Hey, Remember the Olympics? (Flashback Episode)

Why It Matters

Council on Foreign Relations

News

4.2 • 876 Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2021

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hosting the Olympics is a monumental undertaking that often leaves behind rusted stadiums and financial losses. So why do nations compete to do it? This episode examines the political history of the games, and the soft power that countries hope to gain by hosting them. Featured Guests: Jules Boykoff (Professor of Political Science, Pacific University) Katharine Moon (Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College) For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at cfr.org/podcasts/hey-remember-olympics

Transcript

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0:00.0	So the 2020 Olympics are happening right now.
0:05.4	Finally, in the summer of 2021.
0:08.1	And it's already been a pretty wild ride.
0:11.1	The stadiums are empty as Japan fends off its highest rates of
0:15.4	COVID-19 since the pandemic began and the cost of the games has ballooned from
0:21.2	an initial estimate of 7.4 billion to more than 20 billion.
0:26.1	However, the beautiful moments are still there.
0:29.3	So today, we thought we would take a look back at an episode we actually released last summer.
0:34.7	A lot of the themes and worries that we discussed on the show both economic and sociological
0:40.1	are materializing.
0:41.7	The question we asked just over a year ago today
0:44.5	remains the same. What do the games offer that's so special and worth so much effort. I'm not a huge sports fan.
0:54.0	I'll be the first to admit that I am not a huge sports fan. I don't follow the
1:05.1	NBA and I tend to wander away from the TV during football games. But I do love to
1:11.5	watch the Olympics.
1:13.0	And that's because it's actually super cool to see
1:16.0	whole nations rallying behind one team.
1:19.0	It becomes something more than a game.
1:21.0	It becomes this uniting cultural moment. It's like a global holiday.
1:25.8	And so, with a little bit of extra couch time on my hands, I was very ready to tune into
1:30.2	this summer's Tokyo Olympics, the perfect distraction.
1:34.6	But the July 2020 Olympic Games aren't going to be held this month.
	...

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