hopefuls still have to go through the process of learning
precisely how to go about bidding for the Games, the introduction of these tools has made the process
more "user friendly" by providing the cities with precise information and direct access to
knowledgeable experts. In addition, these tools are complementary to the other previously existing
resources for a bid group the I O C member(s) in their country, the National Olympic Committee, the
experts of the various sports federations, and individuals involved with either previous bids or in the
staging of the Olympic Games to name but a few.

In 1992, the first of these three tools, the Manual for Candidate Cities, was introduced as a means of
assisting the bid groups for the 2000 Games of the Olympiad with the preparation of their
candidatures. This original version of the manual was introduced "in order to enable committees
bidding for the Olympic Games better to understand the various phases of the process leading to the
award to the Games". 2 2 However, the goal of creating such a d o c u m e n t was not simply limited to
communicating the instructions for bidding or introducing the questionnaire. It is also of note that the
manual was introduced in order to "save the bid committee unnecessary work, effort and expenses".
T h e identification of benefits that can be gained from interaction with other parties such as the I O C
Marketing department, 2 4 the inclusion of recommendations such as those for accommodation
planning 25 and the continued updating of this document 2 6 in response to the evolution of the Games
celebration and the feedback of the bid groups have made this a valuable "working" legacy.

Some might argue that the Transfer of Knowledge programme has less to do with the bidding process
and more to with providing knowledge to the actual organisers of an Olympic celebration. While it is
true that the original target audience for this programme was that of the future Games Organising

21
Grant, Dick, letter to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, October 25, 1915, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum, Lausanne,
Wormington, Sam, letter to the IOC, May 19, 1960, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, and Wilhelmsen, F. letter
to the IOC, November 8,1960, IOC Archives, Olympic Museum, Lausanne.
22
Manualfor the Cities Biddingfor the Olympic Games, Lausanne: IOC, 1992, p. 8.
23
Manualfor Cities Bidding to Host the XIX Olympic Winter Games - 2002, Lausanne: IOC, 1994, p. 28.
24
Manual for Candidate Citiesfor the XXIX Games of the Olympiad 2008, Lausanne: IOC, 2002, p. 34.
25
Manual for Cities Bidding to Host the XIX Olympic Winter Games - 2002, Lausanne: IOC, 1994, p. 71.
26
The latest version of this document, the Manualfor Candidate Cities for the XXI Olympic Winter Games 2010 (Lausanne: IOC,
2002), was made available in August 2002 once the eight bid applicants were narrowed down to four candidate cities on
August 28, 2002.

454
Committees, 27 the programme still effects the bid groups in three ways. The first of these effects is a
positive one in terms of the concept of legacies. Since the planning for the Games begins with the
process of bidding for the Games, the information gathered by current Olympic organisers with
regards to such issues as requirements, logistics, and problem-solving are equally as valuable to the
initial bid city dreamers as they are to the actual host city planners. The second of these effects is
related to the fact that the bid groups must now take into account that this programme is one of the
requirements associated with hosting the Olympic Games and thereby plan accordingly. Finally, the last
of these effects is related to the fact that the bid-specific Olympic Games Knowledge Services
programme to be discussed below is a direct outgrowth of the Transfer of Knowledge programme. 8

The last of the three tools to be examined here is also the most recent addition to the efforts to assist
the candidate city hopefuls through the many steps of the bidding process. Having only just been
launched during the recent celebration of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the Olympic Games
Knowledge Services programme has yet to really prove what its potential to serve as a valuable legacy
for future bid groups will be. The first test will come with the current 2010 Olympic Winter Games bid
race. However, the objectives for this programme are clear. "The initiative, Olympic Games
Knowledge Services (OGKS), formalizes previous efforts by the I O C to lower the cost of bidding for
and organizing the Olympic Games and to better prepare candidates and organizers." Equally clear
are the specification of the type of assistance, resources, and expertise that will come from this new
initiative. For 2010, it was announced that the work had already begun in February 2002:

" O G K S earlier this week delivered its first results by playing an integral part in the briefing of
cities and N O C s interested in bidding for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. O G K S , along
with the I O C administration, engaged Games experts to make presentations to the cities on
various themes critical to developing a proper bid and distributed a 152-page information
book, with accompanying C D - R O M , that will serve as the base document for the 2010
applicant process. The C D - R O M , includes video clips and pictures to help explain the various
aspects of staging the Games."

In addition to the legacy of aid that the above-mentioned information tools can lend to future bidders,
a focus on the preservation of the documents of a candidate city's bidding effort can also serve as a
valuable tool. For a bid group, having the possibility to benefit from this type of legacy means that they
do not face the challenge of starting from scratch. Just as the candidates are able to learn from
examining the Official Report of past Olympic Games organisers so too can they learn from examining
the methodology, ideas, and dreams contained in the documentary evidence left behind by past
candidate city hopefuls. They can see the evidence of both the good and the bad of past bid efforts and
thereby judge h o w to approach their own efforts accordingly. Thus, there is a valid rationale for bid
groups to begin to emphasise the idea of implementing a plan that will allow for the preservation
process during the bid race rather than as an afterthought at the end of the competition, when the
disappointment of not achieving the goal or the distraction of facing the new challenges of organising
the Games instead command the attention of the bidders.

This emphasis o n preserving the documents associated with a city's efforts to bid for the Olympic
Games hosting duties also serves the purpose of preserving a piece of Olympic history - both in terms
of documenting a city's or a National Olympic Committee's involvement in this segment of the
Olympic Movement as well as in terms of documenting the bid process at it existed at that time. These
two potential legacies are equally important to the academic researcher and future host city dreamers.
For example, there are a number of cities including Detroit, Calgary, Lausanne, and Cortina to name

27
"IOC and Monash University Working to Formalize Transfer of Knowledge Programme", May 16, 2001,
www. Olympic, org/ uk/ news/publications/press_uk. asp ^release 108.
28
"IOC Celebrates Launch of OGKS", February 19, 2002, www.olympic.org/ uk/ news/publications/press_uk..asp?release250.
29
Ibid.
30
Ibid.

455
but a few who have a long and very rich historical legacy of participation in the Olympic host city
bidding race. Sadly, however, the actual documentary history of the participation of these bid groups
is not always very well preserved. In addition, the information such as the correspondence, the
speeches, and the minutes of meetings which are contained in the various documents of a city's bid
effort take us below the level of the glossy pages and short answers of the candidature files to the actual
planning process of developing a bid. Thus, from the evidence contained in this type of preserved
document a researcher can come to understand the how and the why behind the introduction of new
features in the bid process such as the questionnaire, the two-tiered selection process, and host city
contracts.

4. Conclusions

The intent of this paper has been to shed light on the necessity for consideration to be given to the idea
that the bid process has a place in relationship to the concept of legacy development. The rationale for
this is based on four significant points that have been highlighted here:
1) The International Olympic Committee's current stipulation that the promises of the bid should
become the reality of the Games.
2) The fact that the legacy of information from past bid efforts can potentially make the process of
bidding to host the Olympic Games that much easier for future bids groups.
3) The argument that the record of a city's or a National Olympic Committee's involvement in this
stage of the Olympic Games and Olympic Movement history is worth preserving.
4) The fact that the preservation of the historical record of how cities have bid for the Games offers
academic researchers another outlet of information relating to the overall evolution of the process
of bidding to host the Olympic Games.

Thus, it is hoped that the presentation of this very brief introduction will serve to create an awareness
of the existence of legacy in the bidding process that will also encourage specialities in the various areas
of Olympic legacy development to explore it in further detail.

31
Lyberg, Wolf, Fabulous 100 Years of the IOCFacts-figures-and much, much more, Lausanne: IOC, 1996, pp. 252-260 & 308-313.
32
Mcintosh, Martha J., "The Olympic Host City Bid Process: Facing Challenges and Making Changes", in Messing, M. and
Mller, N (eds.), Blickplunkt Olympia: Entdeckungen, Erkenntnisse, Impulse, Kassel: Agon Sportverlag, 2000, pp. 312-321.

456
 T h e Event Planning Process:
Strategies for Successful Legacies

Guy Masterman
UK Centre for Events Management
Leeds Metropolitan University
United Kingdom

1. Introduction
This paper will consider the importance of legacies for host cities and current event planning theory
and by using event cases, as examples, will raise important issues concerning the planning of major
international sports events.
The importance of sports events in terms of their impacts and benefits, particularly major international
events, is well documented and also well covered in the media. In the main it is the economic benefits
that receive the most attention, due mainly to the fact that they are more easily quantified (Jones, 2001;
UK Sport, 1999). However, it is the other less quantifiable benefits, those that are regeneration, legacy,
cultural, social, environment and tourism in nature, which may be of more significant value over the
long term.
In 2001, a lack of planning led to the loss of the 2005 World Athletic Championships for the UK. The
Government promised a London venue in its bid with Picketts Lock intended as a long-term legacy for
the sport. Upon discovering the costs would be too high the government tried to offer an alternative
location away from London, which resulted in the IAAF deciding to put the event out to bid again.
Whilst it is commendable that an uneconomic project was aborted, a potentially beneficial event and its
stadium legacy might have been better planned for. Alan Pascoe, who runs Fast Track, the organisation
responsible for UK Athletics' commercial activities, estimates the loss for athletics to be 15-20
million but recognises that it is not just about the financial loss. A world championships could have
helped the development of the sport as well as create a legacy of a national stadium for future athletics
events (Hubbard, 2002).
Much of the theory that underpins the teaching of event management in higher education is centred on
how important the event planning process is for organisers of events. The theory that is offered
however, appears to be more appropriate for the short-term benefits that events can bring rather than
for the long-term value that major international events can be strategically planned for.
An evaluation of the theories of Allen et al (2002), Bowdin et al (2001), Getz (1997), Shone (2001),
Torkildson (1999) and Watt (1998), shows that they propose that event planning is a staged process.
Others such as Catherwood and Van Kirk (1992), Goldblatt (1997) and Graham et al (1995) propose a
less formal approach to event planning.
These theories and models generally accept that event organisations should strategically plan for the
long-term including there being a responsibility for the on-going and long-term management of the
financial and physical legacies of major events.
Getz (1997) maintains that long-term gains and losses should be assessed at the feasibility stage of the
planning process. Allen et al (2001) and Bowdin et al (2002) follow a similar approach. Hall (1992)
stresses the importance of long-term planning with the acceptance that it is the long-term legacies of an
event that have the most consequence. Several of the theories also consider wind-up or shutdown
(Allen et al, 2001; Catherwood & Van Kirk, 1992; Getz, 1997; Shone, 2001). The latter recognises that
some thought should be given to intended legacies in the formation of objectives at the beginning of
the planning process.

457
What the models do not cover is where the development of strategies for successful long-term legacies
should sit in the event planning process. There is a need for the inclusion of specific long-term
strategies when planning major international sports events; strategies that will extend beyond the end of
the event itself. What is required therefore, is a more comprehensive sports event planning process, a
process that can accommodate sports events of all scales and intentions and provide benefits in the
short, medium and long-term.

Lets look at the various types of benefits and legacies an event can deliver.

2. Land regeneration
Cities that have made bids for the right to stage major sports events in recent years have included plans
to build new facilities. In many cases these plans have had to look to the regeneration of land and
buildings due to the scarcity and cost of utilising prime inner-city development sites. In the case of
Sydney, this necessitated the development of land beyond inner city boundaries; the Homebush Bay
area in Sydney harbour. This not only allowed for the development of disused and defunct land but
also the opportunity to create a central site and focus for each event. The municipal justification being
that the regenerated land would have remained defunct if it were not for the opportunities given by the
requirement to have new state-of-the-art sports facilities for these events. For example, the 1996
Adanta Olympics have revitalised downtown areas with the creation of Centennial Park, a new stadium,
college sports facilities, and residential housing, (Roche, 2000). A further example is Melbourne, where
throughout the 1990s the revitalisation of their Docklands area featured in Olympics and
Commonwealth Games bids (Hall, 1992, 2001).

