Introduction – Quit Playing Games (With Our Earth)

Hello and welcome back to Quit Playing Games (With Our Earth)! For most readers, you might have seen my previous post on the growing problem of anthropogenic-induced Olympic pollution, and obtained a brief understanding of the issue’s deep-rooted nature. However, you might still be wondering exactly how severe the impact of the Olympic Games on the environment is — to what extent is it changing weather patterns and causing disruptions to our ecosystem?

The simple answer is that we cannot be certain, given inherent difficulties in data collection. Being a highly-celebrated mega event, the Olympic Games attracts massive numbers of spectators and tourists who wish to experience the Olympic spirit lingering in host cities. A case in point would be the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which drew in a whopping 1.17 million tourists, twice of that for the widely hyped 2014 World Cup (de Faria Nogueira and Di Cola, 2018). While such dense tourism inflows are welcomed by host cities for the economic growth they bring, they also make it challenging for authorities to determine the exact extent of pollutive activities and consequently, the amount of pollution generated.

Record tourist numbers were observed in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympic Games (China Daily, 2016)

As per Figure 1, the calculation of carbon footprint by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) only accounted for those who were officially recognised by the IOC to have attended the Olympics — such as sports experts and staff — or purchased Olympic-related merchandise. Pollution data could thus be understated, as the consumption patterns of the aforementioned tourists who were also present at the Olympic Games were not acknowledged. In fact, this was observed for the 2016 Olympic Games, where transport-related pollution data was under-calculated. While IOC reports had expressed hope of falling carbon emissions, with approximately 28500 athletes and staff to be flown via the carbon offset scheme (Clark, 2016), some argued otherwise, pointing out that spectators travelling by air were not included. This reinforces the sheer difficulty of quantifying pollution data at mega events, with certain pollutive activities falling under authorities’ radars.

Figure 1: A breakdown of the carbon footprint produced in 2016 and 2017, which were Olympic Games and non-Games years respectively (IOC, 2018)

Nevertheless, we should still exercise environmental consciousness at the Olympic Games, and strive to minimise pollution. While making a consumption choice takes mere seconds, removing the pollutants released during that consumption takes years, and even decades. This concept of residence time, which refers to the average time a pollutant spends in a pollution medium before being removed (Zhao et al., 2020), will be further elaborated in subsequent posts on water pollution, so stay tuned!

References

China Daily (2016). Rio sees 1.17 million tourists during Olympics, zero cases of Zika [Online image]. China Daily. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2016rioolympics/2016-08/25/content_26591901.htm

Clark, S. (2016, August 18). The Environmental Impact Of The Olympics. HuffPost. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/-frontier/the-environmental-impact-_b_11581162.html

de Faria Nogueira, M. A., & Di Cola, L. F. L. L. (2018). From marvelous city to Olympic city: the image of Rio de Janeiro as tourist destination. In Z. Pinto-Coelho & R. Pinto (Eds.), Revista Lusófona de Estudos Culturais/Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies (pp. 103-120). Centro de Estudos of Communication and Society.

International Olympics Committee (2018). IOC Sustainability Report [Online image]. International Olympics Committee. https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/IOC/What-We-Do/celebrate-olympic-games/Sustainability/IOC%20Sustainability%20Report_Final%20Rev1.pdf

Zhao, N., Wang, G., Li, G., Lang, J., & Zhang, H. (2020). Air pollution episodes during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China: An insight into the transport pathways and source distribution. Environmental Pollution, 267, 1-11. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.envpol.2020.115617

It is indisputable that the Olympic Games remains one of the most celebrated events in history. Held once every four years, the Olympic Games not only attracts massive numbers of spectators eager to catch sporting action, but also extensive coverage from media houses eager to capture the latest updates. A study by the International Olympic Committee (2021) reported that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games had a viewership of 3.05 billion — an all-time high. I was one of the 3.05 billion myself, watching excitedly as national swimmer Joseph Schooling fought to the finish line (and I am sure you would have, too).

But the grandeur of the Olympic Games goes beyond huge crowds and widespread publicity — it is also evident in the placemaking strategies that policymakers adopt to uplift their cities’ urban image (De Brito and Richards, 2017). Iconic stadiums and recreational infrastructure pepper cities’ skylines, not only creating an artistic spectacle but also painting pictures of liveable homes. Such is the case for the Chinese city of Beijing — during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, multiple sports and recreational venues like the Beijing National Stadium were constructed, adding vibrancy to Beijing’s landscape.

The iconic Beijing National Stadium that was home to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (National Geographic, n.d.)

Beneath the glitz and glamour of the Olympic Games lies a grim reality, however. Across various stages of the Olympic Games, from initial preparations to actual matches, significant amounts of pollution are being generated through human activities. These include the transportation of athletes and spectators to venues in carbon-intensive transport modes, display of light shows, and many others that remain unseen to the public but hurt the ecosystem equally deeply. Yet, such anthropogenic pollution is only likely to worsen, given the established nature and sheer scale of the Olympic Games that make it challenging to implement environmental reforms in the short-term (Clark, 2016).

Smog-filled skies in Beijing during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (Jamieson, 2009)

This is why I started ‘Quit Playing Games (With Our Earth)’ — to shed light on this pressing issue of Olympic pollution that we overlook amidst our enduring focus on the matches (and our favourite athletes). Subsequently, I will not only be exploring the types of pollution produced by the Olympic Games and their impacts, but also the green initiatives that host cities have and will be implementing. Hopefully, as you accompany me on this journey, you will better understand how the Olympic Games contributes to environmental pollution, and be inspired to think about how you can also play a part in making the event a greener one!

References

Clark, S. (2016, August 18). The Environmental Impact Of The Olympics. HuffPost. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/-frontier/the-environmental-impact-_b_11581162.html

De Brito, M. P., & Richards, G. W. (2017). Events and placemaking. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 8(1), 8-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-09-2016-0063

International Olympics Committee. (2021, December 8). Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 watched by more than 3 billion people [Press release]. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/olympic-games-tokyo-2020-watched-by-more-than-3-billion-people#:~:text=The%20Olympic%20Games%20Tokyo%202020,International%20Olympic%20Committee%20(IOC).&text=A%20total%20of%203.05%20billion,linear%20TV%20and%20digital%20platforms

Jamieson, A. (2009). Beijing Olympics were the most polluted games ever, researchers say [Online image]. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/london-2012/5597277/Beijing-Olympics-were-the-most-polluted-games-ever-researchers-say.html

National Geographic. (n.d.). Beijing National Stadium [Online image]. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/photo/tdigh-04-06-olympics/

Category: Introduction

Just how severe is Olympic pollution?

Introduction: Understanding Olympic Pollution