International Olympic Committee Profit Score:  $383 million profit

2/1/2010

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) scored an impressive profit for the 2008 Summer Olympics.  $383.3 million profit during a time when companies are filing for bankruptcy is more than impressive. 

The IOC tax records reported $2.4 billion in gross revenue from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Top revenue sources are $1.73 billion from broadcasting rights and $436 million from sponsorship and marketing.  The world loves to watch Olympians and is willing to pay handsomely for that privilege, resulting in IOC's tidy profit.

Does this sizeable profit translate into humanitarian and benevolent efforts for the participating athletes?  Does this mean the IOC can now afford to provide tickets for the Olympian's family to attend future contests?  Apparently, no. 

While the IOC is celebrating their profits, the Olympians and their families are sacrificing their personal profits to pay for coaches, training, equipment, etc., and they are being denied the right to watching their children perform at the Olympics.  This issue has become a major source of contention for Jim Moriarty of James L Moriarty PC, who wants to know, "When will the profits include consideration for the athletes? Why is it so difficult for the families of athletes to get tickets?"

Moriarty's firm has launched an investigation into the Olympic ticketing practices and is demanding answers to those questions.

Moriarty's investigation has uncovered that the Olympic ticket sales have turned into a playground for the rich and powerful. This means that obtaining tickets for the events is difficult, if not impossible, for most of the athletes' families.  The US, Canadian and Australian ticket markets are monopolized by Jetset and Co-Sport both, owned by Sead Dizdarvic.  (Sead was one of the major players in the Salt Lake City Olympic scandal, yet he somehow managed to escape unscathed).  Co-Sport /Jetset make millions on luxury packages that include things like limo services and private jets. Tickets have become Dizdarevic's cash-cow and he is not likely to let his ticket empire slip away. 

Meanwhile the families of the athletes are forced to watch from a distance. Pandering to corporations and the rich is coming at the expense of the families of Olympians.  An editorial, appropriately titled, "Olympics: Selling our soul to the devil" in Independent.ie an online newspaper, states "it's time for sport to stop kissing corporate ass." 

Agreed.  One last question, shouldn't it be the athlete's anatomy that is being kissed?