Do The Olympics Even Matter Anymore?

The Olympics: Not what you think they are.

As we approach the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris the question begging to be asked is: do they even matter anymore?

Sure, for the athletes who have dedicated their lives to this one crowning moment, they certainly do, but beyond that, is there really any interest in a spectacle that used to truly dominate the world’s attention?

The stats say No.

Viewership and interest across the board has declined since 2008 and even when there is interest, it’s fleeting and largely centered around a particular event or a generational talent like Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps.

It’s seem that it's only the television networks - who have paid ghastly amounts of money for the rights to the Olympics - who are banging the drum in an attempt to drum up support for wall-to-wall coverage.

While there will certainly be some hand-wringing from the powers that be (who aren’t intuitive enough to recognize this seismic societal shift) the fact remains that the Olympics have simply lost most of their lustre.

No one really cares enough to find out who the world shot put champion will be.

That, of course, is part of the problem. Nations only tend to care about events they’re good. As a result you’re not going to get strong viewership from those just browsing the menu.

Thus, by and large, most eyeballs are targeting exactly what the events they want to see, and only those it would seem.

That criteria, in itself, has changed. The actual events on the menu have become vastly different from what we were accustomed to. Whereas the foundational sports of the past few decades like weightlifting and high jumping aligned closely with the Olympic credo of Faster, Higher, Stronger, the Olympics of today have become watered down beyond belief.

It’s not that skateboarding, surfing and (yes) breakdancing aren’t particularly watchable, it’s just that this blatantly-overt attempt at attracting a younger demographic inversely loosens the hold on its traditional audience.

It’s the generation gap come to life and by pandering to one age demographic (either way) you ultimately end up eroding support from the other. It's being said, loud and clear that this isn’t your father’s Olympics, which is entirely the point.

As the Olympic Games lose their global relevance, the IOC organizers feel like they're left with few options but to re-invent the Games in a way which reflects the sports of today. The hope, of course, being that validating a sport by making it into an Olympic sport will bring fan interest - and namely money - with it as well.

Not exactly what I asked AI for but bizarre enough to use.

Public perception of the Games isn't what it used to be. With older generations, nations and cultural divides used to mean something, but in today’s world these differences aren’t really considered something worth fighting for.

Watch any one of the newer events and you’ll notice fewer nationalistic moments. Instead, you see athletes from different nations choosing to celebrate the proverbial athletic bar being raised by someone - anyone, in fact - regardless of the flag they may fly.

Ironically, "competition" within these new sports reflects the Olympic ideals of athletic kinship and healthy competition better than traditionally cutthroat events like sprinting and gymnastics, which continue to exude a win-at-all-costs mentality.

This ultra-competitive mindset saw professionals welcomed into the Olympics decades ago. No longer were the Games officially amateur-only. The veil was finally off, so now let the competition begin.

By opening the doors to professionals, the IOC had deliberately polluted their own supposedly-sacred traditions.

I’m not against allowing professionals into the Olympics. In fact, there's great value in having them there, given that this allows every country to send their absolute best, but you can’t keep moving the goalposts because you're trying to stay relevant.

If ethics actually matter then they only matter most when there's a need to take a definitive stand on something important. Otherwise what’s the point of having an ethos if you don’t hold yourself to it?

Of course, the easy answer to that question is the International Olympic Committee’s voracious appetite for profit. International broadcast rights as well as sponsor exclusivities generate the massive profits the IOC needs to flourish (and plunder).

For Sale: 5 Rings

Revenue for the Olympiad which spanned 2017 to 2020/21, which covers the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, for example, pulled in USD 7.6 billion.

The Olympics are a massive revenue juggernaut, plain and simple, and nothing will stand in the way of that continuing. Because of that, over the years the Games have devolved into this grotesque, amorphous, financial entity with an inherently-voracious appetite. Any sport deemed financially-viable is welcomed to the fold, and the more, the better.

The credo of faster, higher, stronger now includes a new line about profitability. Raising the bar now also means raising irrationally-exorbitant amounts of money just for the chance to ante into the game.

The Paris Olympics, for example, are expected to cost around €9bn ($9.7bn) although the organizers stress that, even with expected overruns, they still expect to turn a profit.

All of this extravagance just to watch some athletes run around the track for a couple of weeks?

The gluttony and wastefulness associated with the Olympic Games is nothing new. It's not uncommon to see the newly-built sport venues immediately torn down shortly after the Games conclude and it’s also not uncommon to have targeted residents of these hosting cities displaced in order to continue the overwrought facade of this garish spectacle.

The Olympics have become showpieces for the rich, the powerful, the influential and the authoritarians who value the bragging rights most, regardless of the costs.

Incredibly, these excesses, rather than being an embarrassment about inflated egos and bloated budgets, have become sources of perverse pride for the host nations. It's now simply an international pissing contest where the new motto is more about our pockets being deeper than yours. The mentality of winning at all costs has been taken to new heights, or rather, depths.

In the end, the biggest competition at this, or any other Olympics, is not on the field. It’s in the boardroom.

This is The End. Hope you enjoyed the ride.