Athens 2004: Olympic Planning
The Olympics have returned to their birthplace. For the second time in the history of the modern Olympics, Athens will host the Summer Olympic Games. Preparations must begin immediately, for it is no small task to operate a sporting event with over 10,000 athletes and 201 National Olympic Committees in attendance. The government of Greece and the International Olympic Committee must cooperate closely to ensure that the 2004 Athens Games are a smashing success.
Topic 1 - Financial and Infrastructure Preparation
The most essential elements of a successful Olympic Games are good logistics and infrastructure. Greece must put to bed any lingering fears that it cannot fund the necessary improvements in infrastructure required for a modern Olympics. Figuring out how to carefully prepare the city of Athens and the country as a whole to be able to handle host the Games will be absolutely critical to the committee as they make hard decisions on things from building stadiums to picking the mascot of the Olympic Games.
How will Greece finance the Olympic Games? Will the international community also provide funding?
How will Greece prepare its infrastructure for the Games, providing for the thousands of tourists but also keeping the city functional for residents?
What kind of amenities will be provided to the athletes?
Topic 2 - New Technology & Nations
As we enter preparations for the 2004 Olympic Games, we remain in the early days of the Internet era. New technologies and applications have led to the advent of things like blogs and early social media, which the committee must figure out how to tackle. Whether or not athletes will be able to use these new technologies, and what effect it will have on traditional media coverage of the event (which, the committee should note, forms a large portion of the Games’ revenue). Additionally, controversies surrounding some countries threaten to put a stain on the Athens Games, and the committee must decide how to appropriately handle these nations.
Should the Olympic Committee take action against countries that have been disrupting the world?
With the advent of new mediums of media, should the committee embrace these or continue with traditional broadcasting? How would this affect the revenue of the Games