With the 302 events across 32 sports of the Olympics about to start (with early round soccer starting tomorrow), we conclude our five part (Part 1 [5], Part 2 [6], Part 3 [7], and Part 4 [8]) series of posts bringing markets, economics, and sports together by looking at 10 exhibits that Goldman sees as describing how various aspects of the Olympics have evolved from the first modern Games in 1896 (where Greece won 46 medals compared to USA's 20) all the way to London 2012. From the monetary value of the distributed gold medals to the globalization of medal wins, the trends are analogous to the world's change but the full report attached provides some incredible interviews with many of the greatest Olympians ever with Michael Johnson reminding us that: "People are generally very fed up with political processes and the bickering that comes with it. You have some politicians with one particular set of ideas as to how to fix the problems and one with another set of ideas, and this continues to create a divide between people. The Olympic Games is the epitome of non-politicised activity. It’s about coming together... and having the opportunity to put differences aside and get behind their country and the athletes who are representing them."
Trend 1: The Olympic Radar is Now Becoming Truly Global, Reaching EMs in Recent Times
[9]
Trend 2: Share of Women Athletes Has Been Rising and Will Likely Continue to Rise
[10]
Trend 3: Olympic Games Cover a Broad Set of Nations with Different Income Levels
[11]
Trend 4: Emerging Markets Now Win Half of All Olympic Medals, Reflecting their Growing Influence
[12]
Trend 5: Emerging Markets Have Become Leaders or Stronger Competitors in Many Sports
[13]
Trend 6: Split of Medals around the Globe is Moving Towards Emerging Economic Groups
[14]
Trend 7: Set of Olympic Sports Has Expanded and Changed Composition Through Time
[15]
Trend 8: Number of Medal Events Has Increased Markedly in Both the Olympics and the Paralympics
[16]
Trend 9: Monetary Value of Distributed Gold Medals Has Declined as Composition Effects Offset More Competitions
[17]
Trend 10: ‘Olympic Economies’, Constructed by Linking Host Countries, Grow Faster on Average
[18]
and full presentation is below:
GS the Olympics [19]
Source: Goldman Sachs