올림픽 정치 2026–2028, 달력 뒤의 조용한 전투 (Olympic Politics 2026-2028, the Silent Battles Behind the Calendar)

[올림픽 정치 2026–2028, 달력 뒤의 조용한 전투 (Olympic Politics 2026-2028, the Silent Battles Behind the Calendar)]

 

 

 

5월26일 외신기사내용 정리하여 공유합니다.

 

올림픽 일정은 행정적 도구처럼 보일 수 있지만, 점점 더 권력의 지도로 기능하고 있습니다. 각 날짜, 개최지, 종목, 예선 기간 뒤에는 가시성·자원·영향력·정당성을 둘러싼 협상이 숨어 있습니다(The Olympic calendar may look like an administrative tool, but it increasingly functions as a map of power. Behind every date, host, sport and qualification window there is a negotiation over visibility, resources, influence and legitimacy)

 

 

Milano-Cortina 2026, Dakar 2026 YOG, Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 동계 YOG, LA 2028 사이에서 올림픽 운동은 단순히 대회를 조직하는 것이 아니라, 어떤 지역이 중심성을 얻고, 어떤 연맹이 주목을 받으며, 어떤 시장이 글로벌 대화에 진입하는지를 결정하고 있습니다(Between Milano Cortina 2026, Dakar 2026, Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 and Los Angeles 2028, the Olympic Movement is not only organising competitions: it is deciding which territories gain centrality, which federations receive attention and which markets enter the global conversation)

 

[주요 내용 정리]

 

1. 올림픽 일정은 단순 행정이 아닌 권력 지도

 

1) 일정의 각 날짜, 개최지, 종목, 예선 기간은 가시성-자원-영향력-정당성을 둘러싼 협상 결과임.

2) 2026~2028 사이에는 Milano-Cortina(동계), Dakar(청소년), Dolomito Valtellina (청소년 동계), LA 2028(하계) 등 네 가지 이벤트가 권력 재분배의 무대를 형성.

 

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2. 개최지 선정 방식 변화

 

1) IOC는 공개 경쟁 대신 지속적 대화와 선호 후보 중심으로 전환.

2) 비용 절감과 실패 방지 효과가 있지만, 공개 경쟁이 줄어들며 정치가 비가시적 공간으로 이동.

3 )동계올림픽은 기후·비용·기존 시설 문제로 개최 가능 지역이 제한되고, 부유국 중심으로 기회가 집중되는 경향.

 

3. LA 2028과 로비의 승자들

 

1) (1)크리켓 T20, (2)플래그 풋볼(Flag Football), (3)Lacrosse, (4)스쿼시, (5)야구/소프트볼 등이 새로 포함.

2) 이는 단순한 종목 확대가 아니라 전략적 시장·상업적 역량·제도적 압력을 반영.

3) 크리켓은 인도 시장과 연결되며 방송권·소프트파워·2036 올림픽 유치 경쟁까지 이어지는 지정학적 관문 역할.

4) 플래그 풋볼은 미국 스포츠 문화의 세계적 확산을 위한 플랫폼으로 기능.

 

4. 일정 속 권력 경쟁

 

1) 올림픽 종목이 되더라도 결승 일정이 육상·수영·체조·농구와 겹치면 가려질 수 있음.

2) 경기일·장소·방송 시간·프라임타임 배치가 곧 권력.

3) 방송권 시장(미국·중동·인도 등)이 일정과 종목 가치에 큰 영향.

 

5. Dakar 2026-·Brisbane 2032와 미래 전투

 

1) Dakar2026은 아프리카 최초 올림픽 이벤트로 상징적 의미 크지만, 권력 재분배로 이어질지는 불확실.

2) Brisbane 2032와 2036올림픽을 향해 종목·경기장·도시 계획·비용 문제가 다시 논쟁될 전망.

3) LA 2028에 포함된 종목은 자리를 굳히려 하고, 제외된 종목은 재진입을 모색하며, 신흥 시장은 영향력을 시험할 것.

 

[결론]

 

-2026~2028 올림픽 일정은 단순한 스포츠 이벤트가 아니라 권력·시장·정치의 지형을 재편하는 지도입니다. 개최지 선정, 종목 포함, 일정 배치, 방송권 모두가 보이지 않는 전투의 장이며, 이는 곧 올림픽 운동의 미래 권력 분포를 결정짓는 과정입니다.

 

 

 

Olympic Politics 2026-2028, the Silent Battles Behind the Calendar

 

The Olympic calendar may look like an administrative tool, but it increasingly functions as a map of power. Behind every date, host, sport and qualification window there is a negotiation over visibility, resources, influence and legitimacy. Between Milano Cortina 2026, Dakar 2026, Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 and Los Angeles 2028, the Olympic Movement is not only organising competitions: it is deciding which territories gain centrality, which federations receive attention and which markets enter the global conversation.

