Question

Explain to me the often-turbulent beginnings of the Modern Olympics – specifically the 1896 through 1906 Olympics. What worked? What didn’t work? What proved to be beneficial for the Olympic Movement? Be sure to explain why this is historically significant to the Olympic Movement.

Answer 1

In the beginning of April 1896, the Olympics was reborn in Athens after around 1500 years as it was banned by roman empire to suppress the barbaric culture of Greece. Olympics are held in honor of Greek god Zeus, Prior to 1896 these competition were limited to Greek cities and only were limited to foot races.These competition were held after a gap of 4 years.

The pivotal point in the history of Olympics was the Renaissance which led to it becoming one of the most important mega event of Sports.The Person responsible for the growth of Olympics was Pierre de Coubertin, it was he who proposed rejuvenating ancient games of Greek " Olympics" as an international event at a conference of international sports in Paris in 1984. He also founded the IOC (International Olympic committee).

The turn of events that worked for this Olympics were

• The decision to host these games in Athens -This was a master move as the games bore deep connection to the people of Greece
• Greek Crown prince decided to assume presidency of organising committee
• The movement of games to Greece helped in gathering of funds easily
• The Idea that the competition will be among different nations led to lots of spectators coming to the arena to witness world class competition.

The turn of events that worked for this Olympics were

• There was no specific rule book governing the sport.
• The official officiating the events were not able to make correct decisions and hence Prince George acted as a final referee
• No concept of Olympic village and even amateur and even tourists were allowed to participate

Olympic movement was benefited by International recognition and is considered as the top event in sports

International recognition for Olympics is generated due economic & cultural development

• It led to investments in infrastructure leading to Job creation
• Lots of industries such as marketing ,construction,retail etc developed due to influx of these games
• Tourism department also developed due to huge influx of foreign tourists
• It became a way of showing the world the capability of any country that hosts this event and also these countries are put on global map
• With the huge popularity of the game -It gave rise to secondary economy and lots of sports related industries developed

So historically the economic development is the dark horse that drove the expansion and growth of Olympic games.