Interviewed by: Doménica Ordóñez, Daniela Guerrero, Martína Jiménez
Kevin Holland was a citizen of Georgia, Atlanta. He was in Atlanta when the Olympic games where hosted there.
1. Do you think the country/city is benefited by hosting the Olympics? Why or why not?
I think any country is benefited by hosting the Olympics. Hosting the Olympics is only an economic boon to a country, and since globalization is now an inevitability, a country needs events like the Olympics to make it a true player on the international scene. During the Olympics, all eyes are on the host country, and its cultural and unique socio-economic atmosphere become known throughout the world.
2. Which do you think is bigger, the investment or the income during the Olympics? Why?
I'm sure the income is bigger. The benefits of hosting the Olympics last much longer than the Olympics themselves. The Olympics always have some sort of historical remnant: hosting sites become tourist attractions, as I'm sure the swimming pools where Michael Phelps earned his record-breaking victories, and new hotels and businesses can crop up and thrive.
3. Have you ever been in a city that is hosting the Olympics? If you were how was it?
I live only 45 minutes by car outside Atlanta, and I remember when the city hosted the Olympics in 1996. I remember that the entire state of Georgia was greatly excited. You couldn't drive into Atlanta because there were so many people crowding into the city—people from all over the world. It was chaos in Atlanta, but it was pretty amazing to be in the center to the world.
4. Do you think it’s good to have lots of people going to the Olympics? Why or why not?
I think it's great. It brings money into the city—and an international flavor. If a diverse, multicultural world is humanity's desired future, then having cities all over the world host the Olympics is one positive step toward that goal. All countries come together for peaceful competition; it is a healthy, peaceful way for the world to exercise (and exorcise) international aggression.
5. Do the Olympics affect the daily life of the citizens of the hosting city? Why do you say that?
Certainly they do. But then again, whether these effects are positive or negative depends on the culture of the host city. For example, Atlanta is a city of cars; almost every person above the age of 16 owns his own car, partly because Atlanta promotes a kind of economic individualism and party because the city offers little public transportation. Traffic in Atlanta, then, was chaos in '96 when we hosted the Olympics; but the citizens, I'm sure, were okay with that, because the economic benefits to the city, the way wealth poured in and was distributed among the populace, more than made up for daily quibbles with auto congestion.
6. Do you think that by hosting the Olympics there is more chance to have a terrorist attack? Why or why not?
I don't really think so. In fact, I'm of the political persuasion that the Western world, especially the United States, has greatly overestimated the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, and now we're neglected real problems like environmental and economic crises. The Olympics come in, security increases, and the Olympic attendees are likely safer because of the international attention. The Olympics promote peace, and sure, there's always a danger of terrorism when a large international community gathers together; but that's a threat we live with in an open society—but it's a threat that, given the sparse activity of terrorist cells in the past nine years, isn't any greater than a threat from, say, a hurricane or a new strain of flu. And who's going to stop the Olympic games just because a few people in Cambodia are complaining of a hacking cough? These are just the risks you take.
Picture website:http://news.about-knowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/winter-olympics-2010.jpg
Kevin Holland was a citizen of Georgia, Atlanta. He was in Atlanta when the Olympic games where hosted there.
1. Do you think the country/city is benefited by hosting the Olympics? Why or why not?
I think any country is benefited by hosting the Olympics. Hosting the Olympics is only an economic boon to a country, and since globalization is now an inevitability, a country needs events like the Olympics to make it a true player on the international scene. During the Olympics, all eyes are on the host country, and its cultural and unique socio-economic atmosphere become known throughout the world.
2. Which do you think is bigger, the investment or the income during the Olympics? Why?
I'm sure the income is bigger. The benefits of hosting the Olympics last much longer than the Olympics themselves. The Olympics always have some sort of historical remnant: hosting sites become tourist attractions, as I'm sure the swimming pools where Michael Phelps earned his record-breaking victories, and new hotels and businesses can crop up and thrive.
3. Have you ever been in a city that is hosting the Olympics? If you were how was it?
I live only 45 minutes by car outside Atlanta, and I remember when the city hosted the Olympics in 1996. I remember that the entire state of Georgia was greatly excited. You couldn't drive into Atlanta because there were so many people crowding into the city—people from all over the world. It was chaos in Atlanta, but it was pretty amazing to be in the center to the world.
4. Do you think it’s good to have lots of people going to the Olympics? Why or why not?
I think it's great. It brings money into the city—and an international flavor. If a diverse, multicultural world is humanity's desired future, then having cities all over the world host the Olympics is one positive step toward that goal. All countries come together for peaceful competition; it is a healthy, peaceful way for the world to exercise (and exorcise) international aggression.
5. Do the Olympics affect the daily life of the citizens of the hosting city? Why do you say that?
Certainly they do. But then again, whether these effects are positive or negative depends on the culture of the host city. For example, Atlanta is a city of cars; almost every person above the age of 16 owns his own car, partly because Atlanta promotes a kind of economic individualism and party because the city offers little public transportation. Traffic in Atlanta, then, was chaos in '96 when we hosted the Olympics; but the citizens, I'm sure, were okay with that, because the economic benefits to the city, the way wealth poured in and was distributed among the populace, more than made up for daily quibbles with auto congestion.
6. Do you think that by hosting the Olympics there is more chance to have a terrorist attack? Why or why not?
I don't really think so. In fact, I'm of the political persuasion that the Western world, especially the United States, has greatly overestimated the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, and now we're neglected real problems like environmental and economic crises. The Olympics come in, security increases, and the Olympic attendees are likely safer because of the international attention. The Olympics promote peace, and sure, there's always a danger of terrorism when a large international community gathers together; but that's a threat we live with in an open society—but it's a threat that, given the sparse activity of terrorist cells in the past nine years, isn't any greater than a threat from, say, a hurricane or a new strain of flu. And who's going to stop the Olympic games just because a few people in Cambodia are complaining of a hacking cough? These are just the risks you take.
Picture website:http://news.about-knowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/winter-olympics-2010.jpg
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