3. Facilities and services

The buildings that are newly erected and redeveloped to house major sports events are generally seen as
long-term legacies. To justify the investment, the appropriate city authorities look to their usage beyond
the end of the event. They look for two types of usage: first, sports, leisure and recreational use by the
local community and/or, second, the further staging of other events. The Olympic Stadium in Sydney,
intended as a facility for other major events, has been in operation for less than two years and has not
attracted sufficient revenue and events, and as a result is financially threatened (Holloway, 2001). In
contrast, the City of Manchester Stadium is already contracted to become the new soccer home of
Manchester City FC in 2003/04 (Manchester 2002 Ltd, 1999). There were clear strategic objectives set
by Manchester and they were a part of the planning process long before the 2002 Commonwealth
Games took place. Indeed, they were a part of their failed bid for the 2000 Olympics. Critically they
included a contracted handover of the stadium in an attempt to ensure its long-term usage. The event,
whichever they would get, would merely be the catalyst for the achievement of those objectives.
The 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics were a part of a wider long-term strategy for modernisation.
The strategy "Barcelona 2000" was implemented in the mid-1980's and included six new sports stadia,
an Olympic village on the waterfront, a new airport and communication towers (Roche 2000).
For the Torino 2006 Olympics, the city will build new facilities for winter sports, the plans for which
are a part of a city wide urban development and regeneration strategy (Torino 2006, 2002, Ciocchetti,
2002). The development of the Faleron bay in Athens is another example where the objectives are 30
years old (Marcopoulou and Christopoulos, 2002). Again the Games are the catalyst that will hopefully
achieve those objectives: a water plaza and esplanade, a nautical sports complex and an amphitheatre.
There are also the infrastructure that are put in to serve these facilities, transport systems for instance, that
require planning too. High on the scrutiny of any Olympic bid are the provisions made for people flow
(IOC, 2002). Athens again provides an example, where 120 km of new roads, an expanded metro system,
a new traffic management centre and a new international airport are planned (Athens 2004, 2002).

458
Another legacy is the event management expertise that is gained in staging an event. If the facilities are
to stage further events, then such expertise not only serves as an attractive asset in future event bids but
also gives the city itself an internal understanding of what it is capable of, which of course will enable it
to improve its performance. Twenty-five executives from Sydney were employed in Manchester in 2002.

4. Social regeneration

The regeneration of land, the building of new facilities, and the planning of events provide employment
opportunities prior to the event. The implementation of an event can also provide short-term event
jobs and major sports events can also lead to the employment of personnel in the long-term. If the
facilities are going to be legacies they require manning with teams that will plan their economic futures
either to provide local community services or to attract further events which in themselves provide
further employment opportunities.

5. Political development
The improved profile of government at national and international level as a result of staging a
successful major international sports event is considered of value. The extent to which profile and
prestige can be taken though is clearly difficult to assess but economic development as a result of the
enhanced profile is perhaps more quantifiable. Increased inward investment is a possible impact (Allen
et al, 2002). Individuals politicians as well as governments can benefit at both collective and individual
levels (Hall, 1992).

The UK Government, in its embarrassment over the loss of the 2005 athletics world championships,
decided to give British athletics a 40 m injection and out of that funding new indoor stadiums are to
be built, including at Picketts Lock in London. The culture secretary Tessa Jowell at the time used her
political weight to ensure that this went through and saw it as due compensation for the way that
Government let athletics down (Mackay, 2002). "The Government saw the granting of funds as a way
of retrieving its political face and indeed the same might be said of the individuals concerned".

6. Cultural development

Major sports events can offer wider programmes that are seen to be culturally and socially beneficial.
The IOC recognises the importance and requires cultural events an "essential element of the
celebration of the Olympic Games" and a required provision by any bidding host city (IOC, 2002). The
winter Olympics hosted by Salt Lake City this year staged 60 performances, 10 major exhibitions and
50 community projects in its Olympic Arts Festival (Salt Lake City, 2002).

7. Sports development

Another area of benefit that is difficult to measure is the level of development a sport can achieve as a
result of being showcased by a major event. National and international governing bodies are aware of
the importance of exposure via the likes of the Olympics and of course the profile television brings to
any potential participants in their sports. UK Sport (1999) states that hosting events can lead to the
winning of more medals and a greater stage for sports. This benefit is one a sporting organisation might
be more interested in than the event host. The IOC (2002) is an example of a body that is concerned
with the broader goals of competitive sport including the provision of facilities that become legacies for
sports and actually advises so (Felli, 2002). The important point though is not who benefits or benefits
most, it is that the planning for the event would be incomplete without such provision.

459
 8. Environmental development
In an age of concern about our environment, major sports events can play a key role in incorporating
operational policies that can not only be efficiency conscious for the event itself but also lay down
legacies for the host city for the future. Sydney has played what may well turn out to be an important
role in this area and Athens 2004 plans to "leave behind a cleaner, healthier environment, improved
environmental awareness and performance, and a lasting legacy for generations to come" (Athens 2004,
2002) with programmes that include new planting, building with environmentally friendly materials and
improved waste management. Turin has introduced a strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
(Torino 2006, 2002).

9. Economic development
The economic impact of major sports events is of critical importance when it comes to justifying the
investments made. The impact, if negative, can be a lasting and costly legacy for local taxpayers but if
positive, can bring important revenue to bolster municipal budgets. In some cases, achieving revenue
from the operation of a major sports event that exceeds the initial investment is not as important as the
long-term economic benefits that will come from tourism and future usage of the facilities. The 2002
Salt Lake City Olympics is reported to have produced a relatively small surplus of USD 40 m but there
are significant expectations for the future return on the original investment (Mackay, 2002) through
inward investment, new business and tourism.

10. Tourism
Event tourism is one of the current key phrases of the day. Events are seen as catalysts for driving
tourism but not just for the event itself. Major sports events can develop high profiles for host cities,
particularly if they are televised, and are claimed to be good for attracting future tourists long after the
event has been staged. Tourists are also attracted to future staged events and can therefore potentially
improve the local economy that way.
The Sydney 2000 Olympics bid documentation claimed that there would be event tourism but also
national tourism growth right up to 2004 (Brown, 1999). However, whilst some authors agree that
tourism is a long-term benefit of events (Get2, 1997) and that every destination should formulate an
event tourism plan maintaining that major events are important for the national economy (Keller,
1999), others doubt whether event tourism is that sustainable (Hughes, 1993).

11. A new approach to the event planning process

It is essential that any long-term attributable benefits inherent in the planning process should be
comprehensively covered by strategies that ensure that long-term success. Firstly, including a cost-
benefit forecast at a feasibility stage of the event planning process would enable organisers to not only
forecast the extent of the benefits of their events and budget accordingly, but through that forecast gain
support for the event at an early and appropriate stage. Secondly, implementation strategies for the use
of new facilities and/or regeneration projects need to be built-in to ensure their long-term futures.
Thirdly, assessing the impact of such an event requires not only an evaluation of short and medium
term economic and cultural benefits for instance, but also a long-term evaluation, possibly even ten
years on or more, of the sustainability and durability, in other words the success, of the regeneration
and the legacies that were created as a result of staging the event. Fourthly, in order for objectives to be
met there is a case for the inclusion of mechanisms in the process that will allow continuous alignment
with short, medium and long-term plans.

So here is a new event planning process that encompasses both short-term requirements for the
implementation of the event and the long-term objectives that become the legacies of the event.

460
 11.1. Objectives
Determine why the event is to be held, what is it to achieve, who is to benefit, and how they are
going to benefit; Are there political, social, cultural, environmental a n d / o r economic benefits and
over what time span?
Any briefs or bidding processes should be considered as early as this stage.

11.2. Concept
What is the event and what does it look like? Design the outline by completing a situational
analysis, and a competitor analysis, particularly if there is a bid involved.
Consider scales of event and operation, timings, locations and venues, the facilities required and
available, target markets, etc.
Strategic partners: local and national government, national and international governing bodies,
event owners and promoters, charities, participants and after-users.
Decision makers: internally, perhaps in the host city, or externally such as in a bid situation, or for
funding.
W h o are the stakeholders and organisers involved? Is there to be a limited company to be set up to
run the event for instance and what about the after-use of the facilities and infrastructure?
Finally, ensure the design meets the objectives short and long-term!

11.3. Feasibility
At the feasibility stage the event design has to be tested:
Identify who is responsible for the delivery of the short and longer-term objectives.
Identify resources required: human resources, facilities, equipment, marketing, services, etc.
Consider bidding, event implementation, handover of legacies, specificallv consider long-term
usage of facilities.
Determine nature and timing of partnerships to be involved including those required at this stage
of the process i.e.: bidding finance if applicable, any finance required to underwrite the event, any
handover agreements or operational strategies required for the long-term usage of the facilities
used for the event.
Budget according to these requirements.
Perform a costs vs. benefits analysis, not just for the event but also for the long-term legacies.
Determine the critical path required - short and longer-term.
Ensure alignment with short and longer-term objectives.

11.4. Proceed?
All decision makers are obviously involved in deciding if the event proceeds.
... if the answer is N O
then return to the concept to re-shape and define, or
abort the project...
... if there is a bid procedure involved...
prepare i t , market it, present it.
... If the bid is not won - abort the project but evaluate the process for future use.
... If there is no bid procedure or the bid is won, and the decision is to proceed, then move on to the
next K E Y stage...

461
Implementation planning
It is at this stage where often only the short-term requirements of the event alone are considered.

Determine all the operational strategies: financial, human resources, partnerships, suppliers, services,
facilities, equipment, sales & marketing and include in those: the requirements for after-use, the
identification of after-users and their requirements gained by involving them, and what the handover
arrangements will be including when the evaluation over the long-term will be completed.

Develop the critical path and the performance indicators to incorporate all the fine details involved in
executing the event in the short-term and for realising the benefits in the longer-term. Alignment with
the short and long-term objectives can then be made.

Implement event
Having implemented the event itself there are still key stages of the event planning process remaining.

Handover
This is another stage that is not considered in all of the event planning theories. The handover of
facilities or even equipment is key for all events. Managers need to prepare for and execute the
handover of facilities to the identified or contracted organisations for their continued operation. In
addition there is the handover of the responsibility for the evaluation of the legacies/facilities over the
long-term were they a success according to the long-term objectives that were set for them?

Evaluation
Evaluation has to be performed against original objectives and applies to the longer-term as well as the
short.

Short-term evaluation of the costs, benefits and impacts of the event itself performed immediately
after the event.

Medium and long-term evaluation of the costs, benefits and impacts after a predetermined time and in
particular of the legacies to see if they are achieving the objectives set for them.

By using performance indicators (budget targets, deadlines for contracts to be achieved) continuous
alignment with these objectives can be achieved.

Feedback
Feedback all of the evaluation plus recommendations into the process for the next event whenever or
whatever it is. It is only recently that a required feedback system for Olympic hosts has been
established by the IOC in its Transfer of Knowledge (TOK) (Felli, 2002) and the rest of the event
world needs to follow suit.

Here is the full model:

462
 Figure 1
M a j o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l sports events
A new planning process

> Objectives
*
Concept
*
No
*
Feasibility ^ - ^ ^
* ^^-~-~~~"
Proceed? ^-^""^ Bid procedure
i
CU J' J 1 - 1 1
'illculu

Implement event

Handover

Evaluation

Feedback

And in summary:

It is clear that recent events spell out the dangers and the benefits of not implementing and
implementing long-term strategies early in the planning of major international sports events.

The kev stages are considering and budgeting for any legacies and preparing for handover and new
ownership at the feasibility stage, implementing those strategies prior to the event, continually aligning
the process with the event objectives and evaluating the event against objectives over the long-term.

References

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Getz D. (1997), Event management andtourism, New York, Cognizant, chapters 3 and 4.
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delivered by two Athens based architects at the IOC-UIA Conference: Architecture <& International Sporting Events, 8
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Salt Lake City (2002), Olympic Arts Festival, www.saltlake2002.com. Accessed 24 April 2002.
Shone A. with Parry B. (2001), Succsful event management: a practical handbook, London, Continuum, ch. 6,12.
Torino 2006 (2002), www.torino2006.it/'venues. Accessed 24 April 2002
Torkildsen G. (1999), Leisure and recreation management, 4th edition, London, E & F N Spon, chapter 15.
UK Sport (1999), Major events: A blueprintfor success, London, UK Sport.
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464
 Isomorphism in the Olympic Organisational Field
The Case of the Beijing Organising Committee
for the Olympic Games

Eleni Theodoraki
Institute of Sport and Leisure Policy
Loughborough University
United Kingdom

Abstract

As the city of Beijing in the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been awarded the right to host the
2008 Olympic Games the organisation that will deliver the Games has been established under the name
Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG). This case study explores the
construction and definition of the organisational field within which BOCOG operates and outlines the
coercive, mimetic and normative pressures for isomorphism on its organisational form.

The research draws on the conceptual framework of new institutionalism, work on interpreting the
reforms taking place in the PRC and discussions of Confucian values in Chinese organisations.

