The global sporting legacy of the Olympic Movement†

Abstract

What has been the impact of the Olympic Movement on the long-term development of sport around the world? The obvious answer is that it has been transformative, but what about the details? To what extent does the International Olympic Committee (IOC) deliberately plan its activities and structure the Olympic and Winter Olympic Games to bring about long-term, sustainable opportunities for sport and physical activity? How could it do this more effectively? In recent years, the most frequently cited – and studied – Olympic legacies are in the areas of infrastructure (urban renewal, transportation, communications, housing, and sports facilities), international ‘branding’ and tourism, accessibility, and the enhanced capacity of community leaders. The benefits to sport and physical activity are simply taken for granted, on the assumption that new and refurbished sporting facilities and the inspiration of champions ensure increased participation in sport and physical activity. Yet recent research indicates that ‘inspiration is not enough’, that without planned, accessible, and sustained new programmes to build upon the interest generated by Olympic Games, increased participation may not occur. In Canada, for example, despite a long history of successful games and heroic athletic performances, child and youth participation rates in sport and physical activity continue to fall. Yet in the build-up to the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver, none of the Canadian sports federations in the Olympic winter sports were engaged in legacy planning or programming, nor did anyone encourage them to do so. I wrestled with these questions in this paper, written in 2002 for a conference jointly sponsored by the Olympic Study Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the IOC. I concluded that the IOC must do much more to institutionalize and strengthen its contribution to sport and physical activity.