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Have the Olympic Games become more migratory? A comparative historical perspective
Joost Jansen1, Godfried Engbersen1
1Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Comparative Migration Studies
|August 1, 2017
Summary
Olympic migration has not increased overall but has diversified. Foreign-born athletes now represent a wider range of countries, reflecting global migration trends rather than a new phenomenon.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Sociology
- Migration Studies
Background:
- The perception exists that the Olympic Games are becoming more migratory.
- This study investigates the trend of foreign-born athletes participating in the Olympics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that the number of foreign-born Olympians has not increased in all countries.
- To examine if the direction of Olympic migration has shifted towards a more diverse range of source countries.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of approximately 40,000 participants from 11 countries in Summer Olympic Games from 1948 to 2012.
- Categorization of countries based on their migration histories: nations of immigrants, countries of immigration, latecomers to immigration, and former countries of immigration.
Main Results:
- The overall number of foreign-born Olympians has not necessarily increased across all studied nations.
- A significant shift in the direction of Olympic migration was observed, with athletes originating from a more diverse set of countries.
- Most national teams have become more diverse in their athlete composition.
Conclusions:
- The Olympic Games have not inherently become more migratory.
- The observed changes in Olympic migration patterns primarily reflect broader global migration trends.
- Olympic migration is a continuation of past patterns, not a break from them.
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