An Analysis of the Global Significance of the 2012 London Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony

& Media Athletics Greek mythology has had a large influence on modern day sports, especially the Olympic Games, held every four years in Olympus. The first Olympic games were held in 776 BCE, in honour of Zeus. Male contestants (ONLY men) participated in sports like javelin throwing, wrestling, and racing. Winners were awarded with crowns made of laurels and eternal glory in their city-state. Today, the Olympics are celebrated every two years, alternating between summer and winter. The types of sports played vary, depending on the season; for example, the summer Olympic Games include everything from judo to swimming, and the winter games include everything from freestyle skiing

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.

It is evident that hosting the Olympics games is no walk in the park. The countries trusted with this task have to spend billions to make the games a reality. Some people believe that the countries, even after spending billions of dollars benefit from the games, while others believe that the money can be spent elsewhere more efficiently. To reach a conclusion, one must study all of the different impacts in all of the different sectors the games have.

Sports are played and viewed on the television by individuals from every social class, however, the general population is mostly accountable for the tremendous popularity of sports. People from all over the world watch popular social events, such as the

The Olympics are a set of games that occur every 4 years in the winter and the summer. These games bring countries from all around the world together for friendly competition.

In today's media saturated culture, sports' programming has become a big business. The sporting industry, with annual revenues of over $100

Some 3,000 athletes (with more than 100 women among them) from 44 nations competed that year, and for the first time the Games featured a closing ceremony” (History). Since then, the Olympics have been held all over the world including; London, Mexico, Munich, Beijing, Los Angeles and Vancouver. The Olympics continued to be held every four years until 1994 when the Summer and Winter Games began to alternate every two years.

The Olympics is one of the few activities that brings the world together. The Olympics first started in the ancient times, dating back to 776 BC. They were first dedicated to Olympian gods, but modern games are to give athletes an opportunity to show their skill, and for others to enjoy watching them (“History”). The first modern world wide olympics was held in Athens, Greece in 1896, having 14 countries participate, with over 200 total athletes.

The present-day Olympics are more focused on individual athletes than nations. The media focuses more on the athletes’ achievements in terms of records broken, while the athletes’ focus on the monetary prizes to be won

In the past two decades, professional sports have skyrocketed to the top of the world’s cultural hierarchy. In an age where online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu are leeching viewers from conventional television networks, professional sports have witnessed almost unprecedented growth. According to a 2011 study by A.T. Kearney, the sports industry is growing faster than overall GDP in developed countries such as America (Collington, Sultan, and Santander,“The Sports Market”), and the 2015 Super Bowl was the most watched television broadcast in American history (Pallotta, “Super Bowl XLIX posts the largest audience in TV history”). As the amount of money and attention poured into this booming industry grows, the influence of its

The fundamental aim of this research is to measure the economic impact of the Olympics globally, regional and local.

The Olympic games started thousands of years ago, inspiring watchers even back then. It didn't have as many sports as it does now, but it had to have started somewhere. The Olympics provided benefits such as entertainment and religious significance. The games also provided the the ancient times with calendars, which have aided many historians in finding out certain periods of time. The games were great for Greece and it's neighbors.

Today every four years a designated country hosts nation from all over the world to compete in different activities such as track, swimming, soccer and many more. This worldwide event is referred to as the Olympic Games. However, the original Olympic Games were nothing like what is broadcasted today. The Olympic Games, originally a religious festival, in Olympia, Greece dating back 776 BC was a festival surrounded with competitive events to honor the Greek God Zeus but over time the games have been subject to a considerable makeover.

Ever since its inception in 1896, the Modern Olympics has hosted an invisible sport: politics. The Olympics calls for “a halt to all conflicts … [and to] strive towards a more peaceful world,” but politics soon spoiled its biennial message. “As the Olympics continue to dissolve into … a political competition … they no longer … justify the time and trouble,” Dave Anderson, Pulitzer Prize winner for his sports column, wrote in the New York Times in 1984. The Olympic spirit has routinely been used as an outlet for political agendas. With political and Olympic ambitions intersected, the great international sports festivity negatively affects all nations involved.

As there are many important variables in this decision process that are not under the direct control of the sports marketer such as the players performance or lack of competition in match, it is vital to ensure that fans enjoy a positive experience. It is necessary in an increasingly competitive and cluttered sporting landscape to strategically manage the variables that are under the control of sports marketers. It is essential to the sports marketer to understand which dimensions spectators perceive as important (Michael D. Clemes, 2011).