1. Theoretical underpinnings

It is argued that the organisation and management of China's enterprises is conditioned by the
institutions of the country, prominent among which are the organs of the state. Chinese management
reflects these institutions in ways that are specific to the PRC, and the specificity grows the closer the
enterprise is tied by ownership and control into the state institutional structure (Child, 1994).

In explaining the conditioning of organisations by institutions in their field, new institutionalists

provide a conceptual framework that allows the investigation of the interactions among organisations
and forces at play that lead to isomorphic change.

The new institutionalism in organisational analysis has a distinctly sociological flavour as this
perspective emphasises the ways in which action is structured and order made possible by shared
systems of rules that both constrain the inclination and capacity of actors to optimise as well as
privilege some groups whose interests are secured by prevailing rewards and sanctions (Powell &
DiMaggio, 1991).

The term "organisational field" is used to describe organisations that in aggregate constitute a
recognised area of institutional life: key suppliers, resource and project consumers, regulatory agencies
and other organisations that produce similar services or products. The virtue of this unit of analysis is
that it goes beyond the population approach and the inter-organisational network approach to look at
the totality of relevant actors (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). In the initial stages of their lifecycle,
organisational fields display considerable diversity in approach and form. Once a field becomes well
established, however, there is an inexorable push towards homogenisation.

The concept used in the literature to capture the process of homogenisation is "isomorphism" and is
defined as the constraining process that forces one unit in a population to resemble other units that
face the same set of environmental conditions.

465
Meyer and Rowan (1991) argue that isomorphism with environmental institutions has some crucial
consequences for organisations:
1) they incorporate elements which are legitimated externally, rather than in terms of efficiency;
2) they employ external or ceremonial assessment criteria to define the value of structured elements,
3) dependence on externally fixed institutions reduces turbulence and maintains stability.

Incorporating externally legitimated formal structures increases the commitment of internal participants
and external constituents and the use of external assessment criteria - that is moving toward the status
in society of a sub-unit rather than an independent system can enable an organisation to remain
successful by social definition, buffering it from failure. However, DiMaggio & Powell (1983) contend
that isomorphism occurs as the result of processes that make organisations more similar without
necessarily making them more efficient. Bureaucratisation and other forms of homogenisation emerge
they argue, out of the structuration of organisational fields. They identify three mechanisms through
which institutional isomorphic change occurs, each with its own antecedents:
1) "coercive isomorphism" that stems from political influence and the problem of legitimacy;
2) "mimetic isomorphism" resulting from standard response to uncertainty; and
3) "normative isomorphism" associated with professionalisation.

This typology is an analytic one: the types are not always empirically distinct. For example, external
actors may induce an organisation to conform to its peers by requiring it to perform a particular task
and specifying the profession responsible for its performance. Yet, while the three types intermingle in
empirical settings, they tend to derive from different conditions and may lead to different outcomes.

The concept of isomorphism has also been usefully employed for the study of national sport
organisations (NSO) in Canada by Slack & Hinings (1995) who observed particular structural change;
Kikulis, Slack, & Hinings (1992) who have considered the institutionally specific values of Canadian
NSO's and Newell & Swan (1995) who incorporated institutional pressures to the study of innovation
in NSO's.

Against the backdrop of economic reforms that saw a reduction of state control of the economy as a
priority (Child, 1987; Child, 1994) Chinese scholars have applied new institutionalism to the study of
the growth of Chinese "semi-governmental" social associations. Shen & Sun (2001) argue that the
concept of isomorphism is more relevant to the reality of Chinese society than the concept of civil
society or corporatism and reveal the nature of institutional dependency of social groups and
associations sponsored by authorities in the PRC which is also mediated by external (mosdy
international) agents in their organisational field.

Writing on the process of bureaucratisation in the Chinese context, Boisot (1987) argues that the PRC's
future development and competitiveness will turn on her ability to move a system of vertical, "feudal"
relationships, based on impersonal power. This may come as a surprise to those who have learnt to
view the PRC as the bureaucratic state par excellence. Yet, the system functions in spite of its
bureaucracy - a soviet transplant of the 1950s - and not because of it. Boisot's (1987) conceptual
framework, then, leads to the unexpected conclusion that to succeed in its modernisation drive, China
needs more rather than less bureaucracy but of the rational legal kind. A bureaucracy that is rooted in
task requirements and not a patrimonial one of a Marxist-Leninist kind that is rooted in ideology.

Linked to the bureaucratisation of Chinese organisations is Boisot's and Child's (1999) investigation of
the two modes of adaptation to complex environments: complexity reduction and complexity
adsorption. The former entails getting to understand the complexity and acting on it direcdy, including
attempts at environmental enactment. The latter entails creating options and risk hedging strategies,
often through alliances. Historical factors have shaped the nature of complexity in China, giving it very
different characteristics from those typical of Western industrial countries. Its organisations and other

466
social units have correspondingly handled this complexity through a strategy of adsorption rather than
reduction that is characteristic of Western societies. Western firms operating in China therefore face a
choice between maintaining their norms of complexity reduction or adopting a strategy of complexity
absorption that is more consistent with Chinese culture.

Confucius resurfaced in the People's Daily, the official paper of the Chinese Communist party, calling
for Confucian Renaissance to fill the moral vacuum caused by money worship (Aufrecht & Li, 1995).
Gerth (1951) interprets Weber who claimed that for the Confucian, the specialist or expert could not
be raised to truly positive dignity, no matter what his social usefulness. In his adjustment to the world
and in his self-perfection, the Confucian rejected modern expert bureaucracy, and special training;
above all, the Confucian rejected training in economics for the pursuit of profit. In this is vested the
basic feature of rationalism for the Chinese. Confucian rationalism meant rational adjustment to the
world whilst Puritan rationalism meant rational mastery of the world.

The arguments presented in this section highlight the usefulness of new institutionalism in studying the
structuration of fields and identifying the effects of the organisational field on the organisational form
of Chinese organisations. The taxinomising of the mechanisms for isomorphism are used in this case
study to illuminate pressures on BOCOG and the particular characteristics of Chinese feelings on
management have been considered. It is in the hindsight of the above that the paper reviews the
institutional context of BOCOGs before discussing the construction of the BOCOG's organisational
field and the pressures for isomorphism found in it.

2. Methods

This case study is based on material drawn from a number of primary and secondary sources. Semi-
structured interviews were conducted with the following persons:
Bob Elphinston, Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) Manager
Kostas Bakouris, Athens Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) ex-CEO
Rita Papadopoulou, ATHOC Director of Public Relations
San Bao Lee, BOBICO Research and Development Officer
Hai Ren, Beijing Centre of Olympic Studies Director
De-Xi Chen, Shanghai Institute of Physical Education Director of Foreign Affairs

The author also had personal experience from the work of OCOGs having acted as strategic planning
consultant in the Public Relations Department of Athens 2004. Other sources of information used in
this study included candidature material available at the Olympic Museum and Studies Centre in
Lausanne, BOBICO published reports, BOCOG online press releases and People's Daily online
articles.

Numerous warnings appeared in readings (Child, 1987; Pegels, 1987; Aufrecht & Li, 1995) on the
precarious nature of doing research in another culture. It was argued that on encounter one
instinctively interprets events by one's own cultural standards, resulting in misleading, if not completely
wrong conclusions. The data analysis used an iterative process to induce generalisations that were
supported by the data from the various sources and consistent with scholarly work on China. That is,
the development of low-level generalisations was followed by a return to other data from studies in
Chinese organisations, to confirm speculations until a coherent description emerged.

3. Institutional context

The Olympic Games are a mega sporting event presenting a set of unique challenges and opportunities
for its host city organisers most of which are documented in the recent studies of Preuss (2000),

467
Klausen (1999), Toohey and Veal (2000), AOCOG (1998) and Moragas and Botella (1995). The
implications of the success of the Olympic Games are considerable for the host nation and Elphinston
confers that increasingly, organisers are developing games-specific management know-how which they
can pass on to future organisers (B. Elphinston, Personal Communication, August 1999). Similarly
according to Mpakouris, ex-CEO of ATHOC, hosts of future Olympic Games are looking back at past
practises for guidance and identification of best practise (K. Bakouris, personal communication, May
1999).

OCOGs are distinctive organisational species in a number of respects. Firstly, OCOGs experience
birth, exponential growth and subsequent death in approximately eight calendar years. Secondly,
OCOGs are unlike other organisations producing a product or delivering a service in that planning and
programming for the Games takes up most of the organisation's life span. Thirdly, OCOGs rely heavily
on partnerships with agents from private, voluntary and public sector organisations from the host city's
national community as well as the international community (Theodoraki, 2001).

Few organisations have the complexity of managing approximately 50,000 thousands volunteers, a paid
staff base of 3,400 (SOCOG, 200la)(as was the case in Sydney 2000) from birth to death in an eight
year cycle, a constituents' base of 199 National Olympic Committees (IOC, 200Id), commercial
sponsors with contractual rights for visibility and the world watching on the screen or in the field of
play; cumulative global audience of the Sydney 2000 Games was estimated at 22.6 billion (IOC, 2001b).

The specific study of OCOGs has started recently with studies such as those of Halbwirth and
Toohey's (2001) considering knowledge management processes in OCOGs, Theodoraki's (2001)
suggesting configurational approaches to their study in order to capture the transformation of the
organisation as it moves through its eight year life cycle and Malfas' (2000) empirical investigation of
the respective Sydney and Athens Organising Committees for the Olympic Games.

Theodoraki (2001) argues that OCOGs' organisational form changes as they age and grow with the
culmination of their activities during the games and the subsequent winding of operations after the end
of the Olympic Games. It is the formative years that the paper focuses on as the successful bid
committee gives way to the newly established O C O G

The Olympic Charter (IOC, 2002d) identifies the key players in the Olympic Movement. These
comprise of the IOC and its various sub-committees and working groups, the National Olympic
Committees, the International Federations, the Media covering Olympic sports and culture events, the
International and National Sponsors of the Movement and the Games and finally, the athletes
participating in the Olympic Programme of competitions. The letter of the charter defines the set of
relationships between the above agents and the IOC has the overall "policing" responsibility to
safeguard adherence to the rules. A number of other agents come into play at national level such as the
National Olympic Academies, which promulgate Olympic ideals, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne,
the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, and the Olympic Studies Centres that exist in various
countries. The movement has considerable wealth in spiritual and financial terms. The ideals of
universalism, fair play, Olympic truce, protection of culture and the environment are heavily debated in
the Olympic circles with credibility in the United Nations and UNESCO, and the amounts of money
received from sponsors are some of the highest in sport; combined IOC and Sydney Organising
Committee sponsorship programmes raised AUD 42.10 per head of the Australian population
(SOCOG, 2001b). The movement seeks to develop its universal grasp and considerable amounts of
money are allocated across the world through the works of Olympic Solidarity (an agency of the IOC)
to develop Olympic sport. Most importantly the IOC elects the host-city of the quadrennial winter and
summer Olympic Games, an honour with great regeneration consequences, which countries vie for.
The PRC entered the host-city race in 1992 with its Beijing bid for the 2000 Olympic Games but lost to
Sydney by a two-vote difference. In 1999 Beijing bid again and in the 112th Moscow session of the IOC
in 2001 the Games were awarded to the PRC.

468
With the rising reputation and status of China in international sports, China formed its post Republic
China Olympic Committee in 1981. In the same year the P R C Vice Director of the State Sports
Commission, H e Zhenliang, was selected as the 1 st post-Republic member of the I O C in the P R O H e
was a Member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference,
Vice-Minister in charge of the Commission on Physical Education and Sport of the PRC and President
of the Chinese Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1994. In 2000, Zaiqing Yu, Vice Sports Minister in
charge of the State Sport General Administration (1999-) and Vice-President of the National Olympic
Committee was elected as the 2 nd m e m b e r of the I O C in the PRC (IOC, 2001c).

China is today a member of 80 international sports organisations and 40 Asian sports organisations.
There are some 200 Chinese administrators and technical workers in these organisations and the I O C
has awarded sports leaders in China with an Olympic Gold Order and a number of Olympic Silver
Orders {People's Daily, 2000). When the PRC entered the Olympic Movement in 1979 the emphasis on
mass sport started shifting towards elite performance and commercialisation and professionalisation of
sport had now developed coupled with restructuring of sport organisations, decline of public spending
on Sport Federations and re-modelling of the sport system in line with advice from specialist from
countries such as the ex-Soviet Union, Germany and Italy (H. Ren, personal communication, August
2000).

Although the task of the O C O G is always more or less the same, i.e. to organise the Olympic Games
and a number of related activities given the priorities of the I O C e.g. environment, doping prevention,
peace promotion and of more importance lately, security; the institutional and cultural context within
which these organisations operate is very different. In the case of the PRC, the organising committee
faces a backdrop of major structural change.

