logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2021
7m 51s

ELI5 Olympic Games - why most games are ...

ELI5 Explain Like I'm Five Podcast
About this episode

Why are all the Olympic Games money losers except the famous Los Angeles event in 1984? What did LA do differently? How does funding for the Olympics work? Why doesn't the IOC just buy an island to host the Olympics there every 4 years? Do Olympic athletes have a McDonalds in the village?

 

... We explain like i'm five!

 

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: businessowl, supreme_101, ahawks, cromulentembiggener, wolfthawra, bryan_sensei and ceatsykoopa98

To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/

or send us an e-mail:

ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Up next
Jan 2022
ELI5 Artificial Sweeteners - good for weight loss or bad for you?
Why was VitaminWater sued over the 33g of sugar in each bottle? How do our bodies work with artificial sweeteners? Why do diet sodas taste different to regular ones? Are artificial sweeteners a good way to lose weight? Do they cause cancer? Why nutrition labels for TicTacs list z ... Show More
9m 19s
Dec 2021
ELI5 Money Laundering - what, why and how?
What is money laundering? Why can’t a criminal just spend good old fashioned cash? What are some of the ways used by criminals to launder money? Besides casinos, why are laundromats often mentioned? Why are countries like Panama and Cyprus ideal for laundering money? ... we expla ... Show More
8m 33s
Dec 2021
ELI5 Orange Juice - how is it economically viable?
It takes a dozen oranges to make a single glass of OJ, so how is it economically viable? Why does Tropicana taste different to Simply Orange if they are both 100% orange juice? Some people say orange juice is as unhealthy as soda - is this really true? Why does orange juice taste ... Show More
7m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
Marketing The Olympics
With the Paris Olympics in motion, it is a good time to revisit this episode from our archives.From the first ad at the first Olympics in 1896, to the hundreds of millions spent on today's advertising contracts, sponsorship money has always been a contentious issue. The Olympics ... Show More
29m 42s
Aug 2024
Why No One Wants To Host The Olympics Anymore
Today's podcast breaks down the economics behind this year’s Olympics, including why the International Olympic Committee is seeing fewer and fewer bids each 4-year cycle. Enjoy! Ps. I recently launched a sports business community on Microsoft Teams. Join here: https://teams.live. ... Show More
5m 56s
Jul 2024
What’s it like to compete in the Olympics?
We’re celebrating the Olympics and Olympic athletes with an episode chock full of the interviews we’ve done with Olympians. Plus we answer some of the Olympic-themed questions you’ve sent us, starting with: what’s all the hype about winning a big piece of metal? And are those med ... Show More
20m 3s
Jul 2024
How Are Cities Chosen For The Olympics?
The Olympics are a global event. They take years of planning, negotiation and convincing -- not to mention billions of dollars -- to stage. This is how the games are used by the United States and others around the world. This is what it takes to host, what the games do for  a nat ... Show More
44m 24s
Jul 2024
The Economics of the Olympics: Your Questions Answered
The summer Olympics kick off this week in Paris. It’s a major event for international sports, but it’s also a major economic event. From broadcast rights and budgets running in the billions to sponsorships and tourism booms, who – other than the athletes – stands to win big from ... Show More
14m 55s
Mar 2025
The future of the Olympics
We're in Greece to find out what challenges await the new IOC president Kirsty Coventry - the first woman and first African to hold the most powerful role in sport.The IOC faces several challenges, including the issue of paying prize money to athletes, finding a host for the 2036 ... Show More
19m 36s
Aug 2024
Tea from Paris: Day Eleven
We may have seen Simone Biles compete at the Olympics for the last time! Why did so many athletes fall off that balance beam? Two athletes who swam in the River Seine have withdrawn from the games…citing illness! And pushing and shoving during the women’s 5000 meter race led to a ... Show More
27m 23s
Jul 2024
SYMHC Classics: 1900 Olympic Games
This 2012 episode from prior hosts Sarah and Deblina explains how the 1900 Paris Olympics are considered some of the strangest. Many of the events were so under-promoted, the athletes competing in them didn't know they were even in the Olympics.See omnystudio.com/listener for pri ... Show More
21m 41s
Jul 2024
The Fifth Floor: From Paris to the world, Olympics 2024
What is it like to cover such a globally significant sporting event such as the Olympic Games? We've invited three of our Fifth Floor colleagues to discuss what the Olympics means to their audiences and to tell us about some of the lesser known stories behind this year's games. J ... Show More
26m 44s
Aug 2024
NBC gets an Olympic bounceback at Paris 2024
NBC is the biggest financial backer of the Olympics but that investment has come under scrutiny after a couple of down Games. With Paris 2024 in full swing we hear from Gary Zenkel, NBC’s Olympics president, on the broadcaster’s welcome success so far. While StreamTime Sports hos ... Show More
1h 2m