International sports are events where participants represent more than one nation. The most famous examples include the Olympic Games and football World Cup. They are part of the globalisation of sport, which is a phenomenon that has influenced politics, economics, and culture around the world.
The Olympic Games, first held in Ancient Greece in 776 BC and re-occurring every four years since 1896, have become the most internationally recognised and prestigious sporting event in the world. The modern Olympics are organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and hosted by cities which must win the bids to host them by proving they have the infrastructure, facilities and political stability to ensure that the Games are a success.
In addition to the prestige of hosting an Olympic Games, winning a bid for a major international event can be beneficial for the country or city. A successful event will increase the country’s global standing as well as bringing in tourism and investment. This can help a country develop and grow, such as the case of Barcelona which hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics and transformed from being an industrial port town into a tourist destination.
However, hosting an international event can also benefit corrupt governments that use the money brought in to line their own pockets. For example, Zohreh Abdollahkhani, from the University of South-Eastern Norway, recently presented a paper at Play the Game in Trondheim about how international athletes could be manipulated by authoritarian regimes into siding with them.