After the financial disaster of the 1976 Games and the boycott in 1980 there was no longer any great enthusiasm among cities to host the Olympic Games. Los Angeles was the only city to apply to stage the 1984 Games and under Peter Ueberroth’s able direction as president of the Organizing Committee they proved a great success. Although the Games had no public funding, a successful drive for corporate sponsorship and the sale of TV rights resulted in a surplus of over $220 million. This resulted in a worldwide revival of interest in hosting future editions of the Games. Although the European press initially vilified Ueberroth’s methods, his marketing ideas have been adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and subsequent organizing committees, and are now considered de rigueur. Ueberroth later served as commissioner of Major League Baseball in the United States but after he lost the support of the owners he did not seek re-election for a second term. He also ran unsuccessfully for Governor of California in 2004, losing to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
United States