Campaign for the 2016 Olympics

Grades 6-8 Activity

In the next few days (Oct. 2009), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, for its 121st session.

The key event to take place at the Copenhagen meeting is the naming of the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Begin this activity by discussing the Olympic Games and the process of a city and/or country campaigning for the chance to host the games (see www.olympic.org). Point out that the IOC is the governing body that votes on and decides which city and/or country will host the games.

Assign several students to serve on a mock International Olympic Committee. These students will decide which country will host the Olympics based on cases presented to them by their classmates, who should each be assigned a different country. (Because this activity is centered on a hypothetical bidding process, the students can be assigned any country, not just those actually bidding for the 2016 Olympic Games.)

Give the students time to read through their assigned country's CultureGrams World Edition report.

Assign students to create a PowerPoint presentation, outlining the reasons their country should be chosen to host the next Olympic Games.

Encourage them to use the Photo, Video, and Slideshow Galleries to find images and/or footage to incorporate into their presentations.

In class, have students present their country's cases to the mock IOC and have the committee members vote for the most successful and/or persuasive presentation. Have the committee members explain their reasons for their decision.

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