Taking the period from 1949 as a whole, the PRC's system of industrial governance has moved from a
relatively pragmatic, centrally planned approach, through politicised phases in which ideological
considerations and the restructuring of economic relations was given primacy and led to greater
pragmatism under the reform. T h e essence of the economic reforms has been a restructured
relationship between government, especially at central level, and economic units, which have been
transformed from factories into enterprises. The previous role of government was that of planner, both
of the macro-economy and of many production units in the micro-economy as well. This moved
towards the role of market regulator and more recently to enterprise contractor. Similarly the
institutional linkages that were in line with the mandatory plan under the economic reforms became in
line with fiscal and monetary controls and evolved in line with transactional rules and towards
responsibility contracts. Managers' behaviour moved from adherence to plans to search for market
opportunities and more recently to the fulfilment of contract targets (Child, 1994). Writing on the
uniqueness of the Republic's civil service Lam and Chan (1996) argue that the scope of China's civil
service is at once broader and narrower than those found in the West. Broader as the entire state
bureaucracy falls into the scope of civil service (there is n o distinction between politicians and
careerists); it is also narrower because in line with the desire to develop a more differentiated
management framework, party cadres working in service units and state enterprises are not included in
the civil service.

Escalating costs and the impact to the economy are seen as the causes of the reform in the P R C (Flynn,
2000). Nevertheless, local conditions and institutional constraints such as those presented by the cadres'
networks come into play with alliances, culture and beliefs challenging the government direction. The
reform is said to have occurred within parameters set by forces of economic development and realities
of the political environment. They have entailed a gradual shift from a planned to a market economy
with many previously government owned enterprises evolving into private entities (Tsao & Abbott
Worthley, 1995). Despite the efforts, authors disagree on the power of the political dynamics and the
effectiveness of the anti-corruption campaigns (Abbott Worthley, 1996; Aufrecht & Li, 1995; Aufrecht
& Li, 1996; Tsao & Abbott Worthley, 1995) while others (Lam & Chan, 1996) insists that the

469
Nomenclature system will continue to take centre stage, leaving many old problems very difficult to
tackle.

The government has long decided that a socialist plan economy without the market economy and
Marxism without the Chinese characteristics would not be suitable for the governance of its production
forces. The economic reforms that have been taking place are clear indications of where China wants to
lead its business in the years to come (People's Daily, 1999). China has closely viewed development in
other communist countries like the ex-Soviet Union and countries in Eastern Europe. The
"Perestroika" years led to dramatic and overwhelming changes in the country that the PRC had so
much in common with. Market forces, globalisation, the information revolution and the political
changes in other communist countries have presented the PRC with its inexorable isolation. The late
Deng Xiaoping acknowledged the mistakes of political persecution and the Cultural Revolution and the
PRC's government decided to take the country through the adaptation to market forces slowly. With
the experiments in the special economic zones China was sacrificing speed of change for national
stability.

The quality of the reform blueprints and the correct implementation processes mean that overall, China
has been more successful than Eastern Europe countries and the Soviet block with their 'big bang'
reform, in bringing about change (Qian, Roland, & Xu, 1999). Furthermore the PRC has entered the
WTO, which in essence means that have been accepted as trustworthy in playing by international
trading rules and the Hong Kong region is enjoying some stability after the fears of return to mainland
China.

It is with the above context of the management of the Olympic Games and the Chinese management
characteristics that the paper explores the embeddedness of BOCOG in its organisational field and
discusses the pressures stemming from it.

4. T h e birth of B O C O G
When the Chinese decided to did again for the 2008 games they drew on the experience of staff who
had worked in the Bid Committee for the 2000 Olympic Games. On 6 September 1999 the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee (BOBICO) was formed (BOCOG, 2001a; BOCOG, 2001h) with
the responsibility of all the candidature activities. It was a committee approved by the State Council of
the PRC and its membership comprised of senior officials from the Beijing Municipal government, the
State Sport General Administration of China, China Sports Association for the Disabled Persons,
relevant departments of Central government, experts in Olympic affairs, athletes, entrepreneurs and
celebrities from educational, scientific, cultural and other spheres (BOBICO, 2000). The Executive
Body of BOBICO was its Executive Committee and there were a number of functional departments;
namely General Office, Research and Analysis, External Relations, Press and Publicity, Sports Venues,
Construction and Project Planning, Finance and Marketing and Technolog}'.
Following the IOC session's decision in Moscow in July 2001 to award the Games to Beijing BOBICO
continued its existence until December 2001 when BOCOG was officially set up. All senior members
of BOBICO are now working for BOCOG, eight new senior members were added and the eight
functional areas of the committees increased to nine with the inclusion of the Department of
Environment and the Ecosystem. Table 1 below lists the members of BOCOG, their additional
positions in the state offices and the functional Departments of BOCOG.

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 Table 1
D e p a r t m e n t s a n d m e m b e r s of B O C O G

Departments of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee

General Office - Construction & Project Planning Department
Research & Analysis Department Technology Department
External Relations Department Finance & Marketing Department
Press & Publicity Department - Environment & Ecosystem Department*
Sports & Venues Department
Positions and position holders
President Liu Qi, Mayor of Beijing
Executive President Yuan Weimin, Minister in charge of the State Sport General Administration of China
President of the Chinese Olympic Committee
Executive Vice President Li Zhijian, Vice Minister in charge of the State Sport General Administration of
China President of All-China Sports Federation
Executive Vice President Liu Jingmin, Vice Mayor of Beijing
Senior Advisor He Zhenliang, honorary President of the Chinese Olympic Committee. Member of the
IOC Executive Board
Senior Advisor Wan Siquan, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference*
Vice President Yu Zaiqing, Vice Minister in charge of the State Sport General Administration of China
Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee Member of the IOC*
Vice President Zhang Faqiang, Vice Minister in charge of the State Sport General Administration of
China Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee*
Vice President Long Xinmin*
Vice President Lin Wenyi, Vice Mayor of Beijing*
Vice President Wang Guangtao, Vice Mayor of Beijing*
Vice President Zhang Mao, Vice Mayor of Beijing*
Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu*
Director of Sports Lou Dapeng, President of the Chinese Athletic Association Vice President of the
IAAF
Co-Secretary General Tu Mingde, Director-General of External Affairs of the State Sport General
Administration of China Secretary General of the Chinese Olympic Committee
Co-Secretary General Wang Wei, Deputy Secretary General of the People's Government of Beijing
Municipality
* B O C O G additions to BOBICO's members and departments.
Sources: B O B I C O , 1993a; B O B I C O , 1993b; B O B I C O , 2000; B O C O G , 2002c

While still in Moscow the Municipal Government of Beijing and the Chinese Olympic Committee
(COC) signed the Host City Contract (HCC) for the Games of the XXVTV Olympiad in the year 2008.
This is an important document that spells out the rights and responsibilities of the I O C and the
respective city, National Olympic Committee (NOC) and O C O G . With the contract, the I O C entrusts
the organisation of the Games to the Municipal Government and the N O C which undertake jointly
and severally, to fulfil their obligations in full compliance with the provisions of the Olympic Charter
and of the contract (IOC, 1997). T h e contract also binds the city and the N O C to ensure that the
O C O G is created in due course so that Games planning may start. As the extract below in Table 2 from
the Olympic Charter clearly details the remit of the O C O G s is heavily dictated by the contractual
responsibilities to the I O C .

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 Table 2
O l y m p i c C h a r t e r references to t h e w o r k of t h e O C O G s
Organizing Committee
1) The organisation of the Olympic Games is entrusted by the IOC to the NOC of the country of the
host city as well as to the host city itself. The N O C shall form, for that purpose, an Organizing
Committee (OCOG) which, from the time it is constituted, communicates directly with the IOC, from
which it receives instructions.
2) The O C O G shall have the status of a legal person.
3) The executive body of the OCOG shall include:
- the IOC member or members in the country;
- the President and Secretary General of the NOC;
- at least one member representing, and designated by, the host city.
The executive body may also include representatives of the public authorities and other leading figures.
4) From the time of its constitution to the end of its liquidation, the OCOG shall conduct all its activities
in accordance with the Olympic Charter, with the contract entered into between the IOC, the NOC
and the host city and with the instructions of the IOC Executive Board.

5) In the event of a violation of the prescribed rules or breach of the commitments entered into, the IOC
is entitled to withdraw - at any time and with immediate effect - the organization of the Olympic
Games from the host city, the OCOG and the NOC without prejudice to compensation for the
damage thereby caused to the IOC.
Liabilities
The NOC, the O C O G and the host city are jointly and severally liable for all commitments entered
into individually or collectively concerning the organization and staging of the Olympic Games,
excluding the financial responsibility for the organization and staging of such Games, which shall be
entirely assumed jointly and severally by the host city and the OCOG, without prejudice to any liability
of any other party, particularly as may result from any guarantee given pursuant to Rule 37, par. 6. The
IOC shall have no financial responsibility whatsoever in respect thereof.
Source: (IOC, 2002d)

In its candidacy B O B I C O promised that B O C O G would be an independent legal entity for the
required period of time, supported by the Government and with the Mayor of Beijing heading it. This it
has delivered and on 13 D e c e m b e r 2001 B O C O G was inaugurated. The H C C identifies a selection of
financial benefits that O C O G s receive from the I O C .

T h e I O C shall:
grant 4 9 % of net revenues from agreements relating to television and radio broadcasting;
entitie the O C O G to 9 5 % of ticket sales;
entide the O C O G to the use of the emblem and mascot and to 9 5 % of gross revenues from the
use of the above;
entitie the O C O G to share of revenues from the international Olympic marketing programme;
entide the O C O G to share of proceeds from Olympic coin and banknote programme;
grant to the O C O G 4 9 % of the net consideration generated from on-screen or other television
identification/exposure (IOC, 1997).

By October 2001 it was announced that the I O C will provide B O C O G with more than one billion
U S D for the costs of the 2008 Games. T h e one billion dollars would come mainly from two major
sources: the television rights sales and international sponsorship. Well before the I O C voted in July to
choose Beijing as the 2008 host, it had completed the television broadcast sales for the Games, with
4 9 % of the revenue going to the Beijing organisers from four international sponsors including Coca-

472
Cola, Kodak, Schlumberger-Sema and Swatch who had already renewed their four-year sponsorship
deals with the IOC for the 2008 Games (BOCOG, 2001 i).

In relation to the agreements that an OCOG makes with various agencies the HCC binds OCOGs:
"...that no agreements be entered into, having any connection with the Games, between the
OCOG and any national organisation (whether governmental or non-governmental), without
the approval of the IOC Executive Board." (IOC, 1997)

The IOC is also to be kept informed of progress of the organisation of the Games and needs to
approve any changes to the agreed plans.
"As soon as possible, but in any event not later than one year after the creation of the OCOG,
the OCOG shall submit a general organisation plan of the OCOG and of the Games to the
IOC Executive Board for its approval. All changes to such general organisational plans shall
be subject to the prior approval of the IOC executive Board. The OCOG shall provide to the
IOC, at OCOG's cost, on a regular basis, as requested by the IOC executive board, details
regarding the OCOG's master plan." (IOC, 1997)

The HCC also dictates the development of a legal framework - where that does not exist to legally
protect the valuable marketable assets of the Olympic rings, the emblem and the mascots.
"The City and the NOC have ensured, or shall ensure that the Olympic Symbol (i.e. the five
rings) and the terms Olympic and Olympiad and the Olympic motto are protected in the
name of the IOC and/or have obtained, from the government and/or the competent national
authorities of the host Country, adequate and continuing legal protection to the satisfaction of
the IOC and in the name of the IOC." (IOC, 1997)

Following the growing interest in knowledge management and transfer form past organisers to future
ones OCOGs have the added responsibility to prepare such material and then submit it to the IOC.
"Approximately one year prior to the Games, the OCOG shall make all existing Games
information systems available, at its cost, on an "as is" basis to the IOC, future organising
committees for the Olympic Games and the information sponsors of the IOC and assist in
the transfer thereof. The term "Games Information Systems" shall include without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, complete systems design updated documentation,
requirements documentation, systems analysis documentation, process and data models, user
documentation, operations documentation, training materials, software source codes, software
object codes, automated procedures, database definitions, automated test procedures and
complete data used during the Games. The OCOG shall grant to the above-noted parties,
upon the request of the IOC, an unrestricted license for use of the Games information
systems." (IOC, 1997)

