Aug 18 2008
Promise Rings
The International Olympic Committee awarded the Summer Games to Beijing in 2001 under the conditions that the government reduce pollution and increase protections of human rights. Beijing “promised” the International Olympic Committee (IOC) blue skies and press freedom. Many critics accuse Beijing of breaking their Olympic promises. But as the Beijing Games continue in spite of criticism, a future host country is committing violence far worse than censorship. Olympic promises are easy to break—is the IOC going to learn this lesson before the 2014 Games in Russia?
The 2014 Winter Olympics are going to be in the Crimean resort town of Sochi. Sochi is Putin’s favorite ski resort. He became personally invested in the bid, traveling to Guatemala City in July 2007 to pressure the IOCinto voting for Sochi over Pyeongchang, Korea, 51 to 47. This is the first time Russia will host the Winter Games.