2012 London Olympics

The opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics air tonight on NBC at 5:30pm Mountain Time. World Denver is very excited to watch with the rest of the world how the athletes perform and to root for the US team! The Olympics represents an opportunity for the world's countries and cultures to come together in the spirit of sportsmanship and celebrate global athletic accomplishment. More than that though, the Olympics play a powerful role in international relations. Indeed, Dr. Sisk of the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School argues that the Olympics are a strong reflection of the relations between countries. His 2002 interview where he discusses the Olympics' role in promoting international understanding and peace is still relevant to tonight's Olympics. You can listen to it in full here: http://www.cpr.org/article/legacy-archive-187#.UBKjacEEKsM.facebook. The Olympics does bring people from countries all over the world to participate on the field, in the stands, and watching online and on TV. Although sometimes overlooked by the focus on who gets the most medals or the focus on corporate sponsors and commercialism, when one looks at the ideals of a competition like the Olympic Games through the Olympic Charter, there is an effort to go beyond who wins a medal and engage in concepts of Olympic Peace, the Olympic Truce, and Olympism:

"The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a
peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced
without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which
requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity
and fair play." – Olympic.org – Commission for Culture and Olympic
Education

There is also a sense of philanthropy: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) partners with the UN to support Millenium Goal efforts and under the banner "Sports for Hope", the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is providing young people in developing countries with opportunities to practice sport and be educated on the Olympic values. The organisations partnering with Football for Hope are clustered in five focus areas: health promotion, peacebuilding, children's rights & education, anti–discrimination & social integration, and the environment. Here you can also see data on a range of indicators on the countries sending athletes, including the correlation between democracy and Olympic medals: http://www.idcr.org.uk/the-olympic-dream