Along with the establishment of BOCOG, the Beijing Mayor and BOCOG President also inaugurated
a Supervision Committee to act as an independent auditing body to check transactions and the financial
records of BOCOG. This, Mayor Liu Qi said, is set up to ensure the transparency and fairness during
the Olympic preparation. Strict regulations and rules on managing assets and finance of the BOCOG
were promised that would be in line with governmental regulations on the management of
infrastructure construction, standardising the bidding process and improving the monitoring system.
"One of the priorities for the Supervision Committee will be to monitor the infrastructure
construction, in which as much as 250 billion Yuan RMB (about USD 30 billion) will be spent
to prepare for the Olympics." (BOCOG, 2001c)

In bidding for the Olympic Games BOBICO produced a number of guarantees for underwriting the
costs of the Olympic Games by the PRC national and regional government. In addition to the
underwriting the country also promised to meet the costs of a massive infrastructure programme to the

473
value of USD 14.256 billion as it was calculated at the time (IOC, 2001a). As the interviewee from
BOBICO stated on the link with the state and national government:
"In Beijing we need improvements in the environment and the traffic system, ... but I think that it is
getting better and better. The government deals with these. The bid committee can ask from the
government to do things faster and faster. We put pressure to them to do things because we need
the change fast." (S. B. Lee, Personal Communication, August 2000)

In reviewing the institutional role of the IOC and other Olympic agents it is important to also
emphasise the role of the state in shaping the organisational form of BOCOG. As Table 1 identifies
senior BOCOG members hold government posts and it would be nave to assume a priori higher
influence from the IOC than the PRC's public sector machinery on the organisational form of
BOCOG. The IOC may grant legitimacy to BOCOG but the organisation will also be inevitability
linked to the Communist Party and the PRC State. Resource dependence will bind BOCOG to the
IOC and the PRC State but the strings attached might be pulling towards slightly different directions.
Given the PRC's call for economic reform and the growing acceptance of the non state sector (Shen
and Sun, 2001) it is expected that BOCOG will be allowed flexibility at least on faade to align to IOC
models of governance and organisation of the Olympic Games.

5. Definition of BOCOG's institutional field

and pressures for isomorphism
To understand the institutionalisation of organisational forms we need to understand the
institutionalisation and structuring of organisational fields (DiMaggio, 1991). In the case of BOCOG,
the structuration of its field started with the dissemination to BOBICO of information on key agents
and their responsibilities, given to candidate cities and was aided by the existence of the COC.
Additional information was then disseminated to BOBICO when Beijing was awarded the Games and
the HCC contract was signed. The "Games Information Systems" material which is arriving in the
newly established BOCOG provided additional confirmation of the tasks at hand.

To investigate and understand the pressures of isomorphism the author employed DiMaggio and
Powell's (1983) descriptors of mechanisms of institutional isomorphic change. The paper does not
focus on change per se but on the forces at play in the early formative years of BOCOG. The
antecedents for coercive, mimetic and normative pressures found in the institutional field of BOCOG
are presented below.

5.1. Coercive isomorphism

The contractual responsibilities of the City of Beijing and the COC have been identified earlier form
extracts of the HCC. In line with what the IOC requests, BOCOG was inaugurated and it shall work
under the close supervision of the IOC and the Chinese authorities. BOCOG is dependent upon the
aforementioned agencies for legitimacy and resources. The legal environment of China is changing with
a) entry to the WTO, b) the new law that has been introduced, in line with the IOC requirements, to
protect Olympic related intellectual property rights, c) the establishment of -the first ever in the PRC-
legal affairs office for a sports event organising committee and d) the new law on international tendering
to govern relations with project contractors (BOCOG, 2001b; BOCOG, 2001 f; BOCOG, 2002b)
As the Beijing Mayor and BOCOG President announced the city has committed:
"...to the international community to hold a "best Olympic Games" ever in history, which of
course must be a "clean Olympics". He said that the city would establish a strict management
and supervision mechanism to avoid corruption and scandals in preparations for the Games.
.. .construction of Olympic projects will open for public bidding world-wide, which allows fair
competition between domestic and overseas companies." (BOCOG, 2002a)

474
T h e I O C commission for the Coordination of the 2008 Olympic Games has also been set up to closely
follow developments in B O C O G , give advise and direct required changes. Its expressed mission is:
The Olympic Games Co-ordination Commission is formed shortly after the election of a host
city to oversee and assist the Organising Committee in the planning, construction, and
implementation of the Olympic Games. The Co-ordination Commission acts as a liaison
between the IOC, the O C O G , the International Federations (IFs) and the N O C s . T h e
commission includes representatives of the I O C , the IFs, the N O C s and an athlete
representative as well as experts in the fields of media, environment, and TV technology."
(IOC, 2002b; I O C , 2002c)

Similarly the direct imposition by the I O C of operating procedures of B O C O G is evidenced in the

requirement for the I O C to agree the master plan and any changes that B O C O G may want to
introduce ( B O C O G , 2001 d)

As the PRC is going through the economic reforms its state apparatus is embracing the market
economy and Beijing is expected to be allowed the liberties evidenced in special economic zones. Being
the capital and centre of the party base it will be interesting to see what juxtaposing will be allowed.
Coercive pressures of alignment with: a) party legal and financial priorities and b) I O C priorities are at
play and B O C O G s ' operations will be shaped by these.

T h e H C C appears to be the most important document in identifying the hierarchy of key agents in the
undertaking of hosting the Games. The material in the knowledge management programme identifies
in further details the roles of each constituent and their status in the hierarchy of agents while the
information exchange required by the HCC and punctuated by the visits of the I O C co-ordination
commission ensures the identification of the agents in the field.

It is argued (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) that coercive isomorphism results from both formal and
informal pressures exerted on organisations by other organisations upon which they are dependent and
by cultural expectations in the society within which organisations function. Such pressures may be felt
as force, as persuasion, or as invitations to join in collusion.

T h e existence of a common legal environment affects many aspects of an organisation's behaviour and
structure. In this case the letter of the HCC, the I O C Co-ordination Commission, the new sports
marketing and contract related laws in the PRC provide the coercive pressures that may lead to
isomorphism.

Direct imposition of standard operating procedures and legitimated rules and structures will likewise
occur stemming from the I O C and the PRC government.

5.2. Mimetic isomorphism

As regards mimetic pressures for isomorphism, the contractual responsibility of O C O G s to pass o n
accumulated knowledge systems implies that B O C O G will receive such knowledge systems from past
O C O G s (B. Elphinston, personal communication, August, 1999). The recent establishment of Olympic
G a m e s Knowledge Services Ltd (OGKS), a partnership company of Monash E d and the I O C , aims to
deliver a range of education, management and consulting services to O C O G s and candidate cities,
ensuring that knowledge derived from one Games is successfully transferred to other organisers and
aspirants (IOC, 2002a). This is indicative of the IOC's intention to better prepare O C O G s as they plan
for the Games (Halbwirth & Toohey, 2001); and if this will mean employing the approaches of past
successful organisers O G K S will have achieved its aim of configuring the data captured from the
G a m e s ' Organisers in a way that both facilitates and augments the transfer of knowledge. The Chinese
appear to count on such advice and publicly announce their eagerness to learn from others. Yuan
Weimin, President of the Chinese Olympic Committee said that:
"During the coming seven-year build-up to the Olympic Games, the C O C will learn from
other Olympic hosts like Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Salt Lake City 2002 and Torino 2006 in

475
 organising competitions, receive guidance from the I O C and International Federations, and
participate in the competition organisation of world multi-sports events and world
championships." ( B O C O G , 2001 e)

Similarly, Beijing Mayor and B O C O G President Liu Qi said that Beijing will use its money wisely in the
construction of venues for the 2008 Olympic Games to avoid mistakes of other cities.
"The sports facilities must be designed to be multi-functional, so that they can be used for
other purposes after the G a m e s " . Liu noted that "Beijing is learning from other cities'
experiences in this regard. During the seven-year build-up to the Olympic Games the
B O C O G would take receptive approach to adopt international practices in many sectors
including infrastructure construction, fund raising and service providing." ( B O C O G , 2001g)

So models of past organisers will be readily available and B O C O G will be expected to follow the
lessons learnt from these by participating in the Games observation programmes and Games debriefing
session using the " G a m e s Information Systems" material, engaging with the O G K S company and
employing them on a consultative basis. This process will introduce the B O C O G to the operating
processes of past organisers and consolidate the realisation that it has to follow the examples presented
and learn from the perceived mistakes of the past organisers. T h e functional areas identified in Sydney
and recorded in the Transfer of Olympic Knowledge (TOK) material have found their way to Athens
2004 and Salt Lake City 2002 and have been used by B O B I C O in the candidature procedure.
Departments of B O B I C O were in line with the functional areas identified by the I O C and
communicated to candidate cities via the candidature information files. B O C O G now has the same
departments to cover the functional areas identified by the I O C .

DiMaggio and Powell (1983) argue that modelling is a response to uncertainty. T h e modelled
organisation serves as a convenient source of practises that the borrowing organisation may use.
Models may be infused unintentionally, indirectly through employee transfer or turnover, or explicitly
by organisations such as consulting firms or industry trade associations. In this case the knowledge
transfer brings is the "successful" model to B O C O G and the O G K S qualified staff will compliment
the explicit material of the documents with their tacit knowledge gained from experiencing previous
Olympic Games.

Organisations tend to model themselves after similar organisations in their field that they perceive to be
more legitimate or successful. T h e ubiquity of certain kinds of structural arrangements can more likely
be credited to the universality of mimetic process than to any concrete evidence that the adopted
models enhance efficiency. Whist ex-IOC President Samaranch declared the Sydney Games the "Best
Ever"; it could be erroneous to assume that the management model developed at and for Sydney would
be just as useful for the Games organisation in Athens or Beijing.

5.3. Normative isomorphism

Various normative pressures for isomorphism were also evidenced.

T h e PRC has long identified the need for greater professionalisation of sport managers. From the
1980s the then State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports had planned ways of conforming
sport policy to the country's open-door policy and the political and economic doctrine. It proposed at
the time a plan that would allow the PRC to become a major sports power by the end of the century
and in so doing enhance the chances of hosting the 1990s Asian Games and possibly the Olympic
Games in the year 2000 (Baker, Cao, Pan, & Lin, 1993). The plan included the training or replacement
of "incapable" sport administrators and the placing of priority in medal-intensive sports. T h e training
was to focus on management theory and the study of the impact of the market economy on the sport
enterprise. In essence this was an attempt linked to professionalisation and greater managerialist control
that acknowledged the challenge presented by age old practices of rewarding top athletes with jobs in

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Sport administration and political intervention by the Party that sought to ensure absolute conformity
to national policies.
Latest calls for accumulation of expertise have been made by the Beijing Mayor and BOCOG
President:
"We will enhance the teamwork with the IOC, the International Federations and National
Olympic Committees, build on experiences of the previous host cities, take in advice of
experts from various fields and enrol talents from home or overseas into the Organising
Committee. We welcome all elite from all directions to join us and try to make the BOCOG a
team of high quality and high efficiency. And the recruitment of staff will be open to the
world", he added. (BOCOG, 2001c)

In terms of personnel, the Mavor and BOCOG President stressed that Beijing will get rid of nepotism
and employ outstanding people through public competition:
"If necessary, foreign experts will also be invited to serve on the Organising Committee."
(BOCOG, 2001c). "Attention will be given to human resource development to guarantee the
efficient and reliable workforce for the Olympic Games. We aim at strengthening scientific
management and democratising decision making processes; optimising operational
procedures; carrying out consultations and feasibility studies; and having specialists at home
and abroad involved in the Olympic preparation." (BOCOG, 2002b).

The calls are explicit in their direction. Application of international standards, rationalisation of
management, fair trading, search for expertise wherever this may be found in the world and
preparedness to learn. The IOC has a number of mobile administrators working in OCOGs and this is
an emerging specialist profession. In Athens, Sydney managers are employed for the complete transfer
of the tacit knowledge they hold and some will go on to work in Beijing (R. Papadopoulou, personal
communication, July, 2001). Calls for greater professional control of the organisation of sport in China
have also long been heard. Policy developments in the area included the creation of new degree
programmes, specialist seminars and the introduction of new qualification criteria (Xiangjun &
Brownlee, 1996). Lately the IOC has developed its knowledge management programme, which now
includes the training and qualification procedure for agents aspiring to bid for the Olympic Games as
well as those who have been granted the right to host them. (IOC, 2002a).

