Melania Trump has booked her first solo foreign trip as first lady, leading the U.S. delegation in September for the Olympics-style games for wounded military personnel. [...] More than 550 individuals from 17 countries are expected to compete in 12 sports in the September games. The figure includes about 90 American athletes.

With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) set to have chosen Paris over Los Angeles as the site for the 2024 Olympics, it is timely to ask: Is hosting the Olympics good for a nation’s brand, and do they provide a good financial return on investment? [...] He also noted that the concept of nation-branding pervaded China’s handling of the 2008 Beijing games. “In China their goal was broad recognition as a leader on the global stage.” He said that China was largely successful, but that in terms of political reputation, the country was thrown into a negative light.

Set for March 25, the game – Kosovo against Iceland – is part of the first round of qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But it is much more than a simple football match. Sports diplomacy has been the most successful strategy implemented by Kosovo to garner international recognition. It’s been nine years since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, after Kosovo Albanians sought independence during the Yugoslavian wars. 

Hours following Trump’s restrictive immigration policy was announced, various sports entities, including the NBA, MLS, and the UFC, had contacted State Department to determine how this would impact their respective businesses. The EO also threatened U.S. bids for the Olympic Games and World Cup. However, it was the policy’s impact on amateur wrestling that resulted in retaliatory action from Iran.

The event opened the door for other U.S. sports and cultural exchanges, too. “In the past, wrestling has played an important role in diplomacy,” Bender said. “This looks like a setback for sure. But it doesn’t necessarily impact our relationship with the Iranian wrestling federation.”

Fans of the Olympics can expect the spirit of the Games to remain aflame all year round, not just during the sporting extravaganzas, the man now responsible for broadcasting both the Summer and Winter events to hundreds of millions of viewers across Europe told Reuters. "We can make this a year-round experience... because of all the broadcast rights we have to Olympic sports," Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said in an interview.