Cruel Summer: What's Messed Up About The Olympic Games

Image via Marcus Castellano (CC)

In just a few hours the 2016 Summer Olympics will kick off with the over-the-top pomp and circumstance of the traditional opening ceremony. Fireworks! Costume changes! Supermodels! Human rights violations! Athletes and spectators from all over the world have traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which has been preparing to host the games since winning the bid in 2009. On the official Rio 2016 website, the International Olympic Committee claims that hosting the Olympic Games will provide “an opportunity to deliver the broader aspirations for the long-term future of the city, region and country–an opportunity to hasten the transformation of Rio de Janeiro into an even greater global city.”

Well, Rio has certainly been transformed by the Olympics, but not necessarily for the better. The IOC has a long history of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses, and Rio is no exception. As inspiring, emotional, and triumphant as it is to watch the world’s elite athletes do their thing, it’s worth considering what kind of exploitation makes our spectatorship possible.

Here’s how many Brazilians feel about hosting the Olympics (spoiler alert: anxious and angry). [New York Times]
That anger is spurred in part by the evictions, police brutality, and other human-rights and civil- liberties violations the government has committed during preparations for the games. [The Guardian]
More than 60,000 people have lost their homes between 2009 and 2013 to make way for the Games. [Washington Post]
Rio’s governor declared a state of financial emergency, brought on by the games, that could cause “total collapse of public security, health care, education, urban mobility, and environmental management:” [ABC News]
Because of the financial crisis, public services like hospitals and emergency responders can’t pay their staff, prompting police and firefighters to welcome tourists with a sign that reads “Welcome to Hell.” [Independent]
The media has focused on dangerously poor water quality and inadequate sanitation in Rio because of their effects on athletes, but what about Rio’s permanent residents and the wider implications of sanitation problems? [New York Times, The Atlantic]
Though Brazilians are definitely bearing the brunt, athletes aren’t immune to having their rights trampled on, as this article about sex-testing female athletes shows. [New York Times Magazine]
The suspension of a “dirty list” naming Brazilian companies who have used slave labor poses a serious risk of worker exploitation. Migrants coming to work at the games are especially at risk. [The Guardian]