It would be very wrong to diminish the majesty and international scope of the Olympic Games by, as some are suggesting, anchoring them in Greece or on permanent sites on five continents.
The seemingly endless problems with this year’s Rio Games have prompted calls to stop having nations compete to host the contests and hold them instead in permanent facilities in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
This would be a serious mistake. It would deprive nations of a chance to show national pride, make economic gains and, most importantly, make history.
The Olympics represent the absolute ultimate opportunity to showcase a national identity on the global stage.
For example, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics marked a shining moment in Japan’s history, an occasion that restored national pride after a humiliating World War II defeat and heralded the country’s long, victorious climb toward international economic power.
Those Olympics helped rebuild the nation’s infrastructure; the bullet train connecting Tokyo and Osaka started operating just days before the games were held that October, and the core of the Metropolitan Expressway, the highway system in central Tokyo, was newly constructed. Tokyo’s public transportation network was given a major boost, while the public broadcasting system was upgraded, encouraging families to purchase color television sets.
In Great Britain, during the 2012 Olympics, polls showed that a vast majority of British men felt a renewed sense of national pride because their nation was hosting the games. This is invaluable to a nation.
The Olympics have also made history for reasons larger than the games themselves.
During the Berlin 1936 Olympics, Hitler planned to show the world that the Aryan people were the dominant race. Jesse Owens, an African-American, proved him wrong and sealed his place in Olympic history by becoming the most successful athlete of those games.
Owens also became the first American to win four track and field gold medals at a single Olympics, a record that stood unbroken for 48 years.
The fact that Owens did this in, of all places, Berlin added much luster to his achievements. Hitler wouldn’t have been as humiliated if the Olympics had been held anywhere else in the world, including Greece.
The Olympics belong to the world, not to any single nation. Any major city that wants to foot the bill should be eligible to host them.
Whitt Flora, an independent journalist, covered the White House for The Columbus Dispatch and was chief congressional correspondent for Aviation Week &Space Technology magazine. Readers may write him at 319 Shagbark Road, Middle River, Md., 21220.