Every two years nations across the world meet in one internationally renown city to enter a battle for the most medals. Countries rally behind their athletes and cheer them on to take the gold.

This winter athletes from around the globe met in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks.

The Olympics are one of few sporting events that attract people from all walks of life; not just the typical sporting event crowd. This audience participation unites groups as they cheer for their country or favorite athlete.

The event serves as a unifying international experience. In a unique aspect, citizens cheer for their own teams as well as supporting competitors from other nations when events are held and medals are awarded.

These games also encourage an fascination in other sports that are not typically covered in the national spotlight. Interest in events such as figure skating and snowboarding has grown. Numerous skilled and extremely talented athletes, such as Shaun White and Apolo Ohno, have received much worldwide attention from people who usually would not think twice when it comes to sports.

This year when Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian contestant in the luge event, tragically crashed and died, millions of people across the world mourned for him, his nation and family.

In a similar incident, Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette mourned the sudden death of her mother due to a heart attack Feb. 21. Despite this shock, Rochette competed this week anyways and won the bronze medal. Although this loss was personal, Rochette did not deal with the situation alone. She received support from the whole world, including former American speed skating gold medalist Dan Jansen. He resonated with her situation, as hours before his race in 1987, his sister died of leukemia. His words of encouragement assisted Rochette through her difficulty.

The bond and pride that the Olympic Games entail serve as a way to encourage unity and friendship, just like sports on a high school or level encourage healthy competition.

Now having said that, the games are not all daisies and happiness; they are intense sporting tournaments for which athletes train for years and devote their entire lives to. While it may be intense, the Olympic competition does not lead to international tension as opposed to that of international politics.

The bi-annual competitions serve overall as an internationally unifying sporting event, in which careers are made and nations cast aside political differences, all in the name of friendly competition.