Are the Olympics graying? Past their prime? Fuddy duddy? Ask Gen Y, they don't seem to care much about these games. A rethink is in order to save the games from the same fate as Expo.
Back in 1967, Expo had it’s finest hour. Montreal hosted what many believed to be the finest Expo to date. The pavilions could be seen tens of miles away protruding out of Helen’s Island in the middle of the St. Lawrence. People clamored to the event from all over the planet. My father made his reputation developing marketing for Expo 1967, and was brought to Japan to help the Japanese plan Expo in Osaka in 1970. Like the Olympics in Beijing, architecture was one of the main attractions of Expo. The US Pavilion at Expo '67 was designed by Buckminster Fuller:
Eiffel built his tower for the Paris Expo in 1900.
New York had two expos and you can still see the buildings left over from those events when landing in La Guadia.
No matter which city held an Expo, it was a world event. It was what everyone talked about. Still to this day, when I mention I was born in Montreal, I’m almost always asked if I have been to the old Expo site. Ten years later, few people could care much about where the world exposition was being held. By then, in the same city that held Expo 1967, the Olympics were being held.
Started back at the turn of the century, the Olympics brought the world together. The event never really eclipsed Expo. Berlin in 1936 and Rome came close. Munich was a disaster because of all the Israeli athletes killed by terrorists. But it wasn’t until the summer Olympics in Los Angles that the modern games broke through and connected with a world audience. And in the shadow of this, Expo kinda fell off to the historical wayside – primarily because Expo became less relevant to a new generation of people who cared less about the values of Expo.
As I watch the games in Beijing, I can’t help wondering if the same is happening to the Olympics. Sure Beijing, like Montreal and Paris, has it's remarkable architectural icon - the Bird's Nest. And, I know that baby boomers are flocking to watch the games – everyone I know who is older than 40 hasn’t slept all last week. Gen X is surely caught by the Olympic spirit. But Gen Y? Anyone under the age of 29 simply has nothing, except possibly beach volleyball, to capture their imagination. Shot put? Discus? High jump? Track and Field? Synchronized swimming? Horse Jumping? Not sure any of these events have much of a future of drawing a crowd. On their own they are of course fun to watch, but I think younger people want something very different.
Not the X games per se, but a rethink of the Olympic games is much needed.
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