1992 Olympics and the Social,

1992 Olympics and the Social, Politcal, And Economic Effects They Had on Barcelona

The Olympic Games are one of the most well kept and respected traditions of our history and of our culture. In effect, they represent the cultural heritage of our global society. Despite the fact that the first modern Olympiad was considered by few to have been a success, the tradition was moved forward and it has now become one of the most awaited events in sports.

The history of the Games point out the evolution of the world we live in. The beginning was considered to have been rather tough, taking into account that there were few who actually enjoyed the spectacle. More precisely, "though they seemed an "indescribable spectacle" to some participants, those Games were a decidedly modest affair. Several dozen athletes from just a few countries competed in events, both classical and newfangled, before a Greek audience whose enthusiasm found no resonance abroad." (the Olympic Games, n.d.) From this point-of-view the entire initiative could have been totally abandoned. However, "from these inauspicious beginnings, the Olympics grew to become a grand spectacle, the largest regularly staged event in the world." (the Olympic Games, n.d.)

Today, the world is eagerly waiting for the 2008 Olympics hosted by China in Beijing. Still, from a retrospective point-of-view, it can be said that the Games have long ago lost its lack of importance in the economic area. In this sense, the forthcoming Olympic Games are well analyzed from this perspective. Thus, "the prospects for Beijing are bright; Yu Zaiqing, vice executive chairman of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOOC) estimates that these games will generate $30 million in profits. With expected costs of $2.4 billion, the BOOC will attempt to cover the Games operating costs through television broadcasts, marketing with sponsors and partners, branding and merchandise, and ticket sales" (Yang, 2008). Therefore, taking into account the fact that the Games have become a true industry and an enormous source of profit, it can be said that the spirit of the sports involved can well find support in the economic driven sponsors, participants, as well as politicians who can make the dream of the Olympiad possible.

Statistics have pointed out the fact that "every Olympic Games since 1976 has turned a profit" (Yang, 2008). The 1992 Olympiad in Barcelona made no exception. In this sense, the event hosted by the Catalan city proved to be as benefic for the city as it was for the sport.

There are several aspects which must be taken into consideration when discussing the benefits of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. In this sense, the Games impacted considerably on the economic, social, and political aspects of the country as well as of the world.

The economic factors play a major role in organizing such a large scale event. Every city assigned to host the Olympic Games faces many challenges and in some cases a true makeover, particularly from the point-of-view of the infrastructure and the sports facilities. However, all these changes entangle the development, indirectly, of a large number of additional aspects. Barcelona has a considerable experience in organizing large scale events, taking into consideration the fact that at the turn of the century it was the host of the Universal Exposition of 1888. Still, the 1992 Games represented the greatest challenge yet for the city. Thus, "the city council of Barcelona claims that Olympic Games played a huge role in setting off some regeneration plans. The city went through a transformation and eventually changed its image from a typical industrial city to a flexible city" (Barcelona: Urban Transformation, n.d.).

The architecture of the city is rather impressive and it represents the result of a century of artistic, cultural, and financial investments. At the beginning of the century, the urban plan aimed at creating a city in which the mix of culture, monuments, and neighborhoods would cater for the cultural and practical needs of the city dwellers as well as for the tourists. In this sense, "the policy focused on the idea of building an ideal city with ordered neighborhoods and great monuments" (Barcelona: Urban Transformation, n.d.). However, major changes came with the decision that the Catalan city would host the 1992 Olympic Games.

The economic aspect of the Games and the investments made in the city are rather hard to completely grasp and estimate. However, from the perspective of the improvements brought to the city, there are figures which would point out an approximation of the economic investments in the city. Thus, statistics show that the total Olympic investments for the city of Barcelona rose to almost 9.4 billion dollars, in the conditions in which for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics the total investments in the city was of slightly more than half a billion dollars (Barcelona: Urban Transformation, n.d.).Therefore, it can be said that the initial figures would suggest a huge process of construction and in the end of the profit brought in by hosting the event. Still, until now, despite the small amount of investments made, the 1984 Olympics remain the most profitable Olympic Games in the history, when "despite a boycott by the Soviet Union, the two-week event generated a profit of $224 million. By comparison, the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics produced a surplus of around 7 million Euros or close to $11 million" (Yang, 2008).

