Doesn’t the simple displacement of tens of thousands of people towards France cancel in fact any idea of ”ecological Olympics”?
Hello, is the impact of air travel for people coming to see the Games from abroad taken into account in the calculation? Good day
Hello Marti, Simon and Ana,
Indeed, the movement of spectators represents a third of the carbon footprint of the event, but the real impact will only be known after the fact. The bulk of the impact being air travel, the organizing team admits having little control over these programs, and it must be recognized that no ambitious measures have been taken on this subject. As a result, there is no guarantee that a significant drop in emissions from transport will be achieved.
In fact, the size of the event, especially the journeys of foreign spectators, is the elephant in the room. The Olympics could be exemplary if the courage were there to mix sobriety and a sporting event. Reducing the size of the event means fewer spectators, and therefore less CO2.
Most of humanity has never followed the Games other than on television, and that has never harmed the unifying nature of the event. For example, we could create “conviviality hubs” in all countries to broadcast the events in the best conditions. More broadly, the question must be asked of the reasonable size that such an event should take.
marti