Leslie Griger
We all know that the Olympics are a big
deal; they always have been and always will be. Both the Summer and Winter
Olympics are among the most widely televised, and most watched programs of the
year. Due to all of this publicity and popularity, the ceremonies and even
competitions are normally relatively extravagant. But unlike most other years,
this year the Olympics were held in the “developing” country of Russia.
Though most do not think of Russia as a
developing country, compared to other Olympic locations such as the United
States, Canada, and Australia, Russia is pretty far down on the developed
scale. In recent history, there has been an increase in the hosting of sporting
events in developing countries, such as Mexico City, Moscow, and Sarajevo, and
more often than not, the economies of those countries do not really improve at
all, which is the opposite of what most would think. It is accurate that
hosting the Olympics does create many new jobs for the people of Sochi, Russia,
but the main concern is that the jobs will not last past the closing
ceremonies.
There are quite a few jobs that end when the
athletes leave Russia, but studies have shown that, “infrastructure and some jobs are created that last well after the games
have moved on” according to Business Insider. So even after the closing
ceremonies, the economy still has potential to rise.
Though there is a large sum
of money coming into the country throughout the games and maybe for a bit after,
there is an even larger amount of money going out to prepare the country and simply
run the games. According to the International Business Times, the Sochi Opening
Ceremony topped the list of most expensive openings “costing in excess of $50 billion and far exceeding the 2008 Beijing
Summer Games, a record many said would never be beaten.”
But even though the cost is
extremely large, there are many people that still believe the economy of Russia
will improve from hosting the Olympics besides just the jobs that will be left
over; after all the Olympics bring both people and money from every corner of
the globe.
The popularity alone
brought to Sochi could help the economy. Being a city that has hosted the
Olympics heightens the appeal of the city in many perspectives. First of all,
Russia is already a popular tourist destination for many reasons, but Sochi is
normally not on the list of cities within the country. After the Olympics,
Sochi might now have the attention and publicity it needs to attract the
tourists coming into Russia.
Benefitting from a rise in
tourists would be the businesses. If there are more tourists, maybe even more
Russian citizens living in Sochi, more business owners will be tempted to open
a business in the area because the
demand for goods and services will be greater, boosting the economy. The
tourists and businesses come full circle, ultimately leading again to the
creation of more jobs for the people of Sochi, and the neighboring cities. In
general, the people of Sochi have definitely considered their opportunity cost. Though the games are expensive, the only
alternative would be to not have the Olympics games, and that would be a much
worse choice. Sochi already has an economy that is not in very good shape, and
without the Olympics, there is a very small hope of the economy improving in
the near, or even relatively distant, future. Overall, even though the Olympics
are expensive and a large amount of work, Sochi made the right decision for the
country and the economy to host.
Work Cited
Harress, Christopher. "The Economic Impact Of The
Winter Olympics: Not Great For Russia But Sochi Stands To Gain." International Business Times. 8
Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ibtimes.com/economic-impact-winter-olympics-not-great-russia-sochi-stands-gain-1554153>.
Perlberg, Steven. "A Strong Economy Is The Secret
To Winning Medals At The Winter Olympics." Business Insider. Business
Insider, Inc, 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/economics-sochi-olympics-2014-2>.
Reuters. "Moody's: Olympic Games Unlikely to Boost
Russian Economy."VOA. 5 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-olympic-games-unlikely-to-boost-russian-economy/1844858.html>.
This post is extremely appropriate, considering the 2014 Winter Olympics just ended last week. Since the competition is a blast to watch, I easily forget about the economic effects this event leaves. However, your essay does a really good job addressing both the positive and negative externalities the games cause. It's neat that Sochi will likely become a more popular tourist destination, simply because of the fact the Olympics were held there. Although, hopefully the other jobs created by the competition will continue to provide citizens with employment. I wonder what percentage of people receive the benefits of the games for more than a year after they are completed?
ReplyDeleteThis article really put things into perspective. I had no idea what was behind the scenes when it came to the Olympics but after reading this article it all makes sense. It amazes me what countries will do to get a little population. Spending billions of dollars for just two weeks seems crazy to me! Especially the amount of time that is put into all this work. People are giving up years of their lives to help and then after the Olympics are over so is there job. The Olympics are very entertaining to watch, but I don't understand why a developing country will give up so much, just for those two weeks of fame. This could either make or break you, and I will be curious to see how Sochi ends up in the next couple years; if they have risen or fallen. This was a great article!
ReplyDeleteI do not agree at all with hosting the Olympics in developing countries and cities. As you referenced, previous games have shown that it does not provide growth or improvement in their economies. If anything it causes them to spend more money to develop massive stadiums. This year it was obvious that Sochi was in no way prepared for these games. They should not have even been considered to hold them. I agree that it could bring about a popular tourist area and increase the economy that way but is that worth the $50 billion spent on even just the opening ceremonies? I believe the opportunity cost of Sochi putting their time and resources towards the Olympics when they could use them towards something else for the greater good of the city is too high. Great article it was very interesting!
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