TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE 2000 OLYMPICS INFLUENCED THE AUSTRALIAN WAY OF LIFE?
The Summer Olympic Games in 2000 was held in Sydney. It was an opportunity for Australia to prove to the world they were able to host a major international competition which left a positive impression of Australia. The Impact on Australia was beneficial to the country in a cultural, social, architectural and tourism perspective. From these games there were many unforgettable Australian sporting achievements. This presentation will give an account of the way the 2000 Olympics influenced the Australian way of life.
FINANCIAL IMPACT OF 2000 OLYMPICS
When Australia won the bid for the Olympics, the total estimated cost for Sydney to host the Games was $3 billion.
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Despite the initial struggle to meet the budget, the positive outcome following the Olympics was a $6.5 billion surplus between 1994 to 2006 (Haynes).
POLITICAL INFLUENCE
Five key political uses of sport at the Olympics:
1. Use sport as an opioid to motivate the country to get behind all sporting representatives to achieve success as a Nation.
2. A tool for nationalism where by all athletes proudly represent Australia
3. A vehicle for social change, where homeless and low socioeconomic issues and unemployment are attentioned.
4. A vehicle for propaganda where sports is used to campaign for Governments
5. A promotional tool for politics by gaining a high reputation of staging an extravagant sporting event. (Sport and Society, n.d)
The Australian Government will stand before the media and boast to the world that we are a highly successful sporting country. However, the athletes and their families endured hardship, with little financial Government support . Many athletes had to travel overseas to gain qualification and international experience at their own expense. It is also noted that different sports are valued at different rates. For example Swimming attracts more Government support than Athletics. This is mainly due to the fact that the swimmers bring home the medals where as only few athletes
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Apart from sports, Australia was able to showcase their tourist attractions, Indigenous culture, Music, Arts and film and television. The opening ceremony featured a tribute to the Australian Stock Horse. A lone rider cracking his whip entered the stadium followed by 120 riders as “The Man from Snowy River” was played. The ceremony also featured artists showcasing Australia’s outback, wildlife, Indigenous culture, European settlement, marching bands, and a look into Australia’s future with tap dancing and cherry pickers symbolizing Australians working in a modern world. The lighting of the flame is always spectacular and on this occasion Cathy Freeman stood in a circular pool of water and ignited the cauldron that was at her feet to produce a ring of
The importance of making a change to those living in poverty is shown through the use of
matter, but it was also to celebrate the strongest athletes. The Olympics have carried the torch every
Mihalik, B. J. (2000). Host population perceptions of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics: Attendance, support, benefits and liabilities. In J. Allen, R. Harris, L.
Australia 's prime minister had changed from John Curtin to Francis Forde to Ben Chifley. He realised that Australia needed a long term plan so that the people of Australia could protect and defend themselves from potential attacks. World War 2 ended in about 1945 and communists (people who wanted everyone to be equal) started popping up in Australia. Australia was under heaps of stress due to war and other issues and they needed to populate or perish.
Sport in Australia has grown increasingly important from 1945 to the present day as more traditional sports soon expanded into a wider variety of sports with many factors contributing to this change. As a result of the war, many men wanted membership opportunities to sporting clubs to reinforce the bonding of mateship they gained during the war. As well as Australian men getting more involved in sports, migrants from European countries started arriving in Australia, they also brought with them an interest in sports and in particular soccer. As the growing popularity of soccer was introduced it increased interest in more cultures to build clubs originating from their own country impacting on Australia’s multicultural upbringing. From the 1970s
At first thought, it may be difficult to understand any possible connection between sports and politics. The New International Webster's Dictionary of the English Language defines politics as 'the science of government', and sports as 'a particular game or physical activity pursued for diversion'. On the surface the two concepts have very little in common, yet their connection can be traced to antiquity and the first organized sporting events. The first Olympic games took place in Greece in the ninth century, b.c.e. to worship the gods, win personal glory, and, most importantly, unite the Greek city-states. At that time, Greece was made up of many small, isolated communities which, as they flourished, sought to dominate the others.
