ABSTRACT
Even the Olympic Winter Games can now safely be regarded as 'big'. In absolute numbers, however, notwithstanding the higher levels of technical support personnel required at Winter Games, they remain a fraction of the size of the Summer Games. Seen from some perspectives, there are, in the organization of Olympic Games, many factors common to business franchises. One aspect of the management of big Games is to ensure that they do not become too big, particularly with respect to the construction of sports facilities, often, as noted above, under the pressure of IFs seeking larger shares of television revenues. The first small step in trying to establish a focus on the big picture began in relation to the 1996 Games in Atlanta. There is a constant tendency for the number of athletes at the Games to increase and, if there is a major existing management concern, this must be identified as one of the most acute.