Two aspects of professionalisation are important sources of isomorphism according to DiMaggio and
Powell (1983). One is the resting of formal education and of legitimation in a cognitive base produced
by university' specialists; the second is the growTth and elaboration of professional networks that span
organisations and across which new models diffuse rapidly.

The creation of the OGKS company will provide a network for the mobility of qualified professionals
who have proved their skills in previous Games or though examination. In so doing, the
professionalisation of management will tend to proceed in tandem with the structuration of the
organisational field. As DiMaggio & Powell (1983) suggest, the exchange of information among
professionals could help contribute to a commonly recognised hierarchy of status, of centre and
peripher)-, which becomes a matrix for information flows and personnel movement across
organisations.

6. Discussion and conclusions

It is argued by DiMaggio and Powell (1983) that once a field becomes established there is an inexorable
push towards homogenisation. On the basis of the results of this case study it appears that:
1) the establishment of BOCOG's field is accelerated with the increase in information exchange and
interaction with the IOC and other agents in the Olympic Family;

477
2) the HCC shows the emergence of sharply defined inter-oganisational structures of domination and
patterns of coalition;
3) the TOK Programmes show an increase in information load with which organisations in the field
must contend and;
4) the growing number of professionals with common norms in BOCOG foster the development of
a mutual awareness among participants that they are involved in a common enterprise.

The typology of pressures presented in the literature (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) is analytic but the
types are not always empirically distinct. On the contrary they are all inter-linked as for example in the
fact that the SOCOG organisers' norms have informed the masterminding of the Games Information
Systems, which has helped organisers that followed to mimic their processes in line with the explicit
coercion to that effect found in the HCC.

Although compliance to wishes of organisational field agents may bring "some" perceived success to
BOCOG it is prudent to consider whether conflicting values coexist in the field. As Kikulis (Kikulis et
al., 1992) have emphasised, the analysis of structural patterns in light of organisational values can
enlighten the debates surrounding viable organisational forms. For the COC President satisfaction of
the Olympic Family entities appears paramount:
"We have committed ourselves on many occasions to put on a Games which will satisfy the
athletes, satisfy the IOC, IFs and NOCs, and satisfy the world media." (BOCOG, 2001 e)

For the Beijing Mayor and BOCOG President, the main task lies at:
".. .providing directions and policies for the preparations by adhering to instructions of the Central
Government... At the same time we aim to achieve benefits to the city and the success of the
Games. Guided by President Jiang Zamin we shall implement the instructions of the Central
Government on hosting a successful Olympic Games." (BOCOG, 2002b)

The rhetoric below highlights the use of the IOC impositions as opportunities for China's development
not forgetting the stakes in keeping the promises and not "loosing face":
"We shall convert our commitments to the IOC and the international community into specific
efforts and make sure that they will be honoured. In the bidding process, we submitted to the
IOC the Candidature File and signed the Host City Contract, committing ourselves to the
development of sports facilities, city infrastructure, improvement of natural environment,
provision of technical, security, housing, medical and media services. We shall comply with
these pledges and provide services to the satisfaction of all, which will demonstrate our
integrity and trustworthiness." (BOCOG, 2002b)

The IOC knows that the Chinese will seek to use the Games for the improvement of the country's
image but are nevertheless concerned about state intervention:
"There is significant public support for the prospect of organising the Olympic Games and a
feeling that a successful bid would bring recognition to the nation... The overall presence of
strong governmental control and support is healthy and should improve operational efficiency of
the games organisation through the OCOG. However, care should be taken to ensure that the
O C O G would not be restricted by unnecessary bureaucracy." (IOC, 2001a)
Given that the state machinery in organisational fields of OCOGs differs from Host City to Host City
it may be unwise for the IOC to persist with its coercive and normative pressures on OCOGs, as this
may lead to a mismatch in configurational terms.

Uniform pressures for legitimacy can have a negative bearing on systems effectiveness whilst
equifinality is not considered. In Boisot's (Boisot, 1987) terms, the IOC calls for greater rational
bureaucratisation may run against the existing Chinese nomenclature whilst uncontrollable

478
commercialisation of sport may challenge Part}' ideology and damage the Chinese ethos (D. Chen,
personal communication, August, 2000).

DiMaggio and Powell (1983) warn that each of the institutional isomorphic processes can be expected
to proceed in the absence of evidence that it increases internal organisational efficiency. T o the extent
that organisational effectiveness is enhanced, the reason is often that organisations are rewarded for
their similarity to other organisations in their field. This similarity can make it easier for organisations to
transact with other organisations, and to fit into administrative categories that define eligibility for
public and private grants and contracts. As it is documented in S O C O G ' s games' information database:
"A critical element in Sydney's successful hosting of the Games was to establish close links and
effective communication with the IOC and the broader Olympic Family." (SOCOG, 2001a)

N o n e of this, however, ensures that conformist organisations do what they do more efficiently than do
their more deviant peers that could have potentially evolved. As Halbwirth & Toohey (2001) highlight
for the transfer of knowledge to be used effectively in O C O G s a receptive culture must be created and
led by the executive senior management.

In conclusion, it is important to consider the adequacy of conceptual frameworks drawn from

institutional theory to the study of O C O G s and their fields. Although pressures are inter-linked, the
typology provided aided the identification and diagnosis of the pressures. Future research could
improve understanding by looking at the realisation of institutional interests in addition to their origin.
In line with calls (White & Liu, 2001) that institutionalism is limited as Chinese managers employ
greater flexibility in making decisions and shaping the future of the organisation, future work on
B O C O G could complement the current attention to institutional forces by observing strategic choice
that is influenced by managers' considerations of organisational capabilities and the strategic nature of
the assets involved.

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 The Legacy of Raised Expectations:
The Impact of Los Angeles 1984 Games

Wayne Wilson
Vice President, Research
Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles
USA

1. Introduction

Analyses of the 1984 Los Angeles Games typically focus on one or more of three interrelated legacies:
a) the post-Games surplus; b) the revenue producing and cost reduction methods used by the Los
Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC), or what many observers refer to as the
commercialization of the Los Angeles Games; and c) the perception on the part of many political and
business leaders as well as much of the public that staging the Olympic Games could bestow a number
of economic benefits on a host city. This paper will build on previous works to present a consolidated
accounting of these legacies. It also will examine less-frequently discussed legacies including the role of
sport in urban development policy in the United States, the human resources legacy of former LAOOC
staff who moved into other areas of sport management, and the intellectual legacy represented by the
scholarly consensus that has emerged regarding certain aspects of the Los Angeles Games.1

2. Surplus

The most visible legacy of the 1984 Games was the USD 250 million post-Games surplus. The 1984
surplus remains the largest in Olympic history . Under the terms of a series of agreements signed in
1979 by the LAOOC, the City of Los Angeles, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), the surplus was divided 60/40. The USOC received 60% of
the surplus, and used it for athlete development. Forty percent was used to establish a Southern
California youth sports foundation and sports library. The Amateur Athletic Foundation, since 1985,
has invested more than USD 100 m in youth sports programmes. Its library and website have become
valuable information sources for Olympic researchers.

3. Revenue production and cost control

The surplus was the result of the LAOOC's effective revenue production and cost control methods.
The LAOOC raised revenue by several means. Chief among these were the sale of broadcast rights for
USD 286.8 m, tickets for USD 139.9 m and sponsorships to 164 companies totalling USD 126.7 m in
cash, services and products. The committee structured revenue-producing deals so that the LAOOC
received most of its money up front. Those early payments enabled the committee to earn an additional
USD 76.3 m in interest3.
1
Other writers have suggested legacies not discussed here. Susanna Halpert Levitt, for example, in her 1990 doctoral
dissertation 1984 Olympic Arts Festival: Theater, University of California, Davis, discusses the influence of the festival on the
arts in Southern California. Design Quarterly 1985 devoted all of issue 127 to an examination of the Games' environmental
and graphic designs and their impact.
2
Several different totals have been reported for the surplus. The amount of the surplus changed constandy as the LAOOC
earned interest, paid invoices and settled claims. The USD 250 m figure used here reflects final calculations at the time the
LAOOC liquidating trust closed in 1988.
3
These revenue totals were reported in the March 31, 1985 audit of LAOOC operations. They are slightly higher than the
totals presented in the official post-Games report. The totals in the official report are based on 1984 third quarter
calculations. See Olympic retrospective: The Games of Los Angeles. 1985. Los Angeles: LAOC, p. 118.

482
The sponsorship programme developed by L A O O C President Peter Ueberroth was a defining statement
of the committee's approach to organizing the Games. Contrary to the popular perception that
Ueberroth introduced sponsorship to the Olympic Movement, sponsorship in one form another had
been present since the movement's earliest days. Organizers of the two Games preceding 1984 used far
more sponsors than did the L A O O C . Organizers of the Moscow Games, for example, listed 249
sponsors, suppliers and partners compared to Los Angeles' 164. At Montreal there were 628 sponsors.

Ueberroth's now well-known innovation was the concept of sponsor exclusivity. H e reasoned that by
offering companies exclusive sponsorship rights, at high prices, in specified product categories, it would
be possible to create a more efficient, more lucrative system than had existed previously. This proved to
be correct.

The sponsorship model pioneered by the L A O O C has become one of the most prominent legacies of
the 1984 Games. Every Olympic organizing committee since 1984 has used essentially the same
approach, and the model provided the blueprint for the creation, in 1985, of the IOC's worldwide T O P
sponsorship programme.

One other revenue-producing method that is noteworthy, even though it contributed nothing to the
surplus, was the sale of torch relay kilometres in a programme called the Youth Legacy Kilometers. The
L A O O C sold the right to run portions of the relay to organizations and individuals. The programme,
sponsored by AT&T, was not intended to fund L A O O C operations, but rather youth sport charities in
Southern California. The plan, however, met with strong objections in Greece, where many perceived it
as a defilement of a national icon. In a move to diffuse tensions and retain the lighting ceremony at
Olympia, the L A O O C ended the sale after having raised almost U S D 1 1 m for youth charities. The sale
of kilometres was not the first case commercial involvement with on the torch relay, but it was the
most explicit form to date, and it established an example for later Games. After 1984, organizing
committees continued to systematically exploit the revenue potential of the relay.

O n the cost control side, the organizing committee made extensive use of existing sport facilities,
thereby saving millions on construction costs. Although existing sport facilities in Southern California
were refurbished for the Games, only three new venues cycling, swimming and shooting were built
from scratch. N o organizer since 1984, however, has relied as heavily on existing facilities, and the
tactic, therefore, does not constitute a legacy.

A second important cost-saving measure was the extensive use of volunteers. Previous organizing
committees, of course, had used volunteers, but as de Moragas, Moreno and Paniagua (2000, p. 143)
note, "At Los Angeles the p h e n o m e n o n was to appear in all its strength, consolidated and organized ...
[and] marked a key m o m e n t in the history of Olympic volunteerism." Los Angeles represented a
departure from earlier practice in two ways: the number of volunteers and the motives behind the
decision to use them. There were 29,000 volunteers in 1984, higher than any previous Games. The
decision to use so many volunteers was motivated primarily by a desire to reduce personnel costs. The
cost effectiveness of using so many volunteers has not been lost on other organizers. Following 1984,
no organizing committee of the summer Games has used fewer than 27,000 volunteers. Approximately
50,000 volunteers worked at Adanta in 1996 4 . Sydney used 47,000 volunteers. The L A O O C certainly
did not invent the volunteer concept, but the committee did institutionalize volunteerism as a cost-
reduction method.

4. I n c r e a s e d interest in h o s t i n g t h e G a m e s

The surplus was a tangible legacy. The extensive use of volunteers and restructured sponsor relations
represent methodological legacies. Los Angeles also produced a more subjective legacy, a legacy of

4
Published reports give various estimates of the number of volunteers in Atlanta. The official report of the Atlanta Games
puts "Total Games Staffing" by volunteers at 47,466. A June 21, 2002 article, "Museum to honor '96 Games", in the Atlanta
business Chronicle quotes ACOG President and CEO Billy Payne as saying there were 50,000.

483
raised expectations. The legacy of raised expectations has had a profound impact on the Olympic
Movement.

The 1984 Games significantiy altered the way in which politicians, corporate leaders and much of the
general public perceived the Olympic Games. Los Angeles firmly established the perception of the
Olympic Games as a hallmark event capable of raising a city's public profile, creating positive economic
outcomes and attracting future large-scale events.

