The Olympic Games
Introduction:
The Olympic Games
or the Olympics are a global sporting
event for players and athletes involved in
it, which regulates once every four
years. Originally these games
were held in ancient
Greece as many as 3,000 years ago, until it stirred by a
French nobleman Pierre
Freddie Baron de
Coubertin in the late 19th
century A.D. The first modern Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, and
included 280 participants from 13 nations, competing in 43 events and it’s
considered to be the world's foremost sports competition. Since 1896 The Olympics held once every four years, except during World War I and II. Since 1994, the summer and winter Olympic
Games have been held separately and have alternated every two years.
In the ancient
history the Olympic Games was one of the most
famous sports courses and it
named after the Greek city of Olympia, which was
the center of worship began in 776
BC. It was held every four years in honor of
Zeus great gods
of Greece and his wife Hera, and lasts for 7 days.
It was not considered for the Olympic
Games sport only, but had meanings of religious and national. According to the earliest records, only one athletic event was
held in the ancient Olympics, a footrace of about 183 m or the length of the
stadium. The first few Olympics had only local appeal and were limited to one
race on one day and only men were allowed to compete or attend. A second race
was twice the length of the stadium and was added in the 14th Olympics, and a
still longer race was added to the next competition, four years later.
The Modern Olympics:
The idea of starting the Olympic Games again was introduced in 1892
by French nobleman Pierre Freddie Baron de Coubertin. Few people were ready to
agree with his idea. But after two years in 1894, Coubertin founded the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and began planning the first modern
Olympiad. The original Olympics were always held at Olympia and every modern
Olympiads are celebrated in or near a different city of the world. The latest
games motivate and encourage all nations to compete. Any person can enter if
his or her country has a National Olympic Committee that is recognized by the
International Olympic Committee. Events for females have become a major
interest in the modern Games, and the champions receive honors equal to those
given the male winners.
They are five Olympic Games; Ancient Olympic, Summer Olympic,
Winter Olympic (for the winter sports) Paralympic (for people with
disabilities) and the Youth Olympic. All
of these games start in the same way.
There is an opening ceremony with the Olympic flag and the torch. The
torch is passed from one generation to the future generation. The Torch is kept ignited until the closing
ceremony. All the games end with a closing ceremony
after 3 weeks competition. During the
closing ceremony the finishers receive a gold, silver and bronze medal.
The interlinked rings symbolize the five
continents, the six colors including the white background were chosen because
they are found in all the flags of the world. It is a symbol to justify the
union through sport. The flag at the end
of the ceremony is handed over to the mayor of the next host city.
IOC also known as the International Olympic Committee chooses which
country will host the event and what games will be held.
Events of the
Olympic Games
In 1964 South Africa was not allowed to host any of the Olympic
Games because of the racist policies by 1968 the banned was lifted yet still
the world was upset because they felt racism was still an issue with South
Africa and 32 countries decided to withdraw from the Olympics if the IOC
allowed South Africa to be the Host. The
invitation was withdrawn.
1972 and 1996 the Olympic Games were threatened by terrorist. Many people died and were kidnapped. Olympic Games went on and the Olympic Park
was reopened despite the threats and deaths.
Sport and Olympism to satisfy the
need for competition and encourage everyone to overcome their own limitations
(social, physical or psychological “handicap”).
Political dimension
Sport and in particular the Olympic
Games are an international media platform which can be used to highlight
certain causes or become “alternative diplomatic tools”. This can lead to
greater awareness by the public, draw attention to a conflict, serve as an
example of peaceful combat, etc.
Societal dimension
Sport and Olympism are tools for
civic education which help to develop important individual and social
competences, and thus to know one another better and live together better.
His idea was to develop three
characteristics as a whole in Olympic Value. Preserve Human Dignity –
Demonstrating respect. Encourage Efforts
– Striving for Excellency and Develop Harmony – Celebrating Friendship.
For a country to host the Olympic an
initial application must be presented to the IOC in 2008 the shortlist were
Chicago, Madrid, Rio De Janerio and Tokyo.
Despite the fact that Doha scored the higher than the selected
candidates, the IOC did not add them to the short list due the fact that the
Olympic would be held in October outside the initial Olympic Sporting Calendar.
For the first time South America
will be hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics which will be held in Rio de Janeiro
Brazil on Aug 5-21. The host city will
be using the motto “Live your Passion” 206 countries have qualified for the
sport event in 28 different sporting events.
If Rio is unable to hold the
Olympics Games for any reason London will be the emergency host city for
2016. Although it is very unusual for
another city to host the Olympics it did happen in 1908 Summer Olympics was to
be held in Rome, Italy but Mount Vesuvivus erupted put Italy in a financial
crisis and the emergency city of London took over. In 1976 the winter Olympics was to be held in
Denver Colorado but due to a lot of political reasons and government “red tape”
the Olympics was held in Austria.
It has been rumored that the Rio Bay
will not be ready for the sailing race due to the corpse, dead dogs, and toxic
waste. Although the mayor Eduardo Paes has
promised to clean the bay and clear it of 80% of the toxic and corpse it is still
under major questioning. Sailors have visited the bay and have described it as
a dump and reported dodging waste including discarded furniture, floating dog
carcasses and even human corpses. The mayor has offered to use the cleaner
parts of the bay and the entrance for the event. The IOC is still hoping the bay will be
cleared for the event.
The ISO has visited the Rio De Janerio six times and stated “its
preparation is damn as the worst ever” he has also stated the country is far
from prepared and are very concerned as there is no Plan B. Due to the many construction sites being
delayed and the protests held in the city.
The IOC has sent a task force to help the city but due to a lot of
governmental and city official clashes their seems to be more and more delays.
Five other countries were in panic set
previously were:
Atlanta 1996 due to a bomb impact that killed two
people and injured many more.
Athens 2004 due to the huge financial crisis that
made them build things at the last minute and even on the eve of the Olympic
some structures were not yet ready while some where never used.
Turin 2006 the Winter Olympics was in panic state
due to a $242m budget shortfall.
London 2012 London erupted in a riot that left many questioning security.
London 2012 London erupted in a riot that left many questioning security.
Sochi 2014 was the most expensive in winter and
summer Olympics at $51bn with a lot of corruption, protest over human rights,
mocking media.
On the other hand, the
names of the United Arab Emirates were present at
the Olympics and also
won awards. Obaid Al Jasmi from Abu Dhabi is a two-time Olympic swimmer who won
the first ever Gold medal for United
Arab Emirates.
He swam for the UAE at the 2004
and 2008
Olympics. His brothers Saeed, Obaid and
Bakheet have also competed in the Olympic Games. Ahmed Al Maktoum of Dubai won
the gold medal in double trap shooting in 2012 and also the national football
team.
Reference:
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