Evolution Of Formation Of Sports On The Program Of Summer Olympics And Its Future Trend

The fact that the Olympic program is ever changeable is one of the most important and unique features of Modern Summer Olympic Games.The Olympic Program has become,among other aspects,the core design and important criterion of a successful Olympiad.By using research methods including documentation research,expert interview,historical logic analysis, case study and etc.,this thesis paper makes an all-around and systematic analysis on the Olympic Program with the following major conclusions:1.The development of modern Olympic program is obviously undulate.For sports,there were one acute fluctuation phase before 1948 and then a relative stable phase followed by two rapid growing periods;for events, there has been a steady climb except two steep rises.At present,Olympic Program is in a relative stable period.The concurrent expansions of sports and events since 1988 led to the current immense size of modern Olympic Games.2.While individual and paired sports expanded sharply,the scope of team sports have not yet exceeded that of those earlier Games.Though the percentage of paired sports is the smallest,there was still a steady rise since 1972;individual sports remain stable with minor decline since 1924.However,the downtrend of team sports was distinct.3.The percentages of the events for the sports of athletics and gymnastics have declined,while water sports,combat and weightlifting,ball sports are expanding.Gymnastics and of its alike sports have been the smallest sport cluster since 1988.4.Women's sports have been growing rapidly,which reflects the social value mainstream and especially,the basic concept of balanced development for both men's and women's sports.It is the inevitable results of the influence upon the Olympic Games of the thoughts of social equity and modern women liberation movement. 5.The Olympic program is influenced by many social factors economical, political,cultural ones and so on.It is the outcome of interest conflicts among many entities involved including the International Olympic Committee,the International Sports Federations,mass media, host countries and etc.New challenges the Olympic Games facing in the mega trend of globalization will certainly impact the Olympic program.6.The IOC's main consideration on the sports on the Olympic Program focuses on the sport itself,humanistic and economic factors.A sport on the Olympic program must meet seven evaluation criteria related to its history and tradition,universality,popularity,images and environment protection,development and trend,the operational cost and athletes' welfare and rights.7.It is predictable that in the coming future,the Olympic Program will remain stable with minor fluctuation.Basic sports and those that could bring economic profit or express humanistic spirit will remain on the Olympic program.While men's and women's events will become more balanced,those marginal and candidate sports will be alternately listed on the Olympic Program.Sports that are good for economically rewarding, spectating or market operation will replace those are not.The Olympic Program should not only show the balance among different sports and equity between male and female athletes,but also the harmony of nationality and internationality.Unfortunately,the current one does not show cultural diversification.