Data Vis Dispatch, July 30

The Olympic Games in Paris take first place in the most frequent data visualizations this week. We’re taking a step-by-step look at them: Last Friday, for the first time, the opening ceremony took place on a river. Despite a rail sabotage, everything went according to plan:

Tournaments were recapitulated and countries asked themselves which disciplines they had the best chance of winning:

Reference books for each sport discipline and live medal trackers were created:

Let’s not forget the past winners. Despite China catching up, the U.S. still holds the most gold medals. But if you change the way of measuring athletic prowess, the result looks completely different:

So the Olympics aren’t just about winning, are they? Certainly not in the world of data visualization, where they also tell a story of increasing parity:

Extreme heat and competition do not go together, especially not in a marathon where the health of the participants is seriously at risk. What else doesn’t go together? Competitions and normal traffic in Paris:

We leave Paris here, but not the traffic problems. They exist everywhere. A station in Seoul faces four times as many passengers during rush hour, resulting in queues hundreds of meters long. In the U.S., the number of traffic stops is rapidly decreasing since 2019:

Wait, wait, wait. What would a 2024 Dispatch be without a section on elections? In Venezuela, incumbent President Maduro claims victory, but the opposition accuses him of fraud. The U.S. expresses serious concerns and protests have broken out. People are calling for accurate data and transparency:

And, of course, there’s still the U.S. presidential race:

Now that we have been to the American continent, let’s take the opportunity for a short trip around the world: The war in Sudan has caused a refugee crisis. A rocket killed children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. And while all-out war between North and South Korea is unlikely, it would have a significant negative impact on the global economy:

People in the European Union are less regular churchgoers and GDP is not always concentrated in capitals:

Childcare in Scotland has fallen dramatically since 2018. And the Courier has provided us with a care tracker to compare what’s left:

What does the world of work look like? London’s Canary Wharf office district is undergoing profound change. In the US, the unemployment rate rose to 4.1% last month for the first time since 2021.

Do we see more fun news on the horizon? Not yet. First, we turn our attention to environmental crimes and contamination:

Okay, finally, the entertainment industry. A fun graphic from Bloomberg about K-pop‘s entry into the English-speaking market and how long it takes to read every book on the list of lists of best books:

To wrap this up — three in-depth investigations. The Pudding shows us how we can “debunk myths with curiosity, empathy, and data”. Reuters shows us how easy it apparently is to make fentanyl (they have a whole series on it here). And an analysis of Harvard’s real estate portfolio: