How has the modern Olympic Games been used politically and shaped by commercial forces?
The values and development of the modern Olympic Games, their political use (propaganda, boycotts and protest), and the impact of commercialisation on the Games.
A focused answer to OCR A-Level PE on the modern Olympic Games: the Olympic values and the development of the Games, their use as a political platform for propaganda, boycotts and protest (Berlin 1936, the Cold War boycotts, Black Power 1968), and the impact of commercialisation since 1984.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR wants you to describe the Olympic values and the development of the modern Games, explain how the Games have been used as a political platform, and analyse the impact of commercialisation on the Games.
Olympic values and development
The Games as a political platform
The impact of commercialisation
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 20194 marksUsing one named example, explain how the Olympic Games has been used as a political platform.Show worked answer →
A Component 03 application question. Marks for a named example and a clear explanation of the political use.
Award marks for: the 1936 Berlin Olympics were used by Nazi Germany as propaganda, to project an image of a strong, organised nation and to promote the ideology of Aryan supremacy, although the success of athletes such as Jesse Owens undermined that message. Other valid examples are the 1968 Mexico City Black Power salute (athletes protesting against racial injustice on the podium), the 1972 Munich massacre (terrorism using the global stage), and the Cold War boycotts of 1980 Moscow (led by the USA) and 1984 Los Angeles (led by the USSR), where nations withdrew to make a political statement.
Markers reward a correctly named example and an explanation of how the Games were used to send a political message (propaganda, protest, boycott or terrorism).
OCR 20218 marksAnalyse how political and commercial forces have shaped the modern Olympic Games.Show worked answer →
A Component 03 extended-response (levels of response) question. Markers reward political and commercial influences (AO1 and AO2) and a reasoned judgement (AO3).
Award credit for: politically, the Games have been a global stage for propaganda (Berlin 1936), protest (the 1968 Black Power salute), terrorism (Munich 1972) and state rivalry through boycotts (Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984), and host nations use them for soft power and prestige; the supposed ideal of keeping politics out of sport has rarely held. Commercially, the Games were transformed by the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the first to run at a profit through corporate sponsorship, broadcasting rights and merchandising, after which the Games became a huge commercial property funded by the golden triangle; this brought money and a global audience but also concerns over cost, sponsorship influence, and the commercial pressure on hosts. A reasoned answer judges that politics and commerce have made the Games a global spectacle of enormous reach and value, but at some cost to the original Olympic ideal of amateur sport played for its own sake.
A top answer gives political and commercial examples, links 1984 to the commercial turn, and judges the effect on the Olympic ideal.
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Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Physical Education (H555) specification — OCR (2016)