The Games as mega-event is not a new idea. The connection between Olympic Games and mega-events
dates back to 1900 when the Games were combined with the Paris Universal Exposition. Nor are
attempts to use the Games to promote a city's image, increase tourism and stimulate investment new.
The first Los Angeles Games, in 1932, resulted from the efforts of the local Community Development
Association whose objectives included raising the profile of Los Angeles internationally. The 1960
Olympic Winter Games at Squaw Valley were an unabashed attempt by developer Alexander Cushing to
promote his new ski area. Similarly, hosting the Olympic Games in developing and non-Western nations
has been seen by many policy makers as an opportunity to legitimize the status of their cities, and by
extension the countries in which those cities are located, as world-class entities in a global system.

Yet, despite the essentially intuitive belief that hosting the Olympic Games could produce valuable
outcomes, no example prior to 1984 had provided such substantial and compelling evidence. The
LAOOC surplus spoke for itself. Media coverage of the Games, particularly American coverage,
presented Los Angeles favourably. And, a study commission by LAOOC and conducted by Economic
Research Associates of Chicago concluded that the Games created a USD 2.3 billion positive impact on
Southern California's economy.

Not only did the Los Angeles example raise expectations, it did so precisely at a time when expectations
were low. Los Angeles was the only candidate to bid for the 1984 Games. No other city competed for
the right. Tehran had expressed interest early in the candidature process, but withdrew during the
unrest that preceded the Iranian Revolution. In 1982, when Seoul was chosen to host the 1988 Games,
its only competitor was Nagoya, Japan.

The aftermath of the 1984 Games, however, gave rise to a renewed interest in hosting the Olympic
Games. When the IOC voted in 1986 at Baden-Baden to select host the cities of 1992, six cities bid for
the summer Games and seven bid for the Olympic Winter Games. Interest in hosting the Games has
not waned since.
In the late-1980s and the 1990s, bidding to host the Olympic Games evolved - perhaps devolved
would be a better word into an ever more competitive, more expensive and more corrupt venture.
The real growth of the practices that ultimately led to the Salt Lake City IOC scandal occurred after
the financial success of 1984.

Parenthetically, it is interesting to note that despite the Olympic enthusiasm generated by the 1984
Games, political and public opinion in Los Angeles in the late 1970s was ambivalent about hosting the
Games. Voters in 1978 passed a referendum prohibiting the use of city funds to support the Games.

When, in 1979, the Los Angeles city council was asked to approve the final contract between the IOC
and the city, the council achieved the required majority by only a single vote. This combination of
public and political suspicion imposed a fiscal discipline on the LAOOC that contributed to the
financial success of the Games'". Ironically, by establishing spending restrictions that fostered the
success of the Los Angeles Games, the Olympic sceptics of 1977-79 made it more difficult for Olympic

5
Los Angeles and the two subsequent American Games - Atlanta and Salt Lake City - often are referred to as "privately
financed." While the specific operations of each organizing committee were privately financed, millions of dollars of public
funds were used for security and infrastructure development.

484
opponents in later years to mobilize resistance to Olympic bids and organizing efforts initiated by
private and political elites in other cities throughout the world.

5. Role of sport in U.S. cities

Domestically, the 1984 Games helped raise expectations on the part of urban policy makers regarding
the role sport could play in American cities. The years following 1984 witnessed a marked increase in
the creation of municipal sports commissions. In the American context, a sports commission does not
govern or administer sports. Rather, commissions exist to attract sports events and professional teams
to a city on the assumption that the development of sport can stimulate tourism, investment and job
creation. Funding of sports commissions can be private, public or a combination of the two.

Indianapolis, Indiana created the first sports commission in the United States, in 1979. In 1984, there
probably were no more than four such commissions in the country. Just four years later, that number
had increased to 23. At present, despite a body of research questioning the premise, the belief that
sport generates economic benefits is so firmly entrenched among policy makers and influential private
citizens that the National Association of Sports Commissions has member organizations in 225 cities
ranging in size from New York City to Fargo, North Dakota.

Los Angeles itself was not immune to the lure of a sports commission and the promise of other large-
scale sports events. The Los Angeles Sports Council was incorporated in 1988, financed by corporate
and individual contributions. Its board chairman was John Argue, the man who led the 1984 Olympic
bid. The president was David Simon, a former LAOOC employee. The commission played a key role
in attracting several important sports events to Los Angeles during the 1990s including the FIFA World
Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup, U.S. Olympic Festival and Super Bowl.

6. H u m a n resources

Another legacy of 1984 has been largely overlooked, namely the legacy of experienced sport
administrators whose reputations were built by their involvement with the LAOOC. These employees
moved from the organizing committee to a wide range of positions throughout domestic and
international sport. Their influence continues to be felt. Among the LAOOC alumni were two IOC
members (one of whom is president of an International Federation, the other of whom is a vice
president), the chairman and chief executive officer of FIFA's 1994 World Cup organizing committee, the
chairman of the board of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, the commissioner of Major League
Baseball, the director of worldwide Olympic properties at IBM (when the company was a TOP sponsor),
and president of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. Dozens of other former LAOOC staff have
worked at virtually every level of sport in the United States, and have consulted to or worked as staff
members of Olympic organizing committees in seven of the nine winter and summer Games since 1984.

7. Intellectual legacy
Academic literature published since 1984 reveals a consensus on several aspects of the 1984 Games.
While critical scholars and those who take a more benign view of the Olympic Movement interpret the
influence of the Los Angeles Games differently, there is agreement that the 1984 Games were pivotal in
a number of ways. This scholarly consensus, in and of itself, can be considered a form of legacy.

One point of consensus concerns what might broadly be termed "commercialism". There is virtually
unanimous agreement that Los Angeles represented a new level of corporate involvement in the
Olympic Movement. Hill (1992, p. 160), for example, offers a typical assessment when he writes that
the Los Angeles Games were "the origin of the 'private enterprise' Games, from which the Olympic
movement drew so much of its inspiration for the Games' wholehearted commercialism under

485
Samaranch." Barney, Wenn and Martyn (2002, p. 160) state that the "1984 Olympic Games ushered in
the formalization of relations between the world of business and the Modern Olympic Movement." A
similar, and more explicidy critical, analysis is put forth by Gruneau and Cantelon (1988 pp. 347, 360,
361) who see the Los Angeles Games not as the first example of commercialism, but rather a "more
fully developed expression of the incorporation of sporting practice into the ever-expanding
marketplace of international capitalism." For Gruneau and Cantelon, the 1984 Games represented "an
uncompromising and unprecedented" embodiment of the "full scale dmystification of Olympic sport
and the dominance of a new social definition of sport's meaning and legitimate features" that "finds
virtue in the commodification of everything."

Several writers have focused on the media, especially television, as a significant component of Olympic
commercialism. Again, Los Angeles 1984 is cited as playing a transitional role. Roche (2000, p. 182)
writes, "The 1984 games was a turning point in what it revealed about the extent to which the
American TV networks were prepared to go in bidding up the price of the rights to transmit the
Olympics, in terms of income to the Olympic movement and in terms of the threat of the Games being
taken over by commercialism." Burstyn (1998, pp. 13, 19) points to "what seemed the outrageous
USD 175 paid for the [television] rights to the Los Angeles Games" as the "introduction of media
capital into the Olympic pot ... so large ... that it conferred virtual share-holder status on the major
networks involved."

A related but somewhat less cohesive consensus also exists regarding television, Olympic ceremonies
and 1984. Llins (1996, p. 79) states, "Los Angeles represented a fundamental step towards the
consolidation of the ceremonies as major spectacles," and suggests that the ceremonies of Los Angeles
and later Games must be viewed in terms of the "progressive influence of television on them." In a
similar vein, Chappelet (1996, p. 154) writes, "It was at Los Angeles that the Olympic Ceremonies
became ever more grandiose and were developed as a televised spectacular." Tomlinson (2000, p. 171)
regards the "spectacular opening and closing ceremonies" of 1984 as a "watershed" event in which
"made-for-television Olympic ceremonies became a major source of audience figures, justifying the
investments of the television industry and the main sponsors of the games."

A second area of scholarly consensus identifies the 1984 Games as the genesis of raised expectations
and renewed interest in hosting the Olympic Games. Burbank, Andranovich and Heying (2001, p. 5)
say it plainly, "The event that triggered the contemporary focus on using the Olympic Games as an
urban-mega event was the 1984 Olympics." Whitson and Macintosh (1996, p. 294) note that the
"private-public hosting structure that Los Angeles pioneered" made hosting the Games "commercially
attractive to local elites." Booth and Tatz (1994, pp. 7-8) state that the 1984 surplus "showed that the
Games offered cities potentially massive economic rewards and it launched bidding frenzies." And,
Schneider (2000, p.228) writes, "The frenzied competition to host the Olympic Games is a fairly recent
phenomenon. It is only since the Los Angeles Games of 1984 that the Olympic Games and Olympic
Cities have been lured by the hope of a serious profit. The current situation is that commercial and
business interests can now make enormous profits, and governments and communities can greatly
elevate their international profile through hosting the Games."

Some writers have taken the relationship between the LAOOC's financial success and increased interest
in hosting Olympic Games a step further. They outline a scenario in which 1984 was the starting point,
or at least the most important milestone, on the path leading to the corruption scandals that emerged in
1998 and the ensuing IOC reform effort. Roche (2000, p. 210) states that the "commercial success of
the 1984 Games" caused the bid city competitions to "become intense and fierce" thereby creating the
"potentials and temptations for bribery." Lenskyj (2000, p. 2) cites the "overwhelming commercial
success of the 1984 Summer Olympics" as the causal factor that encouraged a "growing list of bidders
spurred on by hopes of reproducing the Los Angeles experience." It was the practice of bringing
"dozens of IOC members" to candidate cities "purportedly" to make technical evaluations that
"generated most of the abuses disclosed in November, 1998."

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 8. Conclusion

The 1984 Games introduced new management methods, altered the financial course of the Olympic
Movement, and changed expectations about the impact of the Games on host cities. Implicit in the
organization and staging of the 1984 Games was a new model of what the Games could and should be.
That model was not universally embraced at the time, and although many of the L A O O C ' s innovations
have been adopted by subsequent organizing committees and the I O C itself, the model continues to
inspire debate. It is not surprising then that many analysts identify the Olympic Games of 1984 as a
seminal or watershed event that directly influenced the shape and direction of several phenomena
central to the contemporary discourse about the Olympic Movement including commercialization,
media influence, urban politics, corruption and reform.

References

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Olympic commercialism, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Booth D. and C. Tatz (1994), "Swimming with the big boys? The politics of Sydney's 2000 Olympic bid", in:
Sporting Traditions, 11(1), pp. 3-23.
Burbank M. J., G. D. Andranovich and C. H. Heying (2001), Olympic dreams: the impact of mega-events on local politic
Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Burstyn V. (1998), "The politics of globalization, ideology, gender and Olympic sport", in: K. Wamsley, S. Martyn,
G. McDonald and R. Barney (Eds.), Global and cultural critique: Problemi^ng the Olympic Games, 4th international
symposium for Olympic research, 11-20. London, Ontario: International Centre for Olympic Studies.
Chappelet J. L. (1996), "From Moscow (1980) to Lillehammer (1994) ceremonies and the televised spectacle", in:
M. de Moragas, J. MacAloon and M. Llins (Eds.), International symposium on Olympic Ceremonies, pp. 153-156
Lausanne: International Olympic Committee.
de Moragas M., A. B. Moreno and R. Paniagua (2000), "The evolution of volunteers at the Olympic Games", in: M.
de Moragas, A. B. Moreno and N. Puig (Eds.), InternaA'o/fcz/ symposium on volunteers, global society and the Olymp
Movement, pp. 133-154, Lausanne: International Olympic Committee.
Gruneau R. and H. Cantelon (1988), "Capitalism, commercialism, and the Olympics", in: J. O. Segrave and D. Chu
(Eds.), The Olympic Games in transition, pp. 345-364, Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Hill C. R. (1992), Olympic Politics, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Lenskyj H. J. (2000), Inside the Olympic industry: Power, politics and activism, Albany, NY: State University of New Yo
Press.
Llins M. (1996), "The history of Olympic ceremonies. From Athens (1896) to Los Angeles (1984). An Overview",.
In: M. de Moragas, J. MacAloon and M. Llins (Eds.), pp. 63-79, International symposium on Olympic Ceremonies,
Lausanne: International Olympic Committee.
Roche M. (2000), Mega-events and modernity: Olympics and expos in the growth of global cultures, London: Routledge.
Schneider A. J. (2000), "Olympic reform, are we there yet?", in: K B. Wamsley, S. G. Martyn, G. H. MacDonald
and R. K. Barney (Eds.), bridging three centuries: Intellectual crossroads and the modem Olympic Movement, Fifth interna
symposium for Olympic research, pp. 225-232, London, Ontario: International Centre for Olympic Studies.
Tomlinson A. (2000), "Carrying the torch for whom? Symbolic power and Olympic ceremony", in: Kay Schaffer
and Sidonie Smith (Eds.), The Olympics at the millennium: Power, politics and the games, pp. 167-181, New Brunswick, N
Rutgers University Press.
Whitson D. and D. Macintosh (1996), The global circus: International sport, tourism, and the marketing of cities,
journal of sport < social issues, 20(3), pp. 278-295.

