Olympics? I’ve heard that word somewhere; maybe one day when I’ve nothing else to do I’ll look it up in the dictionary

I've ceased reading Binoy's posts long ago but seeing this title I can only agree with his description of that parasitic circus.

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Dear Binoy,

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You wrote:

« If Olympism is to make sense, … why not get rid of the State altogether … »
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Privatise the Olympics ?

The Olympics have become an immense commercial enterprise on the back of the world’s sports champions (many of whom are amateurs), with budgets of tens of billions of dollars.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considered by some to be a mafia organisation that controls the Games, but does not finance them, and reaps the benefits without accepting the slightest responsibility.

The tens of millions of tax dollars spent by each candidate country in the bidding process to host the Games is becoming less affordable and less justifiable. Also, rising temperatures in more and more countries are making it far too hot to host the summer Olympics in acceptable conditions for the athletes.

Not only does the IOC operate with a total lack of transparency, but it has also been charged on several occasions with corruption and bribery linked to the selection process and illicit operations relating to Olympic sponsorships.

There’s no doubt the organisation of the Games needs a complete overhaul if it is to survive. The IOC should probably be disbanded and replaced by a legally responsible entity that can be held accountable for its acts and omissions. And, as the IOC has protected a significant number of terms as trademarks, including “The Olympics”, “Paralympic”, Olympiad”, “World Olympians”, “Olympic Stadium”, “Friends of the Games” and “Olympic Torch Relay”, etc., the new Games should probably be called something else.

Whether the new entity should be public or private is a question for the countries to decide. However, given that the Games consist of both individual and team competitions, it seems logical that the teams should continue to represent their respective nations.

In any event, a detailed study of the whole shenanigans should probably be undertaken by a competent team of independent experts with the mission to propose the best way forward.

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