 

That cycle shows four different political functions within the same sequence. Italy retains its weight in the Olympic winter and tests the viability of a model increasingly shaped by climate, costs and existing infrastructure; Senegal will bring an Olympic sporting event to the African continent for the first time; Dolomiti Valtellina will extend Italy’s legacy in a youth winter format; and Los Angeles 2028 will concentrate a decisive part of the Olympic programme’s commercial future. The 2026–2028 calendar therefore looks like a transition in where Olympic power is distributed.

 

 

The new power of allocating hosts

 

 

The way hosts are chosen has also changed. The International Olympic Committee -IOC- has reduced the logic of major public races between cities and moved towards a model of continuous dialogue, preferred candidates and more controlled conversations. The system can reduce costs, avoid failed campaigns and adapt projects to the needs of each territory, but it also shifts part of Olympic politics into less visible spaces. Fewer public bids mean less friction, but also less open competition in front of public opinion.

 

The Winter Games are the clearest example of that new geography. Climate change, rising costs and the need for existing venues are reducing the number of regions capable of hosting the event with guarantees. Milano Cortina 2026, French Alps 2030, Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 and the possible Swiss route for 2038 point to an increasingly smaller and more selective map. Sustainability can reduce risk, but it can also concentrate opportunities in wealthy countries or territories that are already part of the Olympic circuit. The winter calendar is becoming more responsible, but also more dependent on a limited group of actors.

 

 

LA28 and the sports that won the lobbying race

 

 

Los Angeles 2028 will be the major laboratory for federation lobbying. The inclusion of cricket T20, flag football, lacrosse sixes, squash and baseball/softball does not only expand the sports programme: it rewards disciplines with strategic markets, local connections, commercial capacity or years of institutional pressure. For an international federation, entering the Games changes its global value. It opens doors to public funding, sponsorship, national programmes, media coverage and institutional legitimacy. The fight does not end with competing; it is about becoming an Olympic sport.

 

 

Cricket is the clearest case of the calendar as audience geopolitics. Its Olympic return connects Los Angeles 2028 with India, one of the most valuable sports markets in the world and a country with future Olympic ambitions. It is a route towards a vast audience, a powerful broadcasting rights ecosystem and a possible race towards 2036. Cricket allows the Olympic Movement to enter more forcefully into a conversation where sport, business, soft power and future bids overlap.

 

Flag football represents another form of influence. Its inclusion in Los Angeles 2028 does not exactly mean putting the NFL inside the Games, but it does open an Olympic platform for a global, accessible and exportable version of American football. The United States is using its Olympic edition to project part of its sporting culture, while the discipline can accelerate its development through national federations, youth programmes, private investment and new competitive structures.

 

 

The battle to appear at the right moment

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Entering the Games is not enough. A sport can be on the Olympic programme and still be overshadowed if its finals clash with athletics, swimming, gymnastics or basketball. The battle continues inside the calendar itself: competition days, venues, television slots, prime-time windows and narrative moments. Prime time is a form of power. Federations are not only competing to become Olympic; they are competing to appear when they can maximise audience, sponsorship, storytelling and commercial value.

Broadcasting rights are one of the least visible layers of that influence. The United States, the Middle East, India and other strategic markets do not directly decide hosts, but they do shape the value of certain sports, schedules and territories. The Olympic calendar therefore becomes a geopolitical product: not all events are worth the same in every market, and not all finals carry the same weight for broadcasters, sponsors or federations. Organising the Games also means deciding which stories receive the best window.

 

 

Dakar, Brisbane and the next battles

 

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Dakar 2026 will be historic because it will give Africa its first Olympic sporting event, but it also raises a broader question: whether that symbolic expansion will become a real redistribution of power or remain limited to controlled levels of the Olympic system. The IOC gains global legitimacy by taking the Youth Olympic Games to Senegal, but the gap between hosting a youth event and staging a full Olympic Games remains enormous. Africa enters the calendar, although the main structure of Olympic power continues to be concentrated in traditional major markets.

 

The next battle is already looking towards Brisbane 2032 and then 2036. The sports programme, venues, local opposition, costs and urban planning will again show that the Olympic calendar is decided globally, but debated in cities, neighbourhoods, parliaments and affected communities. The federations that entered Los Angeles will try to consolidate their place; those left out will seek a new opening; and emerging markets will test their influence. The 2026–2028 Olympic calendar does not close a chapter: it opens a series of silent battles over hosts, sports, audiences and legitimacy.

 

 

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*References:

-SportsIn

-IOC website