And so the Games begin. As the curtain goes up on the XXXI Olympiad in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, it does so against a backdrop of political turmoil, doping controversies, security concerns and questions over the general well being of the Olympic movement.
For the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Rio organisers, there will doubtless be a collective sigh of relief that the five-ring circus is finally underway and a hope that sporting brilliance will restore some lustre to an otherwise seriously tarnished image.
We have, of course, been here before. Think of problem-plagued Sochi and Athens. At the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, social media spawned a Twitter hashtag #sochiproblems, chronicling the city’s pressing issues. The current equivalent now, #rioproblems looks set to make Sochi’s issues pale by comparison.
Almost every Olympics faces exaggerated claims about host suitability, infrastructure delays, ticket sales and budget overruns.
Even the incredibly successful London Olympiad and Commonwealth Games here in Scotland had their share of critics and detractors.
There is simply no getting away from the fact, however, that Rio represents something of a watershed in the handling of the Games.
The evidence overwhelmingly points to a pressing need to reconsider the fundamental ethos and management of the Olympiad.
A good place to start would be for the IOC to scrutinise more rigorously the capacity of any city bidding to host the Games. Some, like Rio, often promise what cannot be delivered.
As part of their bid for the Games, Rio organisers confirmed an ambitious and transformative project to clean up 80 per cent of the waterways which would improve the health and quality of life of Rio’s citizens and help speed the country’s development. In the event they never even came close to making this a reality.
To be fair to the IOC not everything can be anticipated. Brazil had one of the world’s most robust economies when Rio was awarded the Olympics in 2009. Organisers assured the IOC that the country had enough resources to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Games.
But then came a plunge in oil prices which, along with Brazil’s long-term pervasive corruption, sent the economy into a tailspin. In turn crime rates soared, as did public fury in reaction to the trend.
But if Brazil as host struggled to make the grade so too has the IOC, which awarded Rio with the honour of being hosts.
Zero tolerance on drug abuse was the IOC pledge. That vow has been undermined by its handling of the recent Russian doping scandal where systematic abuse was uncovered. The compromise deal that resulted has done nothing to engender confidence in the custodian of sport’s great carnival: a custodian found wanting in the past.
The Olympic movement seems to have lost its way. Rio will doubtless produce its own memorable moments, heroes and heroines and that is something to savour, but the issues that plagued these Games will not magically disappear.
If the IOC wants to restore belief in its integrity, then the time has come for some serious soul searching and reform as to how the Games are run.
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