The Olympic games originated in Athens in 776 B.C. The more popular modern day Olympic games began nearly 2300 years later in 1896. The games no longer represented a religious festival, but a sports competition instead. The games can be studied via multiple aspects such as political, social, and economic, but this paper will concentrate on the economic aspect of the games and more specifically, the macroeconomic impacts the games possess.
When a country is selected to host the Olympics, they prepare years in advance for the games. Many times new stadiums, housing complexes, and training facilities are built yet the games will only last a few weeks. Billions of dollars are poured into assembling all the necessary components for this giant event but many people argue that all the money being spent on this event could be used to better the nation. For example, when the Olympics were held in Athens, facilities were built from the ground up and looked amazing while in use. However, after the games ended, the venues were hardly used and were just a burden to the country. As a result, countless Greek citizens criticized the government for their poor use of money. To add insult to injury, the money gained from the games did not equal or surpass the money spent, resulting in more criticism from various people. Same situation with Brazil, many areas inside of this country are populated, poor, and rundown but the national government still decided to host the games. Billions of dollars were spent to ready the country instead of actually helping improve it for
The Olympics are held every four years and are used as a global stage for many thousands of sportsmen and women who come from many different countries around the world to demonstrate their abilities ranging from running to rowing. In theory, the Olympic Games are supposed to be free from any politics and be purely about the athlete’s competition and celebrations. It is supposed to be non-gender, non-religion and non-race biased to show the accomplishment of the athletes that compete. Sporting officials are also supposed to be un-biased offering equal opportunities to all athletes.
As a sporting mega-event, the Olympic Games have numerous social impacts on the people, not only on those from the host country, but on individuals all over the globe.
Australia has always been centered around diversity and change, specifically with the vast multiculturalism and migrant culture throughout the nation. The specifics of Identity hold an important role in shaping our identity as students and as a nation. Australians pride themselves on being a land of the free and full of diverse culture. This is specifically referred to in our national Anthem; “For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine,”(McCormick, 1984). Displaying Australia’s open attitude towards immigrants and contributes to the diversity present within our society today. Even before this, much of Australia’s Identity was associated with caucasian culture (Originating from British Settlers). Which is the dominant perception of Australia through the media with australian representation being present through the stereotypes of Bogans, which was made popular through shows like Kath and Kim (ABC, 2007). Also, represented through the popular depiction of Australian people - the bushman made popular by movies like Crocodile Dundee (Faiman, 1986) and through famous real life bushman; Steve Irwin. An important aspect of Australian identity which is consistently neglected is the culture and representation of the initial owners of the land; the aboriginal people. Throughout history the constant mistreatment and neglect of the indigenous, has lead to a massive gap in privilege between the aboriginal people and our
Earlier in the 1980s Australia formed an elite national sports system to compete with the best athletes in the world. In the 1990s Australia gained extensive amount of benefits from this system as Australia created a new generation of worldwide successful sports stars.
Apart from the sport seen sometimes as boring, it also plays an important role in political
Cathy’s has embedded her name forever in Olympic history, due to her special role in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. As already mentioned, Cathy has definitely achieved her mission and dreams, as she won the 400-metre final becoming the athlete of the Games, permitting her to attain and be given the honour to light the cauldron in the Olympic Stadium. Just eleven days before being crowned the 1st Aboriginal to win gold, Cathy was able to attend an Opening Ceremony that celebrated both a century of women’s participation, as well as the heritage of Indigenous Australia’s. By all Cathy’s achievements and gratitude towards Australia’s Sporting Society, allowed and permitted all Aboriginal Australian’s that determination and willpower can absolutely overcome any amount of preconception and
Sport plays a huge role in today’s society. It contributes to one’s health and fitness, social interaction, social and motor skills, patriotism, fun and entertainment. It also stimulates the economy and tourism leading to interaction between different cultures, for example the Olympics, and sport role models. Sports clearly are an important part of cultures and societies around the world as such events as the Olympics