Can the Olympics attract Gen Z eyeballs while preserving its traditions?

Zoltan Balogh/EPA Joshua McLeod, Deakin University and Hunter Fujak, Deakin University The Olympics has been the world’s premier sporting event for more than a century. Throughout this time, the Olympic Movement has faced many challenges, but what is often overlooked is how it has continually needed to evolve since the first modern games in 1896. Today, arguably the most significant challenge for the Olympics is maintaining its appeal to modern audiences, particularly Generation Z. To meet this challenge, the Olympic movement is undergoing something of a reinvention: adding new and unconventional sports in the hope of appealing to younger people, who are thought to have markedly different tastes. The question is, will it work? And could there be unintended consequences? The 2028 Olympics will feature cricket, baseball, softball, lacrosse, squash and flag football. Gen Z and sport Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2009, are widely considered to be distinct from their predecessors as the first digitally native generation. Although the exact age range of Generation Z is subjective, they are defined by an upbringing coinciding with the advent of social media and smart phones. Thus their relationship to technology is thought to influence their preferences, attitudes and behaviours. One...