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Date May 2021 Marks available 6 Reference code 21M.1.bp.9
Level SL and HL Paper 1 Time zone
Command term Explain Question number 9 Adapted from N/A

Question

The graph shows the financial costs of hosting sports events at selected Summer and Winter Olympics from 1968 to 2016.

Source: From Insider. © 2016 Insider Inc. All rights reserved. Used under license. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/ Data from Flyvbjerg, Bent and Stewart, Allison and Budzier, Alexander, The Oxford Olympics Study 2016: Cost and Cost Overrun at the Games (July 1, 2016). Said Business School WP 2016–20, available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2804554.]

Estimate the range of costs shown for the Winter Olympics, in billions of US dollars.

[1]
a.i.

Estimate the total cost shown for the Summer Olympics between 2004 and 2016, in billions of US dollars.

[1]
a.ii.

Outline one possible reason why some higher-income countries have chosen to host the Olympics on multiple occasions.

[2]
b.

Explain two ways in which participation in international sporting events became more diverse during the years shown in the graph.

[6]
c.

Markscheme

21 (allow 20–22 or 22–1 / 22–2 / 23–1 / 23–2).

a.i.

29 (allow 27–31).

a.ii.

Award [1] for the reason and [1] for development linked to hosting on multiple occasions.

Award a maximum of [1] for the simple reason that “they can afford it and infrastructure is expensive” (this does not address the choice to hold events on multiple occasions).

For example: Some wealthy countries hope to gain political influence [1] and are prepared to commit high amounts of money regularly to achieve this [1].

Other possible factors include:

b.

In each case award [1] for identifying the way diversity has increased (e.g. more women participating) and up to [2] for further explanatory development.

Responses should focus on who is affected and what has happened to make sports more inclusive. Award up to a maximum of [4] for a response dealing with an increase in the number of countries participating (which may imply diversity).

For example: There has been an increase in participation by disabled athletes (at the Paralympics) [1]. The Paralympics have been invested in and received large amounts of financial sponsorship [1] and high-profile media coverage [1].

Other possibilities include:

c.

Examiners report

Most were able to identify the correct costs although some got their final calculations wrong.

a.i.

Most were able to identify the correct costs although some got their final calculations wrong.

a.ii.

Overall, many scored one mark but failed to get the second mark by not making the link to multiple occasions.

b.

There were many responses in which the answers related to hosting rather than participating, for example, why more countries were hosting the Olympics as opposed to why there is a diversity of participants. Those who discussed the roles of gender equality and the Paralympics, for example, scored well.

c.

Syllabus sections

Option E: Leisure, tourism and sport » E.4. Managing tourism and sport for the future » E.4.4. The growing importance of political and cultural influences on international sport participation
Option E: Leisure, tourism and sport » E.4. Managing tourism and sport for the future
Option E: Leisure, tourism and sport

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