With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at the end of July, the idea of hosting an Olympic games in California again may sound amazing. All those exciting events (like diving and gymnastics), all those world-class athletes, all those representatives of all those countries coming together in peace and fair competition right here in California.
But wait: having so many people and events in one city, or region, could be a logistics nightmare.
Transportation
As part of the vast preparations for the games, designated Olympic traffic lanes were created for drivers of the busy London streets and highways. As recently as a week before the opening ceremonies in London, the Olympic committee was worried about transportation back-ups on the streets and on the underground. Funneling spectators and athletes to and from the various Olympic venues, without disrupting daily life, requires considerable planning.
Communication
It’s more than just the streets that can get congested, too. With smartphones, tablets, live web broadcasts, and video coverage, communications is a major part of the Olympics. People at home want to see their countryman (or woman) stick the landings and win the gold. With the large crowds of people both present and afar, the strain on communications networks would be huge, requiring back-ups to systems and increased bandwidth.
Security
The British have stepped up efforts to keep the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the people involved, as safe as can be by adding more police and security personnel to the venues. Even when the private company hired for extra security at the games was unable to provide enough personnel, British Armed Forces were called up to fill the gaps.
“Be in no doubt whatever it takes to provide a safe and secure Olympic Games, we will do it,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday.
Going for Gold in California?
It has been 28 years since California has hosted an Olympic Games. How would a California city today deal with all of the moving parts of hosting the Olympics? Could we prevent transportation and communication problems? Would we be prepared to deal with security issues?
From an insurance standpoint, there would be multiple coverage issues like Workers Compensation for police, fire, and hospitals; Liability for injured visitors; and Property for vandalism, fires, or theft. Because the Olympics usually cover such a wide geographical area, there could be overlapping insurance areas—such as cities, counties, or even multiple states such as California and Nevada if the games were to take place in the Lake Tahoe region again, for example.
It’s a lot of moving parts, but California could get it done. Go Team USA!
