Posted on Harvard Business Review
https://hbr.org/2016/08/the-olympics-needs-a-new-business-model
The Olympic games is facing a identity issue. One thing certain is that all debaters agree that the future of the Olympics has to be sustainable. If Pierre de Coubertin was a businessman and the purpose of the Olympics is to create a profit, then yes, a franchise model is appropriate. However, I disagree that the "Games" is more than that. In my view, the Olympics is essentially a message, "this is our country and have a great time experiencing the culture as you compete in peace". So, I believe that the Olympics should follow an Airbnb model, allowing visitors to "experience the culture" and hopefully visitors will 'recommend' to others, inviting more tourists post-olympics. In my standards , the green pool is a big negative for Rio. It showed viewers their ability to maintain a 'healthy' pool is questionable. It is going to take time to erase that image from my head.
Upgrading stadiums is both an expensive and inevitable cost. But the success of the Games is dependent on creating an atmosphere so that people would want to revisit rather then a healthy balance sheet.
Original draft in Wordpress
Relocated on February 18, 2018