Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is the world’s foremost sports competition held every four years. The main cities around the world are eager to play host to this worldwide event. Write an article explaining why they have such a strong preference for it.

The Olympic Games are a festival that is held   in the highest regard. During the period, the eyes of the world turn not only to the athletes, but to the city and the nation that holds the Games. The host city courts strong publicity and receives immense media coverage. These promotional effects let the hosting countries not only improve their international image but also expect to enjoy huge economic benefits.

The economic benefits of playing host to the spectacle can be divided into short-term and long-term ones. Since people all over the world like to involve themselves directly by paying a visit to the host city, the number of foreign tourists will rise drastically. This boosts the hospitality industry by creating thousands of job opportunities in the retail, business service and catering sectors. Moreover, there are various facilities to be constructed for the Games and so it has favourable effects on the construction sectors as well. All these enable the economy to see an increase in employment rate.

As far as the long term benefits are concerned, the Games speed up the development of world-class infrastructure. For example, some hosting countries, in order to offer high convenience to athletes and visitors, will allow for the construction of an extensive mass transit network linking the major parts of the city. It is well-known that a sound transport system can attract foreign investment in a place and improve economic efficiency. Furthermore, most architectures built for the Games are so impressive that they usually become lasting tourist attractions. This benefits the tourism industry.

After all, hosting the Olympic Games is very expensive. The costs are also two-folded. The overcrowding caused by too many visitors will bring the short-term inconvenience and disturbances to local people. Typically, the host country will run into huge debts to finance most of the preparations, and this adds the long term burden to the country’s taxpayers. Worse still, it might take several generations to endure the debts. However, it is deemed that the advantages, not to mention the sportsmanship the Games arouse around the city, are enormous enough to exceed all the costs involved. So, the host country are entitled to enjoy a net gain.

Although there are certainly some benefits to hosting the Olympic Games, the competing countries should not forget the real significance of this international function. What the Olympics tell us is to encourage the world as a whole to act something in union and harmony and bring the beauty of sport competition. We ought not just keep an eye on the advantages but have to understand the huge meaning behind the participation.