INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

human springtime. While the initial ideal of Courbertin of elitism and
amateurism was fit into his time, the end of 19th century, his concept
of ‘internationalism’ and ‘universalism’ seem contradictory, as both
terms are narrowly defined to, for example, exclude women and
disabled people from the Olympics. It can be argued, however, that his
thoughts on the re-establishment of Olympics overall were in flux and
that there is no well-defined philosophical theory towards Olympism.
This has led to various arguments and interpretations.
The Olympic Games have expanded and gone through processes
of mediatization, spectaculation, professionalization and
commercialisation. This has led to the dissolution of amateurism as
the fundamental Olympic value, which has been replaced by
professionalism and emphasis on business-oriented achievements and
performance. It can be appropriate, thus, to argue that as the Olympic
Games becomes dominated by the basis of mass-media coverage and
commercialisation, the discrepancy between the ideals of Coubertin
and the reality of the Games has increased. Now that modern
Olympism has changed so drastically from its original roots, one has
to stop and reflect on the direction in which the Games are heading.
Current IOC President Jacques Rogge has stated on several occasions
that one of his main aims is to bridge the gap between rich and poor
countries, thus enforcing the concept of universalism. Although the
ideals have been modified according to the political, commercial and
economic interests contributing to make the Olympics popular culture,
the next section identifies three areas of issues the Olympic movement
has faced the challenges and gives some suggestions.
Issues and Suggestions
1) Socio-political problems
The following socio-political problems can be identified: 1) clash
between universalism and localism/nationalism; 2) Euro-centrism; 3)
security problems and the fear of international terrorism; and 4)
environmental protection. The fundamental idea of the Olympic
Movement, universalism, is threatened by the expression and
representation of nationalism and localism. For instance, at the
opening ceremony of Games and throughout the Games, iconic image
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