What started with religion, art, and music in ancient Greece is now a melting pot of political, economic and social factors.
The Olympics kicked off in Paris this week amid a splendid opening ceremony performed on boats over the water, and a startling spectacle is par for course to revitalise an event that has survived antiquity.
New sports, including skateboarding and break-dancing, will aim to put a modern spin to reel in younger fans, and keep interest going for many more years.
The Olympics, it seems, has never been more in need of a shot in the arm when it comes to younger fans, with younger people now tuning in to e-sports, and instead, tuning out of the ancient show of physical might.
Bond University sport and international relations expert, professor Stuart Murray, says one curious aspect of the event, despite its enormity, is that the fanbase can be quite niche.
“It really does appeal to an elite level of person,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Those who can afford to fly from the U.S. to Paris for three weeks and drink wine.”
Mr. Murray says drumming up excitement among Australian fans this time around could prove a feat because of the time difference and geography.
Much of the world will, however, be tuning in for better or worse. In fact, billions of eyes are expected to be on the games which makes the Olympic stage a veritable platform for the best and worst of humanity.
The Games During a Time of Tension
Speaking after the Munich Massacre—a terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympic Games that killed 11 Israeli athletes—the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Avery Brundage noted that “sadly, the greater and more important the Olympic Games become, the more they are open to commercial, political, and now criminal pressure.”Professor Murray said the same was true of Paris in 2024—a time when geopolitical tensions continue with the Israel-Hamas war, the Ukraine war, and increased terrorist activity in sub-Saharan Africa.
Cultural turmoil continues over climate change, gender, and unemployment.
French officials have expressed concerns of terrorism and cyber attacks. Visitors have reported a strong police and military presence on the streets—a stark contrast with historic notions of the city of love.
Some Australians have already reported incidents of sexual assault and being mugged in Paris.
In April, an 18-year-old Chechen teenager suspected of plotting an Islamist-inspired attack on a football game was arrested in what was termed the first foiled attack targeting the games.
“As Michel Foucault, the French philosopher would advise, sport is but a social institution that like art, war or music, simply reflects the era in which it finds itself,” Mr. Murray said.
Hope Amid the Chaos
Academics from the University of South Australia say that while most sporting fans don’t support the mix of sports with politics, the two often end up as strange bedfellows.A joint study with Teesside University in the UK found 80 percent of football fans like to keep the two separate, but Professor Jamie Cleland from the University of South Australia says the practice is nothing new.
He says protests at the Olympics date back to 1906 when English athlete Peter O'Connor climbed up the Olympic flagpole with an Irish flag in protest of being called a British competitor.
“You’ve really got to look at the Olympics as a means to an end,” Mr. Murray says.
But despite the episodic periods of social discord and dispute, Mr. Murray says the key elements of the Games stand the test of time—goodwill, good economics, and good behaviour.
In a firm display of playing the global parent, the IOC will make itself clear on the values of the games.
There will be no judges from the Taliban due to women being banned from competition in Afghanistan, and Russians will compete but as neutral agents.
“It’s an aspirational thing, it’s about hope, about peace,” Mr. Murray said.