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Conclusions and R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s

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490
 Conclusions and Recommendations

International Symposium on
T h e L e g a c y of t h e O l y m p i c G a m e s , 1984-2000
14 - 16 N o v e m b e r 2002

1. Introduction

Under the auspices of the Olympic Museum and Studies Centre and with the cooperation of the
International Chair in Olympism of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, over 150 experts
(representing Olympic Games Organizing Committees, Olympic bid committees, National Olympic
Committees, past and future participants in the Olympic Games, International Olympic Committee
representatives and researchers from different countries and disciplines) were brought together to
explore the various aspects of the Games legacy, both at the host city and the international level.

Considering the breadth and depth of this subject, the Symposium focused more specific attention on
the legacy of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games from 1984-2000. However, the prior and future
Olympic Games (2002 to 2008) were also taken into account in the discussions and general overview of
the meeting.

The fundamental ideas of the Olympic Movement were considered due to the fact that the legacy
cannot be separated from the revival and historical development of the Modern Olympic Games.

2. T h e difficulties of t h e definition

The Symposium's participants recognised the importance of the concept of legacy in the organization
and in the final evaluation of the Olympic Games, but when attempting to define legacy, participants
found that there were several meanings of the concept depending on different languages and cultures.
Some of the contributions highlighted the convenience of using other expressions that may better
express the historical roots and continuity of the Olympic values.

In general, the Olympic legacy referred to at the Symposium was multidisciplinary and dynamic -
changing over time and was affected by a variety of local and global factors. Therefore, whilst being
difficult to define, it was a local and global concept, existing within cities, regions and nations, as well as
internationally, directly related to the understanding of the mission of Olympism in society.

3. L e g a c y from t h e b i d d i n g p r o c e s s
a n d p l a n n i n g for a s u s t a i n a b l e l o n g - t e r m legacy

Past Olympic Games experiences have shown that success in Olympic legacy greatly depends on the
will, expertise and visionary capacity of organizing committees and host cities, regions and countries.

The aspects related to the legacy should be considered from the first steps of the bid process in the
organisation of the Games. The possible long-term effects, the benefits for the community and the
possible contribution of each bid to the continuity of the Olympic Movement should be considered as
key aspects of the evaluation of bids.

In all ways, participants have identified the need for a long-term legacy planning of the Olympic Games
in the context of sustainable development. Planning in this way requires the consideration of the
environment, but at the same time, social and economic-friendly developments for the host
communities.

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 4. The tangible and intangible legacies

After hearing papers talking about different experiences from Games and cities, the idea emerged that
the effects of the legacy have many aspects and dimensions, ranging from the more commonly
recognized architecture, urban planning, city marketing, sports infrastructures, economic and tourist
development to others, less recognised but that are just as important, if not more so. In particular, it
is necessary to point out the importance of so called intangible legacies, such as production of ideas and
cultural values, intercultural and non-exclusionary experiences (based on gender, ethnicity or physical
abilities), popular memory, education, archives, collective effort and voluntarism, new sport
practitioners, notoriety on a global scale, experience and know-how, etc. These intangible legacies also
act as a driving force for the tangible ones to develop a long-term legacy of the Olympic Games,
affecting, not only the host cities, regions and countries, but also the athletes, the spectators, the
Olympic Movement and society as a whole.

4.1. Economic impact

The economic legacy of the Olympic Games was highlighted as being difficult to measure due to the
large number of variables involved and in particular when and how these measures are undertaken.
Comparisons between host cities were problematic due to local circumstances, objectives and global
economic context in which the Games are held.
The analyses undertaken showed the numerous economic benefits that can be derived from organising
the Olympic Games, above all if these are planned taking into account the long-term benefits for the
community.
It was considered necessary to amplify this long-term analysis taking into consideration the problems of
social inclusion and the distribution of resources between groups and urban zones in the city, avoiding
a solely monetary based interpretation.

4.2. Cultural considerations

Culture was identified as one the fundamental aspects of Olympic legacy, that could be considered as
the basis for its existence and continuity. Indeed, culture was identified as not just one aspect of
Olympic legacy, but as the ultimate source of all others.
The Games' rituals, torch relay, ceremonies and Olympic symbols could be considered to form part of
the cultural treasures of humanity, and can be considered as global heritage.
It is necessary to protect and stress the values of Olympism in the cultural programmes of the IOC,
NOCs, and OCOGs through their Cultural Olympiads, and thus contribute to local and global
knowledge of the Games and their legacy.

4.3. Social debate

The Olympic Games can provoke social debate on intercultural issues, through the expression of its
own identity. In the contemporary period, the social role and thus the potential legacies of the Olympic
Games need to be viewed in addition to their national implication for nation states - in relation to the
contemporary realities of global society-building and governance building.
Moreover, the Olympic Games mark time and space, forming unique historical and biographical
reference points, not only for the citizens of the host city, but also for the citizens of the globe.

4.4. The sporting legacy

The Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games have left a significant sporting legacy in diverse areas,
especially in reference to the athletes as protagonists and their rights. The progressive inclusion of
sports in the Olympic programme and the increased participation of women have greatly improved the

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universal practice of sport. These actions in favour of sport development should be recognised and
maximised by the IOC and the OCOGs.

4.5. Political legacy

As a non-governmental organisation with values that have a high impact at the global and local levels,
the Olympic Movement should stress its capacities to promote education and the culture of peace
through the Olympic Truce and a continuous educational programme.
Indeed, several of the contributions highlighted the new challenges that the 21st century poses for the
current organisational model of the Games and of sport in general, based on traditions born in the 19th
century and on the concept of a nation-state as a main reference point.

4.6. The value of Olympic education

Many of the interventions dealing with the political, cultural or social benefits of the Games advocated
the necessity for Olympic policy to focus maximum on education. These education projects should be
connected to Olympic legacy projects, for example, Olympic education's role in achieving a model of
sustainable development.

5. Involvement of the IOC in the Olympic legacy

The participants in the Symposium welcomed the different initiatives that the IOC has taken in recent
years regarding the legacy of the Games for the future Olympic cities. Projects such as the Transfer of
Olympic Games Knowledge and the Olympic Games Global Impact (OGGI) are initiatives that raise
awareness about the importance of long-term legacy and encourage host and bid cities to learn from
past experiences.

The contributions of the different IOC members and especially that of the President Mr Jacques Rogge
made evident the decision and efforts of the IOC to facilitate the organisation of the Games at the
lowest cost possible and at the maximum benefit for the athletes and citizens.

The Symposium was also informed about the new plans of the IOC in relation to the sustainability of
the facilities and projects of the Olympic cities, maintaining the quality of the facilities for the athletes,
but avoiding any form of luxury and those investments that cannot be justified in the long-term benefit
of the citizens. The host city should be aware of the opportunities offered by the organisation of the
Games, but also the risks. The big challenge for host cities is to organize excellent Olympic Games that
will also leave a rich and long-term legacy for all those directly or indirectly participating in the Games
but also for the host community.

It is important for the Olympic Movement to ensure that a genuine, lasting sporting legacy is created
through the auspices of the Olympic Games. We therefore recommend that the IOC require bid cities
to present a plan for increasing opportunities for high-performance sport and Sport For All.

The IOC could provide more information and assistance to ensure a strong foundation of the bid and
Organising Committees. It should be take into consideration that the decisions taken during the bid
and organising period will impact on the Games, as well as on the legacy. Therefore, the IOC should
include legacy as a key factor during the evaluation process of the bid cities. The Organising
Committees and future bid cities are also recommended to establish Post-Olympic planning, integrating
the institutions in charge of the post Olympic Games legacy from the beginning, taking into
consideration legacy in the context of sustainable development and highlighting that the Games are a
community project, involving the whole host population.

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 6. Research and documentation

The Symposium called for more attention to be paid to research into the legacy of the Games. First of
all, it is necessary to research the impact of the Olympic Games avoiding the interpretation of the data
in the immediate period after them. There is a clear need for more research of a longitudinal nature into
all aspects relating to Olympic legacy, beginning well before the Games and lasting for a sustained
period after their completion. The importance of comparative studies has also been stressed, but that
caution is taken to consider historic and Games-specific factors.

Among the different aspects of legacy the creation and conservation of archives and documents related
to the Olympic Movement and the Games should be considered as a key issue, as well as the regular
exchanges between the different Olympic studies centres or research groups in order to undertake the
transfer of scientific knowledge and to facilitate comparative studies.

7. After hearing all of the papers and colloquiums

On reflection, after hearing all of the papers and colloquiums, perhaps too much focus was placed on
the impacts on the host city and not enough on the global dimension and the role of actors such as the
Olympic athletes, the international audience, International Sports Federations, the National Olympic
Committees and the International Olympic Committee itself.

In previous Symposiums we have dealt with other themes of great importance for the legacy of the
Olympic Games, such as the Olympic ceremonies, the Olympic villages, Olympic volunteers and
television. For this reason concrete reference has not been made to these themes, even though
recognition must be given to them.

Moreover, caution must be taken in the analysis of the legacy of the Olympic Games from a Euro-
North American perspective, without taking into sufficient consideration the contribution of the Asian
Olympic Games (Seoul '88, Nagano '98) as well as those world regions that have never hosted an
Olympic Games.

It seems clear that the legacy of the Games is not exclusively the property of the former Olympic host
cities; rather it should be understood in global and universal terms as the legacy of Olympic Games.

8. Participation and publication

of the Symposium papers

The Symposium's organizing committee acknowledges the efforts made by all of the contributors to
prepare in advance their presentations in order to facilitate the communication and exchange of ideas.
In total, 25 papers and 32 communications have been presented in almost 500 pages. Thanks to this
collective effort, the Olympic Studies Centres of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and of the
IOC have been able to edit and publish the proceedings in the Collection "Documents of the
Museum". This document will become a part of the legacy of the Olympic Movement as a source of
knowledge.

Finally, the Symposium would also like to highlight the active participation of representatives from the
five continents and the ongoing increase of women's participation in the recent editions of the
Symposiums, and although we are still far from reaching a balanced representation, we hope this trend
continues for future editions.

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 Official Closing

Fernando Riba
Coordinator, IOC Olympic Studies Centre
Olympic Museum
Switzerland

I would like to thank Professor Moragas for preparing a summary of the conclusions with the
assistance of the team that organised the Symposium. Above all, and once again I thank all those who
made this event possible, whether they have come to participate directly or indirecdy. It is precisely this
presence that is important to this fifth edition of the Symposium, and makes the experience rich and
motivating.

There is no doubt that the wide scope of the subject of "Olympic legacy" made this Symposium
interesting to so many individuals and institutions. The quality of the presentations and the conclusions
was outstanding, and will be reported in the form of minutes and a publication. The presence of the
participants helped to encourage all those involved to continue their support for similar activities in
future, which is part of the IOC's policy and objectives.

Most participants are aware of the existence of the Olympic Studies Centre (OSC), where part of the
research work has become more active since 1997 thanks to our Research Council and to the support
from professors of the highest level, three of whom have participated at this symposium: Professors
MacAloon and Moragas and Mr Wilson. Without their support, the work of the OSC and the Museum
would be far more complicated and it would be more difficult to arrive at the results that have been
achieved after nine years of activity.

Sincere thanks are due to Professor Moragas and his team from the Autonomous University of
Barcelona, with whom the IOC has a collaboration agreement. Their work in collaboration with the
OSC had also made the organisation of the Symposium over the last three days possible. I also thank
the Director of the museum, Mrs Zweifel, and especially the staff of the OSC and the External
Relations Service. All involved have worked hard and I hope that the participants clearly felt at home in
the Museum. We look forward to continuing receiving such visitors, collaborating with others and
establishing relationships.

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 c e o UFB
International Chair in Olympism
Centre d'Estudis Olimpics
Universitt Autonoma do Barcelona

Centre d'Estudis Olimpics

Universitt Autonoma de Barcelona
Edifici N
08193 Bellaterra / Spain
Tel. +34 93 581 19 92
Fax +34 93 581 21 39
http://blues.uab.es/olympic.studies

OLYMPIC
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