SHP Online is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Tokyo 2020 was an absolute spectacle, even without fans. While the Olympics has always had the ability to bring the world together to celebrate sporting excellence, the upheaval and uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic ensured that this year was always going to be a bit different.
Indeed, the Olympics has a long history of health and safety fatalities.
According to research conducted by Rhino Safety, there have been 116 construction-related fatalities tied to the Olympics in the last 30 years.
70 fatalities were reported during construction of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia, marking it as the country with the most deaths in the last 30 years. This puts it ahead of the 14 fatalities recorded for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
And those are only the ones that have been officially reported.
In contrast London 2012 is considered the safest Olympic build in history. It recorded 0 fatalities, with a reported injury rate of 0.17 per 100,000 person-hours – far below the 0.55 building industry average in the UK. The effort lasted four years and was completed on time and under budget.
However, as the results show, subsequent Olympics have not been able to achieve the same success says Simon Walter, Director at Rhino Safety: “Unfortunately, health and safety fatalities tied to the Olympic construction isn’t a new or even surprising subject – and it’s not hard to see why.
“Host nations are expected to construct some of the most impressive sporting facilities on the planet, and an infrastructure capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of people. These are large scale projects on their own – together they are momentous.
“Often awarded seven or eight years beforehand, they’re expected to complete within a tight deadline and an even tighter budget, which means that construction projects are operating under a significant amount of pressure. And as history has shown, it often comes at the cost of health and safety.’
The Government had repeatedly announced that it intended the project to be completed ahead of the games. However, recent reports now indicate that the project, repeatedly dogged by issues, will not be ready until 2026, two years after the games have taken place.
Commenting on the findings, Mr Walter suggests that the Olympics, and indeed other international sporting events, are powerful reminders of what happens when progress is prioritised before health and safety.
“International sporting events often bring to the fore external pressures that can put overwhelming pressure on project management, which can have a knock-on effect on how health and safety is implemented and managed throughout construction
“Tight timelines, even tighter budgets, contract rights, national and international oversight, labour rights, economic pressure and a need to boost their international reputation often means that pressure is piled on, corners can be cut, and rules and essential practices ignored – just to make sure that targets are hit.
“This often means that basic health and safety protocols aren’t followed, ethical practices are ignored, labour and employment rights are infringed, project management suffers, and that injuries and fatalities are underreported or swept under the carpet completely.
“These issues are factors that can affect all construction projects. The difference is that it’s happening on the world stage. This should put pressure on countries to be even more diligent about health and safety – but that’s just not the case. In reality, these issues can develop, and are in some ways even tolerated as long as the work is completed – for many countries, failure or delay isn’t an option.
“Accountability is important. As we look to future sporting events, every country should do its part to ensure that we can celebrate the world’s greatest sporting event knowing it didn’t come at the cost of easily implementable and much needed health and safety.”
The Safety Conversation with SHP (previously the Safety and Health Podcast) aims to bring you the latest news, insights and legislation updates in the form of interviews, discussions and panel debates from leading figures within the profession.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, subscribe and join the conversation today![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="15px"][vc_btn title="Listen here!" color="success" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shponline.co.uk%2Fthe-safety-and-health-podcast%2F|target:_blank"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="91215" img_size="medium"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Paris 2024: ‘Past and present Olympic construction fatalities indicate we still have a long way to go,’ says health and safety expertAccording to research conducted by Rhino Safety, there have been 116 construction-related fatalities tied to the Olympics in the last 30 years.
Safety & Health Practitioner
SHP - Health and Safety News, Legislation, PPE, CPD and Resources
Related Topics
Armorer sentenced in fatal shooting incident on film set
New cladding fire risk identified and could be “tip of iceberg”
Company fined £450k and director and site manager sentenced following death of labourer
The problem as I see it, is that EVERYONE knows what it costs to be healthy and safe but NO ONE seems to know or care about the value. Capitalism and its machinations are only concerned with greed and profit. Stake holders are indeed more interested in a stadium than a life. This doesn’t just relate to sports stadia but extends to all things materialistic. Money rules-buy cheap sell expensive. Im afraid that after 50+ yrs in engineering and industry I see the race to the bottom nearing its completion. Competency training is ALWAYS judged by lowest price as does tender evaluation. This can only mean that “best value” is never achieved, only in the eyes of the bank account. Little wonder then that corners are cut and lives are lost in the name of profit. God help us all. AMEN 🤞🙏
Thought Provoking ! What price sport ?
“Is a big stadium more valuable than Life ?” is clearly a question some countries need to be held to account over. But who holds them to account ?
The problem as I see it, is that EVERYONE knows what it costs to be healthy and safe but NO ONE seems to know or care about the value. Capitalism and its machinations are only concerned with greed and profit. Stake holders are indeed more interested in a stadium than a life. This doesn’t just relate to sports stadia but extends to all things materialistic. Money rules-buy cheap sell expensive. Im afraid that after 50+ yrs in engineering and industry I see the race to the bottom nearing its completion. Competency training is ALWAYS judged by lowest price as does tender evaluation. This can only mean that “best value” is never achieved, only in the eyes of the bank account. Little wonder then that corners are cut and lives are lost in the name of profit. God help us all. AMEN 🤞🙏