After years of planning and months of controversy, the 19th Commonwealth Games are now underway in New Delhi. What are the Commonwealth Games? The Commonwealth itself is an intergovernmental group of 54 states, which were once owned by the British Empire; the Games are without doubt another over-priced, pretentious event for the sporting elite to compete in.
Once again the financial and human cost of holding these grand competitions is over looked by the world. The financial expense of holding such an event can be catastrophic for growing countries, as billions of dollars are drained from the state, so pigeon-chested nations can welcome the world to the doorstep of another over-budgeted sporting competition. It has become the track-race equivalent of 'keeping up with the Joneses'; anything you can do, we can do better – the nuclear arms race of athletics.
The Chinese spent $33 billion on holding the 2008 Olympic Games. A sporting village was erected and an airport terminal built for the specific event; just short of half a million people were employed to assist in running the show.
The human impacts of the Olympic Games were kept highly secret from the rest of the world. Some 1.5 million Beijing residents were evicted from their homes for the development of the competition. Arenas such as the celebrated Birds Nest were erected for a few weeks of sport. Now left for the rust and cobwebs, over a million Beijing evictees are still feeling the effects of the Olympics.
The New Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 have done exactly the same by global chauvinism
and new economic flaunting. Two weeks ago, photos of children as young as seven emerged showing them carrying hammers and buckets to help the construction workers behind schedule. Human Rights activists in India tried to have the Commonwealth Games called off as thousands of residents were forcefully evicted for development and workers were employed without being supplied with safety equipment. Some escort agencies drafted in girls from other Indian cities to supply Delhi with the demand in prostitution – all in the name of sport.
The 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens, were tainted by a controversial death record. 14 builders from Eastern Europe and Asia died due to widespread evidence of poor safety conditions and little or no organisation during the construction of the Olympic village. The Greek Construction Workers' Union believes the unofficial number could have been around 40 deaths in total. One person died when Sydney held the Olympics in 2000 and 2 people died during the construction of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Arguably, international sport has become bloated by national pride and global insecurity. The displacement of humanity due to sport is perhaps second only to war with an estimated 2 million people shifted across 2 decades for Olympic stadiums alone.
The next sporting event to grip the world will be the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. £9.3 billion paid out by you and me. Later next week on October 20, George Osborne will announce the results of the ‘comprehensive spending review’ with cuts set to be deeper than those committed by Thatcher. The austerity measures will affect us all, one way or another. Osborne will announce up to £82 billion worth of public spending cuts. Blowing nearly £10 billion on a two week sporting event seems utterly fatuous with the current economic climate. The Olympic media centre in Stratford is costing the tax-payer over £308 million alone; that’s £4 for every person across Great Britain.
Holding a sporting event has arguable become the financial indicator of boastful nations bringing the world to its realm. Do I want gold medals – yes, do I want Great Britain to join the list of sporting hosts struggling to foot the bill of taking on such a colossal commitment – no. With an empty piggy bank and an Olympic receipt still needing to pay, I truly believe England should pull out of the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2018, which will be announced in December.
Once again the financial and human cost of holding these grand competitions is over looked by the world. The financial expense of holding such an event can be catastrophic for growing countries, as billions of dollars are drained from the state, so pigeon-chested nations can welcome the world to the doorstep of another over-budgeted sporting competition. It has become the track-race equivalent of 'keeping up with the Joneses'; anything you can do, we can do better – the nuclear arms race of athletics.
The Chinese spent $33 billion on holding the 2008 Olympic Games. A sporting village was erected and an airport terminal built for the specific event; just short of half a million people were employed to assist in running the show.
The human impacts of the Olympic Games were kept highly secret from the rest of the world. Some 1.5 million Beijing residents were evicted from their homes for the development of the competition. Arenas such as the celebrated Birds Nest were erected for a few weeks of sport. Now left for the rust and cobwebs, over a million Beijing evictees are still feeling the effects of the Olympics.
The New Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 have done exactly the same by global chauvinism
and new economic flaunting. Two weeks ago, photos of children as young as seven emerged showing them carrying hammers and buckets to help the construction workers behind schedule. Human Rights activists in India tried to have the Commonwealth Games called off as thousands of residents were forcefully evicted for development and workers were employed without being supplied with safety equipment. Some escort agencies drafted in girls from other Indian cities to supply Delhi with the demand in prostitution – all in the name of sport.The 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens, were tainted by a controversial death record. 14 builders from Eastern Europe and Asia died due to widespread evidence of poor safety conditions and little or no organisation during the construction of the Olympic village. The Greek Construction Workers' Union believes the unofficial number could have been around 40 deaths in total. One person died when Sydney held the Olympics in 2000 and 2 people died during the construction of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Arguably, international sport has become bloated by national pride and global insecurity. The displacement of humanity due to sport is perhaps second only to war with an estimated 2 million people shifted across 2 decades for Olympic stadiums alone.
The next sporting event to grip the world will be the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. £9.3 billion paid out by you and me. Later next week on October 20, George Osborne will announce the results of the ‘comprehensive spending review’ with cuts set to be deeper than those committed by Thatcher. The austerity measures will affect us all, one way or another. Osborne will announce up to £82 billion worth of public spending cuts. Blowing nearly £10 billion on a two week sporting event seems utterly fatuous with the current economic climate. The Olympic media centre in Stratford is costing the tax-payer over £308 million alone; that’s £4 for every person across Great Britain.
Holding a sporting event has arguable become the financial indicator of boastful nations bringing the world to its realm. Do I want gold medals – yes, do I want Great Britain to join the list of sporting hosts struggling to foot the bill of taking on such a colossal commitment – no. With an empty piggy bank and an Olympic receipt still needing to pay, I truly believe England should pull out of the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2018, which will be announced in December.
