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CHAPTER 9
The Olympic Games: a framework for
international public relations
Yvonne Harahousou, Chris Kabitsis, Anna Haviara and
Nicholas D. Theodorakis
The inclusion of properly organized public relations in an organizing committee for the
Olympic Games has become a necessity; the Games have evolved, and the complexity of
promoting a favourable image for any host city demands strategic planning and organizing.
For future organizers to be successful in this task, the knowledge and experience
gained from already implemented publicity programmes is vital. In this chapter, PR activities
in OCOG’s public relations have been recorded and a model has been developed as
a reference point for the next Olympic Games PR programme and beyond.
Introduction
The task of a city hosting the Olympic Games
is a rather demanding and complicated one,
spreading in multiple organizational areas and
leaving an apparent impact on the overall
image of a whole country for many years following
the completion of the Games. At the
same time, the preparation period that leads
to the Olympic Games is also a significant
opportunity for promotion and international
exposure.
As image and identity promotion are two
sensitive areas (Marconi, 1996), public relations
of the organizing body of the Olympic
Games should be approached carefully and be
developed based on already tested techniques
and strategies. The present study aims
at presenting the PR evolution in a period of
more than twenty years. This permits the
reader to have a comprehensive view of the
public information needs as expressed by
the public and met by organizers.
The PR programmes were presented as
evolved through the Olympiads since Los
Angeles in 1980 until Sydney 2000, and
commendation on the major initiatives was
provided. Finally, the best programmes implemented
were outlined as a model suggestion
for future Organizing Committees (OC) for the
Olympic Games. The main hypothesis that this
research explores, is whether there has been
developed an effective generic model for the
public relations in organizing committees
which, with certain minor alterations, based
on the specific culture for each country and
© 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters, the contributors