There’s little evidence relevant government bodies are able to leverage hosting the Olympics to develop a sport participation legacy for the wider population.
Reuters/Kevin Coombs
The commonly believed mechanism for increasing sport participation assumes that elite sport performances result in a greater number of people taking up sport.
Cathy Freeman was criticised for flying the Aboriginal flag at the 1994 Commonwealth Games but the same act at the Sydney 2000 Olympics was hailed as a moment of reconciliation.
Reuters/Jerry Lampen
Medal counts for individual countries from the Sydney 2000 to London 2012 Olympics have been predicted relatively accurately, using just a small number of demographic and economic characteristics.