Fair Play and the International Olympics Committee

As we all gear up for the excitement of the traditional Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing this Friday (and the athletes think that they’re the only ones who are going to be engaging in marathons), it’s worth remembering that where there is glamour, pomp, fireworks, and spectacle, there will inevitably be people who are willing to use this to extract the Michael for a quick profit.

Play Fair is an organisation of international trade unions, NGOs, and labour groups which was established before the 2004 Athens games to draw attention to the massive exploitation of workers engaged in producing Olympic branded products. This is big business: one year on from the last Olympics, the apparel and footwear market alone was estimated at US$74bn. All the signs are that the profits from the Beijing Olympics might be the biggest so far, but Play Fair’s research into the working practices of factories in China producing the merchandise have revealed that widespread poverty wages, excessive overtime, and poor working conditions are common.

Fair Play argue that instead of dealing with the root of the problem – that the Olympics provide a fertile ground for those who wish to engage in exploitation regardless of the country in which the games are held – the IOC are claiming that this is a problem for the host countries, not the IOC itself.

Fair Play say that this “see no evil” approach will mean that after the closing ceremony (even the long-distance viewers will be lagging by then) the problem will simply transfer itself to the next host country, or wherever labour is cheap and easily exploited.