The Vast Political Landscape Of Sports
Politics directly related with economic issues, influence the course of action one country might choose against another and certainly affect the role of sports, since they are a vital part of a nation’s role in the global scene. Through boycotting sports events or using athletes for propaganda purposes, individual countries have tried over past practices to impose their political views and affect the world’s understanding. But especially because of the immense public’s interest in international athletic events, influencing political views and gaining valuable exchange power becomes an important issue on a nation’s sport agenda, while the danger of engagement in ‘country-battles’ in the international relations field, does not always count as a serious disadvantage.
At the same time, the commercialism that accompanies spectator sports gradually engulfs both amateur and professional events. By the late 20th century, the televising of athletic events had made sports as the ‘new’ big business. On the other hand, the expanding public concern on personal physical health led to mass participation, not necessarily competitive, in sports like running, hiking, cycling, martial arts, and gymnastics. Athletic activity by women expanded, especially after political action in the 1960s and 1970s opening close doors of the past to many forms of competition and an increased share of public funding for sports.
Private interests for profit and publicity work alongside with more global issues like economic integration and free trade, and as they have already proved they will surely continue to affect sports future role. Countries use sports either to impose their economic power over others, or to elevate their current one. Due to sports’ great costs, governments engage themselves in promoting and supporting these economic needs by authorising special public monetary programs or by seeking private financing (lecture notes). Corporate sponsorships are today a reality, as companies spend about $6 billion annually sponsoring activities ranging from the Olympic Games to the World Cup. The popularity of sponsored events is increasing due to several reasons. They enhance the reputation and image of the sponsor, they provide a focal point for marketing efforts and sales campaigns, and they generate publicity and media coverage. More cost-effective than advertising, sponsorships include prestige and at times target a worldwide audience. Broadcasting rights, ticket sales, merchandising, and sponsorships, are the main reasons of sport’s unique role for a country’s strategy.
Historically proven, sport has acted as a liaison between nations and contributed to their evolution. Beginning with the sociological, psychological and physiological aspects of the human nature, sport has gained the praise of people worldwide, as it has contributed to their well being. Group-oriented, since in order to be a winner one has to compete, sport brings people closer together and generates team-spirit along with mind and physical awareness. Moreover, living today in the information age, sport experts believe that sport is greatly influenced by the actions of individual nations, as well as by the international trends that influence the world economy. As sport is always a spectacle, sport athletes have become professional ambassadors that through them their country’s culture is promoted and their achievements contribute to its fame. Sports in this global society has become lately an issue of great concern and studies worldwide provide valuable information about the political, geographical, economic, cultural, social, aesthetic and historical aspects of sport that will ‘shape’ its future role.
Jonathon Hardcastle
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/the-vast-political-landscape-of-sports-61337.html
What is the ‘Australian’ culture…? ?
What is the ‘Australian’ culture…? ?
To me migrants from every corner of the world throughout history made what Australia is today, so it’s a mixture of all diverse multi-cultures…
Sure Footy and cricket is a real ‘loved by most Aussies’ but that doesn’t proove your Australian’ess’ if you dislike it, It was a known sport worldwide so that doesn’t make us unAustralian
Australia is still a young culture and all I can think of ‘Australian food’ is tucker from the dirt i.e.maggots, the bush areas or kangaroo ‘pie’ but pie comes from Europe just that added different flavour…
I think it’s more of a English, Irish, Welsh or European that greatly influenced it during the convict settlement, early migrations and settlement, and the Australian-Chinese came back along way away from the Gold Rushes so you might be an aussie-chinese 4th Asian Aussies
We’re also known for a laid back generosity and easy going natures
and I don’t think there is such thing as ‘our culture’ because our culture is mixed, I’ve seen and from experience many patriotic/ some white racist supremasist Australians but I feel sorry that they don’t understand what ‘Australia’ is like; I’d just watch them say ‘Aussie pride this and Aussie pride that’
geez we eat burgers created from USA, coffee beans prob Africa, Brazil or Europe, pastrys from France, kebabs and a mixture of Asian spicy foods…so we adapt these changes and often take things for granted making it look as if ‘we own everything’
I would here Greek and Italian students being teased at i.e. books and experience yet we see ‘aussies’ eating spaghetti, it’s hilarious yet to think we can be so stupidly dumb and take everything for granted…
We take advantage of the fact that this land was orignially from the indigenous people yet we still here racial discrimination or any other prejudices unhumane and cruel…
Speech by Penny wong, excerp
I seek a nation that is truly one nation, one in which all Australians can share, regardless of race. Instead, I believe we are in danger of being swamped by prejudice. Let us speak openly and honestly about race in this country, about what last year’s election signified and about where we are now. Let us speak openly about the damage that has been done and let us do it without being subject to the dismissive and disrespectful taunts about political correctness. In recent years there has been much preaching from the current Prime Minister about political correctness, that we have had too much of it. Instead now we have a climate in which someone who speaks out about injustice, prejudice or discrimination is dismissed as simply being politically correct. Compassion has been delegitimised—instead it is seen as elitism. It is as if we have developed a new orthodoxy, one in which it is correct to defend racism but incorrect to defend tolerance. We have a new political correctness.
When I and many others speak of the way this government engenders division and not unity, we do not do so because it is politically correct. We do so because we believe it, because we see it and because it saddens us. We say that what has been done and said is wrong, not because we ascribe to some obscure elitist moral code but because we believe it is harmful to our community. Prejudice and distrust cannot build a community but they can tear one apart.
Australia is a country of vast distances and open spaces and many different environments. It is no less diverse in its peoples than in its landscape. This diversity can be an aspect of our shared identity or it can be the fault line around which our community fractures.
In the decades since the arrival of Europeans to this land, race has been a rather uncomfortable topic for us—first, in the subjugation of the Aboriginal peoples of this land, and later in how we dealt with the various waves of migrants to our shores. We all know that we had the White Australia Policy until the late 1960s, with bipartisan support.
To continue reading Penny Wong’s speech visit this site
http://www.aph.gov.au/SEnate/senators/ho…
I dunno but I feel like that, I’m a Vietnamese-Australian, born and raised here and my parents came from the Vietnam War to escape the ‘ darkness’ there by of course, we face these challenges in life, racism or not… It used to lead me to wonder, `How long do you have to be here and how much do you have to love this country before you are accepted?’