The
Olympics are international sets of sports competitions in which representative
qualifiers from more than 200 countries across the globe participate in. It is a wonderful way for the world to come together
in the spirit of sportsmanship and
unity. Every two years, either a set of winter or summer games occur
in a city chosen by the international Olympic Committee. The Olympics give athletes the opportunity to
represent their country and compete against the top athletes within their
sports in a spirit of goodwill to determine who the best is. It gives unknown athletes a chance to show
the world their talents, gain glory and maybe even international fame. In each competition, athletes from their
select countries compete to win one of the three top positions gold, silver, or
bronze. Countries compete and keep track
of how many medals they receive. The Olympic competition also provides an excellent opportunity for the
host city to show itself to the world. This year’s Olympic host city is London,
England.
The 2012 London Olympic Games consist of
17 days of competition. The Olympics are televised throughout the duration of
competition. Viewers can watch a variety of games occurring at different times
of each day. Coverage is sometimes limited due to the fact that some sports
overlap. However, with the advent of the internet and video on demand, viewers
have more resources this year to catch all their favorite sports.
You may have seen Olympic symbols and
traditions such as Olympic medals, and the Olympic flag. You may be wondering
why these are important. Since the Olympics unify the globe in friendly
competition, their flag of five connected rings symbolizes this unity. These rings represent the five continents
that participate in the games and each color is represented by the continents
major country. In order to win a medal, an athlete or team has to qualify in
the top three positions. Winners of
Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals give points to their country and whichever
country has the most points, wins the Olympic competition.
Another Olympic symbol is the torch. The Olympic torch makes an incredible
journey. Many months before the Olympics begin; an Olympic flame is lit in
Olympia, Greece; the birth place of the Olympics. The flame is lit by using the rays of the sun
and that flame travels through select countries all over the world in a torch
relay. Representatives are selected in each country for qualities that uphold
the Olympic spirit. These
representatives carry the torch for a certain distance and then passing the
flame onto the next relay bearer’s torch. I was two years old during the 1996 Olympics
when my family was fortunate enough to watch the Olympic torch pass through the
center of the street in the front of our family restaurant. We were also
fortunate that the torch carrier ended his journey right in front of our store
and that we got to take pictures with the torch.
There are 27,794 Olympic medalists and
counting! All these athletes are required to follow the Olympic creed. The most important thing in the Olympic Games
is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not
the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but
to have fought well (olympicmuseum.org).
The ancient Olympics were held in the same
city every four years; however, the modern Olympics occur in a different host
city each Olympics. A host city is
selected through a bidding process with the IOC. A number of large cities around the world bid
for the games. These cities have to have
the right amount of space for the facilities, a strong infrastructure to
accommodate the athletes and spectators and the resources to pay for everything
including security. The cities hope to
recoup their investment from the games and the subsequent tourism that occurs
when they are finished. Many cities
benefit from the urban renewal and infrastructure. Cities
that submitted bids for the 2012 Games included; Havana, Rio, New York City,
Madrid, Moscow, Paris and Istanbul.
Bidding sessions are held in the IOC and the committee votes for the
most effective host city multiple times.
Bids were first submitted beginning in 2003 and the IOC made their final
decision in July 2005 (news.bbc.uk).
The Olympic Opening ceremony typically
starts with the hoisting of the host country's flag and a performance of its
national anthem. The host nation, in this case London, presents artistic
displays of music, singing, dance, and theater representative of its culture
(multimedia-olympic.org). Every Olympic host city tries to outshine the
previous host city’s ceremony. For
example, the 2008 Beijing opening ceremony reportedly cost an estimate of
$100 million (cbssports.ca).The opening ceremony includes a parade of each
nation’s athletes. The Olympic flame
then ends its long journey where it is used to light the Olympic torch on site.
For the next 17 days the best of the best compete against each other in over 35
sports.
The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games
takes place after all sporting events have ended. Flag-bearers from each
country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who enter together, without
any national distinction. Three national flags are raised while the corresponding
national anthems are played; the flag of Greece to honor the birthplace of the
Olympic Games; the flag of the current host country, and the flag of the
country hosting the next summer or the Winter Olympics.
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