Olympic Game Host Selection and the Law : A Qualitative Analysis

The process used to select the hosts of the Olympic Games is under increased scrutiny due to the withdrawal of many cities from the 2022 Winter Olympic Games host selection process, and the selection of hosts with questionable human rights records. Scholarship, particularly legal scholarship, examining the hosting of the Olympic Games is rapidly increasing. Absent from much of this scholarship is a thorough examination of the host selection process. Understanding the host selection process is crucial when considering issues faced by host cities as many of the issues can be traced back to the host selection process.This Article examines the process used to select the hosts of the Olympic Games, focusing on legal issues addressed by the host selection process. A qualitative analysis of the questions asked by the IOC of cities that bid to host the Olympic Games, and their responses to those questions, is the core of this Article. The Article asks what the role of law is in the host selection process, and whether legal issues are integral to the selection of a host for the Olympic Games. The results of the qualitative analysis are used to frame future research for discussing reform of the host selection process, namely to include human rights protections