There is something absolutely awe inspiring about countries coming together to compete on an equal playing field, despite political or economic differences. The Olympics are a definition of unity. It is the only time every nation speaks the same currency; bronze, silver, and gold medals. The 2016 Summer Olympics will take place in Rio and the recent concerns over water quality and the Zika virus, convey that we may have a bigger decision ahead of us on what we expect from Rio.

The last Summer Olympics cost London about a 16.2 billion dollars. Rio is estimated to face a cost of about 11 billion dollars. And Rio is not a developed country. Brazil's GDP of about 11 thousand US dollars looks insignificant compared to the United Kingdom's 46 thousand US dollar GDP. The lower standard of living that comes with being a developing country, has been noticed by Americans.

For example, Rio, and many other developing countries pump raw sewage into their waters because of a lack of water treatment infrastructure. Americans take for granted that federal and state regulation make sure that no one is pumping poop into the countries waters. In Rio, citizens are not so lucky. About 35 percent of waste goes untreated and is dumped. An improvement from before Rio submitted the bid to host the Olympics and promised to clean up their waters, however, these levels could expose athletes to 1.7 times what is allowable in American waters.

Zika Virus has been another concern. A virus carried by a certain kind of mosquito that can be associated with a brain defect called microcephaly and other birth defects. "An examination of the pregnancies of 88 women in Rio de Janeiro, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed “serious and frequent problems in fetal and central nervous system development” in 29 percent of the pregnancies in which women who had experienced Zika symptoms." Zika virus is already a fast-spreading disease and sending athletes from around the world through an area with a prominent Zika outbreak is probably not going to help. Scientists will most likely be able to come up with a vaccine but they need time. For right now, we know that it is spread by Aedes species mosquito, women infected during pregnancy become at risk for defects, there is no medicine to fight Zika, and we may be about to bring more of the virus back to the states. However, we as a developed country have many more resources to prevent an outbreak, whereas other countries do not.

Brazil's economy has been growing. With a multitude of natural resources, Brazil has the potential to use the Olympics to continue its growth. However, it is not a first world country. It has limited infrastructure for water treatment and doesn't have the resources to prevent the outbreak of Zika. So here is the decision. Should this be a lesson in picking where the Olympics are held or should it be a lesson that we are not using the full potential of the Olympics?

International Olympic Committee writes that “Olympism seeks to create … social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles”. The Olympics can be a singular motivator for the development of infrastructure that may not exist otherwise. With more guidance and funding, Rio could probably have been treating 99% of their raw sewage and spreading the technology to the rest of Brazil. The Olympics can create jobs for Brazil's community. And if Olympic facilities are built efficiently and with dual purposes, the buildings could keep those jobs around for years to come.

However that isn't happening. Olympic facilities are standing empty after the games are over. Infrastructure is only encouraged to improve as much as the country can pay for it to improve, and America sees these conditions as acceptable until we are put at risk. This results in the host country just trying to hide the aspects that do not meet first world standards.

The Olympics is about competing, but Athletes and onlookers should be going into the competition understanding that it is an opportunity for this culture to be shown to the world. All of it, not just what is chosen to put in the Olympic arenas. There are less than ideal environmental risks in Rio, that we are used to being fixed in the United States. However, the publicity and notice that the Olympics has brought to these issues in Rio have encouraged the country to take steps and the large amounts of money invested in the Olympics need to be allocated in a way that will benefit this city, not just hide the issues until after the games.

So, instead of only choosing countries that meet first world standards, we should continue to be picking host cities that have a lot to gain from the investment. We can use the Olympics as a way to guide developing cities in adding infrastructure and investing money in a way that benefits the entire city. Slowly creating equal opportunity, on and off the field.