Anyone who follows the Olympics knows there are some media narratives that happen every four years and always turn out the same. There are myths and then reality. Since so many people ask me about those stories, I built my own list over the years. For your entertainment, I thought I’d share them. I could go and easily find multiple stories to support each of these – but they are the stories you see every time and will definitely happen in four years before the LA 2028 games too.
Myth #1: The Olympic city won’t be ready for the games, venues won’t be finished or won’t function as planned, the past host city will need to take over and host the Games again or everything will be a disaster.
Reality: Everything gets done, venues are operational and aside from minor hiccups (like rain during an Opening Ceremonies), things generally work out.
Myth #2: Traffic will be terrible, everything will be gridlocked, transit will be a nightmare and the host city will be unable to manage the crowds.
Reality: Local work and business travel mostly disappear. Olympic fans rely mostly on public transportation. This causes traffic to conversely be lower than usual and the locals who do stay love it.
Myth #3: Businesses in the host city will see a boom in visitors, revenue and traffic from all the Olympic visitors.
Reality: Most Olympic venues are self-contained, it’s hard to eat elsewhere, shops are mostly official, and venues are in very specific regions. All this means less optimally located local vendors such as stores, restaurants and others often see their sales go down and are disappointed.
Myth #4: It will be impossible to get tickets to any events, hotels and accommodation will be totally sold out and there’s no point in trying to attend if you haven’t booked everything a year or more in advance.
Reality: You could literally decide today that you want to attend Paris 2024, get a flight this weekend, find accommodation and get tickets to see at least some events. It may be more expensive and obviously requires having the cash to spend, but you could also land a great deal because it’s last minute and it’s certainly possible. Let me know if you do choose to come and I can probably help you get some tickets too. 🙂
