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Olympics: Summer Olympics
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In the early 1930s, the bid to host the 1936 Summer Olympics was won by the rising German Reich, spearheaded of course by the personification of evil, Adolf Hitler. Though the location of the games at that time seemed relatively harmless, the grandeur of the spectacle legitimated, in many previously contesting eyes, Hitler's reign over the motherland and the positive effects that he was having on the nation previously overrun by depression.
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Although many cities have achieved a financial profit by hosting the Games, the Olympics can be financially risky. Montréal, Québec, Canada, for example, spent a great deal of money preparing for the 1976 Summer Games due to extensive design and construction costs for new facilities. When the proceeds from the Games were less than expected, the city was left with such large deficits that residents were still paying the debt off in the early 2000s. Similar financial problems were encountered by Greece in hosting the 2004 Olympics, especially with the huge expenditures required for security at the Games.
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Traditionally (starting at the 1928 Summer Olympics) Greece marches first, because of its historical status as the origin of the Olympics, while the host nation marches last. (Exceptionally, in 2004, when the Games were held in Athens, Greece marched last as host nation rather than first, although the flag of Greece was carried in first.) Between these two nations, all other participating nations march in alphabetical order of the dominant language of the host country,
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The most recent Summer Olympics were held in 2004 in Athens, Greece; before that, they were held in Sydney, Australia in the year 2000. The next ones will be held in Beijing, China, in 2008, and then London, Great Britain in 2012.
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Politics interfered with the Olympics on several occasions, the most well-known of which was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where the games were used as propaganda by the German Nazis. At this Olympics, a true Olympic spirit was shown by Luz Long, who helped Jesse Owens (a black athlete) to win the long jump, at the expense of his own silver medal.[28] The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympic Games until the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Instead, the Soviets organized an international sports event called Spartakiads, from 1928 onward. Many athletes from Communist organizations or close to them chose not to participate or were even barred from participating in Olympic Games, and instead participated in Spartakiads.[29]
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Same-restaurant sales at Olive Garden were down 2% to 3% for fiscal August as expected, impacted by the company's decision not to advertise during the final two weeks of the month during the Olympics. The decline reflected a 5% to 6% decrease in guest counts and a 2% to 3% increase in check average. The check average increase was a result of a 2% to 3% increase in pricing and a 0% to 1% increase from menu mix changes. Last year, Olive Garden had an approximate 6% increase in same-restaurant sales during fiscal August. The company estimates that the 2004 Summer Olympics in August and the decision not to advertise during the final two weeks of fiscal August adversely affected Olive Garden's same-restaurant sales by approximately 2% to 3%.
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Summer Olympics