Chapter 321: The Arrival of the Olympics
As time moved into June 1912, the excitement surrounding the AU-3 airship's global circumnavigation had begun to subside somewhat.
However, at the same time, the Sydney Olympics had become one of the main topics of discussion around the world, turning into a focal point for European and American countries.
Especially in light of the constant strife in European nations, sports competitions at the national level had grown to have significant influence.
Particularly when faced with rival nations, no country wanted to fall behind; otherwise, they would face intense provocation from both domestic and international media, as well as questioning from the public.
The masses can be quite blind, and under the guidance of some domestic and foreign media, who knows if their anger would be redirected toward the government?
As the previous Olympic Games had developed, the Olympics had become a means of competing for national prestige and dignity using peaceful methods.
If a country's athletes performed well, it brought considerable prestige to the government and the nation.
But if a country's sports performance was mediocre, especially when competing against rival countries, and their performance was somewhat disappointing, not only would the athletes face accountability from the media and the public, but the government could also be implicated.
This phenomenon was vividly demonstrated in later years. With the development of the internet, such situations became commonplace. In short, it's a matter of "the victor is king, the loser a bandit."
Winning brings glory, and the victor is elevated to the highest levels. But when a country loses, especially when it loses face to a rival nation, even past accomplishments can be overshadowed, and the media can turn them into scapegoats.
Currently, several media outlets from Europe and America, conservatively estimated to number in the thousands, had already arrived in Australasia.
Before the Olympics began, at least a few hundred more media personnel were expected to arrive.
After all, not all media outlets are equal. Larger newspapers and media could afford the cost of airship travel, but smaller ones could not.
In the suburbs of Sydney, at the Australasia National Stadium, the construction of the stadium had already been completed over a month ago and had recently been opened for use by all athletes.
In theory, the stadium and its attached training facilities were supposed to be available for free to athletes from all countries, both domestic and international.
But that was just theory. The athletes' teams that occupied the stadium and its associated facilities the most were, of course, those from the major European powers.
The Australasia sports team was not among them. This wasn't because Australasia didn't have the qualification to compete with these powers—after all, with Australasia's relationships with both the UK and Russia, it was impossible for it to be denied the use of the training facilities.
The primary reason was that Arthur had already established independent training facilities for Australasia's sports teams, equipped with a wide range of training tools, so there was no need to compete with other nations for space.
Unlike the later Olympics, the majority of athletes in this year's Games were still white.
Athletes from the major powers were mostly of European descent, with only a few from Asian and South American countries who were of Asian descent.
As for athletes of African descent, despite their impressive natural abilities in sports, they could not be recognized by countries worldwide or qualify to participate in the Olympics.
It's important to note that racism was still quite popular in Europe at this time. European powers held disdain for each other's ethnicities, so how could they possibly appreciate races from more "primitive" lands?
This was also reflected in Australasia. If Arthur had purely pursued population growth, he could have easily absorbed a massive population from Asia, easily breaking the ten million mark.
But that was entirely unnecessary. Racism and ethnic discrimination in this era were no laughing matter, and people of color could not be recognized by white populations.
A "colored" Australasia would never be accepted by Western countries, nor would it receive significant aid from Germany or the UK.
Just like the Island Nation currently, to the British, it was merely a pawn to counter Russia and America.
In an era when European powers were at their peak, an Island Nation would never be considered a true ally by the European powers—it could only serve as a tool for their strategic purposes.
If the Island Nation were to emerge as a top-tier power during this era, it would certainly face opposition from the other European powers.
It's worth mentioning that, just like in history, this Olympics was still facing many political disputes regarding nationalities and flags.
The most intense and famous dispute was between the teams from Finland and Bohemia.
Of course, the dispute wasn't between these two countries, but rather with Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
These two countries were relatively weak and had long been occupied by Russia, with some parts of Bohemia also being governed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Before participating in the Olympics, Finland and Bohemia made a request: to compete independently, representing Finland and Bohemia as separate countries.
This request was, of course, rejected by Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If they allowed the athletes to compete under the names of Finland and Bohemia, it would imply acknowledging them as the victims of occupation, thus giving their peoples a reason to rebel.
Faced with this conflict, Arthur decided to adopt the historical Swedish approach to resolve it.
Historically, Gustave Adolf proposed the concept of "sporting geography" to solve this diplomatic issue, which allowed the Stockholm Olympics to proceed smoothly.
"Sporting geography" meant that participants in the Olympics didn't have to be from an independent country; they could also be from regions with independent ethnicities. Sporting geography could sometimes differ from political geography.
When Finland and Bohemia participated in the Olympics, they would carry only team name placards during the opening ceremony, not flags. During the award ceremonies, they would raise the flag of the occupying nation but would also raise a small triangular flag of their own country beneath it, to distinguish themselves from the athletes of the occupying nations. This was a compromise that effectively solved the flag issue.
Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire understood and agreed with this solution, and the athletes from Finland and Bohemia were satisfied with the arrangement.
With this issue resolved perfectly, preparations for the Sydney Olympics continued.
According to the International Olympic Committee's preparations and the situation in Australasia, the Sydney Olympics were expected to officially begin in June, with the closing ceremony around the end of July.
As the time approached, the opening ceremony was already in rehearsal, and tickets for various Olympic events had begun pre-sale.
The Australasia National Stadium was expected to accommodate over fifty thousand spectators, so ticket sales would certainly generate significant revenue.
Since the Olympics would last nearly two months, with dozens of events taking place during that time, and each event selling tickets, the cumulative revenue would undoubtedly be substantial.
Before the pre-sale of tickets began, setting the ticket prices became a headache for Australasia.
If the price was set too high, Australasians might not be able to afford them. If the nation's own people didn't attend their own Olympics, that would be embarrassing.
But if the price was set too low, they might miss a chance to make a lot of money.
After careful consideration and taking into account the actual situation from previous Olympics as well as the economic situation in Australasia, the final price for each event's tickets was set at around 2 to 3 Australian dollars.
Of course, the actual ticket prices would vary. Australasia's citizens would enjoy a 40% discount when purchasing tickets.
As for tourists from other countries, they would have to pay the full price.
However, a ticket price of 2 to 3 Australian dollars wasn't too expensive, especially for Europeans and Americans who could afford to travel abroad. This price was quite cheap for them.
Based on the Olympic events, even if only 20,000 tickets were sold for each event, it would generate a profit of around 40,000 Australian dollars.
Adding up all the events, the total profit would easily exceed 2 million Australian dollars, which could at least recover some costs.
However, Arthur's purpose in hosting the Olympics was certainly not to make money but to use the event to enhance Australasia's international reputation and status.
Looking at the current situation, the Olympics and the previous global circumnavigation plan had already brought tens of thousands of foreign tourists to Australasia over the past few months.
These tourists had contributed significantly to the economy of Sydney and surrounding cities, and it was expected that this year's tax revenue would see a significant increase.
(End of Chapter)
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