The Olympics are a mobility story, not just how did the athletes and spectators get there, but who moves your equipment and what kind of information is accessible for visitors to know where and how to access venues. There is also the movement of support services, who drives the car or the bus or transports food, all of these things require movement.
The first modern Olympics was held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. There were 43 events with 241 male athletes. At the time the only country represented outside of Europe was the United States.
Since then, 23 cities in 20 countries across 5 continents have hosted the Olympics. Some countries have hosted the events multiple times such as the U.S., Great Britain, Greece, and today France with the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Over 10,000 male and female athletes will be competing in Paris this summer second only to Rio DE Janeiro in the number of athletes competing.
The purpose of the Olympics is the promise of a better world – through peace and unity. We do this through the lens of connection via sports and our championship of revered athletes and their talents.
I would argue that sports can be a catalyst for something different, better, even visionary. Sports has the ability to stimulate improvement of transportation, not just for the visitors who come to town, but for the people who reside in those communities each day. Billions of dollars are spent on Olympic venues to prepare to host visitors and athletes alike. Olympic villages provide places for athletes to live. But in many of those same communities there are still far too many homeless. Olympic Games showcase innovation in technology and creativity, but often in those same communities we don’t have an answer to moving people safely, efficiently and inexpensively on a daily basis.
During the Olympic Games communities, and cities will suspend laws, create new rules, or institute regulation all for the purposes of ensuring a safe and enjoyable Olympic experience for the athletes and those who travel to those venues. But those same cities and countries often allege that their hands are tied when it comes to creating regulation that improves infrastructure and eases movement for their citizens.
The Olympics certainly are a mobility story. They are a vision of what can be. Sporting events often bring together people who otherwise would not break bread together. It is their common love or affinity for either that sport or the athlete who plays it that creates a shared affection. We look up to athletes and place crowns on their heads, we treat them as royalty, and frequently roll out the red carpet for them. Athletes are showered with gifts and opportunities that the rest of us do not have access to. But can you imagine if you treated your next-door neighbor or the person down the street in the same way that you treat that star athlete? What if you treated your neighbor in a reverential fashion, gave them the benefit of the doubt, or provided them additional opportunities to show themselves in the best light? What if you rescinded the imposition of penalties tied to a license that have nothing to do with driving? What if we as a society used the rules of engagement in sport to engage with our fellow man? We have motorcades to move athletes through the streets and stop traffic to ensure that they can get to a game on time. But we don’t often move to the side of the road when an emergency vehicle is coming through.
The Olympics is more than an event, it is an emotion, it is the realization that we are part of something bigger. When we see the flag of our country hoisted and carried through an Olympic parade we feel as if we share the pursuits of the people who are walking behind that flag. We want them to succeed because we see their successes as our success. What if we were to do the same thing with mobility? What if we understood that it is just as important for me to get to work as it is for the nurse, or the service worker, or the schoolteacher, or the firefighter in our community.
This opportunity to improve the mobility story should be a challenge. Let this be a call to join our fellow mankind and ensure that everyone attains freedom of safe movement. Let us not waste this occasion to fight for the improvement of transportation in our communities. It will result in a gold medal for us all.
Transportation is Mobility and Mobility is Freedom ™