From an economic point-of-view, the Barcelona Olympics is worth mentioning as an example of the way in which funds can be raised from outside the state revenues. The total budget for the organization of the event benefited from an important sum of money offered by sponsors and donors. More precisely, the state's contribution to the Olympics was relatively limited in comparison to the funds raised from sponsorship deals and advertising. Thus, "Expressed in dollars, and in comparison with the figures obtained in Los Angeles '84, income for sponsorship was 3.7 times higher and television income 1.9 times higher. Sponsorship was organized according to Collaborating Partners, World Sponsors and Sponsors, Suppliers, Licensers, Suppliers of Sporting Material, and Collaborators of the Cultural Olympics" (Yang, 2008). Therefore, it can be noted the fact that the organization of the Spanish Committee in change of the Games proved very successful in reaching profitable deals with sponsors and donors by creating a structured system of synergetic efforts.

The figures presented are important from two points-of-view at least. On the one hand, they represent the minimum amount of money that was invested in the city as well as in the realization of the Games. This in turn led to the establishment of certain bold initiatives that would change the face of the city come the Olympics. More precisely, the plans to prepare Barcelona for the Olympics included the reconsideration of the urban plan of the city. Thus, "The major Olympic construction involves works such as opening up the sea front to the city, restoring the historical buildings in Gothic Quarters and on Montjuic Mountain and building the ring roads around the metropolitan area" (Barcelona: Urban Transformation, n.d.). Part of these plans was actually achieved and the redesign of the coastline facilities and access to the beach represent nowadays one of the most important assets of the city of Barcelona. For instance, "Nowadays the new beaches and waterfront facilities have transformed the landscape and become a new leisure attraction for both locals and visitors. The whole series of regenerating the coastline in the early 90's not only sufficiently provided the necessary infrastructures for the Olympic Games, but also created a continuing force to redefine the city in a bigger content." (Barcelona: Urban Transformation, n.d.)

Although the plan was indeed ambitious, there were secondary aspects which would determine a positive evolution of the modernization initiative. In this sense, the organizers took into account the improvement of road and transportation infrastructure, housing, office, and commercial venues, the telecommunication system, hotel facilities, sports facilities, as well the environmental infrastructure. (Barcelona: Urban Transformation, n.d) All these aspects were essential for managing to ensure a coherent development of events in the Catalan city as well as to offer the best facilities for the tourists coming to watch the Games unfolding.

An important aspect to be taken into account in relation to the major investments that were made especially in the infrastructure is the fact that the city managed to use as best as possible the funds coming from indirect investments. In this sense, the organizers of the Games were successful in using the money for fundamental aspects such as road infrastructure "which would have been extendedly after the Games" (Barcelona: Urban Transformation, n.d.) Therefore, the investments made in the city proved to be efficient and in the end useful for the future of the city, not only for the duration of the Games.

On the other hand, aside from the practical aspects of investments in the city and of the visible aspects of the Games, in relation to these figures however, is the social impact the organization of the Games had on Barcelona. Although there are no statistics to actually show the impact of the Games on the population, assumptions can be made, based on the potential impact the event might have had. According to analysts however, it appears that the impact the Olympics had on the job market was different from the expectations of the organizers. In this sense, "between 1987 and 1991 the number of jobs created in the construction sector were only 33.000, a figure much lower than was expected considering that three quarters of the total investment went towards the construction sector" (Games Monitor, 2007). There is no clear account on why the issue of job opportunities took such a turn especially taking into account the importance of the construction works that were undergone.

Another aspect marked the social issues concerning the Barcelona Games and their impact on the job market which is the lack of consistency for the job opportunities the Games had brought. More precisely, "in the hotel and catering trade sector only 20.000 new jobs appeared and only lasted the duration of the event, again, much less than was expected. In the other sectors, the labor impact was zero (we tend to forget that the Olympic volunteers take on a great amount of tasks that would otherwise generate jobs). During 1992, the number of jobs began to fall" (Games Monitor, 2007). Therefore, from a general perspective it can be said that the issue of the job opportunities was more or less an aspect of temporary employment, an aspect which did not contribute to the improvement in the quality of life of the population.

Despite mixed feeling concerning the impact the Games had on the city of Barcelona in terms of the social aspects, the immediate consequences of the sound investments in the region are important to mention. Indeed, the analysis of the Olympic period pointed out the fact that Barcelona went through a period of regress in terms of tourists and trade, in part due to the fact that the actual image of the city was overused during the Olympic Games. In this sense, "Barcelona experienced a reduction in visitors during the Olympic year, though there was a growth of 20% per annum in the number of visitors in each of the three years subsequent to 1992." Therefore, despite the fact that the immediate effects were lower than expected, on the long run, the Games benefited the city. At the same time, the Olympiad saved the region from experiencing at the same level the economic distress which affected the rest of Spain and other European countries. In this sense, "the Barcelona games provided an important support for the local economy through the investment of some $16.6 billion; thus providing a counterweight to the economic downturn experienced by Spain and several other European countries in the early 1990s." (Poynter, 2004)