The Olympics are an excellent tourism opportunity

There is arguably no larger international stage than the Olympic Games. To even bid, let alone host, draws unprecedented attention to a country in a positive light. If the games are held and marketed the right way, cities can use the Olympic Games as an opportunity to promote themselves. Following the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics, the city became revitalized and transformed from an “industrial backwater” to a desirable tourist destination, a legacy that continues to this day.^[1] Sydney, after holding a successful game in 2000, increased its tourism and prestige due to their excellent organization. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games had a global audience of five billion broadcasted in 200 countries.^[2] As they were the first games held in the country, it shared Brazilian culture at an unparalleled level. Furthermore, the games set a tourism record with 6.6 million foreign tourists.^[3] Cities like PyeongChang, which hosted the most recent Winter Games in 2018, brought millions of people to a city previously largely unknown on an international scale.^[4] Tourism brought by the games creates an influx during the host year and often maintains a trickle-down effect in the years to come.