Laurier professor and Olympics researcher Stephen Wenn shares what he’ll be watching for during the 2024 Summer Games

July 24, 2024

With the 2024 Summer Olympics kicking off this week, Paris is set to host an event promising a stunning showcase of athleticism and culture. The Summer Games mark their return to the French capital for the first time in a century, with Olympic venues set against the iconic backdrop of the City of Lights. 

Stephen Wenn, a professor and researcher in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, investigates the economic impact of national broadcasting contracts and corporate sponsorships on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He is the lead author of The Gold in the Rings: The People and Events that Transformed the Olympic Games, which examines the emergence of television revenue and corporate sponsorship as economic fuel for the Olympic movement.

Below, Wenn discusses some of the storylines he’ll be following during the 2024 Summer Games and his areas of expertise. 

What are some of the topics of interest you’ll be following during the 2024 Summer Games?

Unfortunately, the developing story about Canada Soccer support staff using a drone to record New Zealand’s women’s soccer team during practice ahead of their opening game against Canada will be something to follow. Canadian fans won’t like this. I sense fair play is part of the Canadian psyche. We’ve heard of other countries’ cheating and doping scandals, but this will be viewed with disappointment at home and poses a challenge to the team’s morale and focus. An investigation has been launched and we all await more details.

I also think the participation of Russian athletes will be something to watch. There will be a relatively low number of Russian athletes competing in Paris due to the strict criteria the IOC has in place due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian sport federations have declined invitations from the IOC to their athletes because of the participation criteria. Any athletes who chose to compete from Russia must do so as “individual neutral athletes,” and continues the saga of different modes of Russian participation in the wake of the doping scandal tied to the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.

Something else to watch during these Games will be the incredible competition backdrop Paris will provide. Broadcasters have savoured the possibilities for imagery. The city gifts them with stunning settings for outdoor competitions like beach volleyball, which takes place at Eiffel Tower Stadium in Champs de Mars. Paris is six hours ahead of anyone living in the eastern standard time zone, which means that many Canadian viewers will be able to watch more live coverage of the Games in contrast to the 12-hour time difference during the 2020 Summer Games in Toyko, held in 2021. Spectators will also be back in the stands for these Games, which will add to the overall excitement and energy of the Olympics.

Lastly, the IOC has the challenge of making the Olympics an attractive event for cities to host. Paris will be a test case because, depending on who you listen to, they may come out of this Games in better financial shape than previous hosts, as Paris has made excellent use of preexisting facilities.

Which Canadian athletes will you be following during the Summer Games?

I really enjoy swimming, so I am curious to see how Summer McIntosh will do in the pool. I’m from London, Ont., so I’ll be watching Maggie Mac Neil swim, too, and fellow Londoner Damian Warner in the decathlon as he defends his gold medal. I interviewed Damian as part of my forthcoming book on the Tokyo Olympics. He is a polite and humble guy, and I hope he does well in Paris.

Tell us about your research and academic expertise in the Olympics.

My work is focused on the economic fuel that drives the International Olympic Committee, namely television broadcasting contracts and corporate sponsorships, and the disparity in the amounts of money paid for Olympic television rights by global broadcasters during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. My research also investigates the Amateur Sport Act (ASA), signed into U.S. law in 1978, and its impact on the relationship between the IOC and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) since the mid-1980s.

The ASA has allowed the USOC to secure sizeable sums from a dedicated percentage of U.S. television contracts, a direct percentage of revenue from The Olympic Partners corporate sponsorship program, and the exclusive rights to the use of the Olympics five-ring logo in U.S. territory. The USOC is the only national Olympic committee with these provisions due to the ASA. This caused friction among the IOC and national Olympic committees in European countries. The IOC and the USOC brokered a new revenue-sharing agreement in 2012 that has reduced the tension between the parties and has placed relations on a better footing.