The Future of the Olympics

Background

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is facing a decreasing number of bids to host the Olympics – both Summer and Winter Games. In the past, hosting the Olympics was highly competitive and prestigious. More recently, however, host cities/nations have experienced a variety of short- and long-term negative impacts. To address these issues, innovative problem- solvers are considering various options and strategies. For example, perhaps the Summer and Winter Games should each have a permanent location. Another idea is to split the Olympic sports into four (instead of two) groups and hold four smaller Olympic Games (e.g., Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall). This system might somewhat relieve the burden of hosting such a large event.