Around 18
months ago, I wrote a piece on this blog about the London Olympics, and the
laughably extravagant sum of money that was invested in what one commentator
described as “the world’s biggest sports day”[i].
Today I wonder, once again, whether the £9bn expenditure was worth it. Sure,
London became the centre of the world for 3 weeks, but one could argue that
London has been the centre of the world for the past 50 years. Today, as the
British government scurries to plug gaping holes in the country’s disaster
response system, wouldn’t David Cameron or George Osborne love to be able to
pull an extra £9bn out of their pockets?
As I write
this, one of the most expensive sporting events in history is in progress – the
Winter Olympics in Sochi. This is estimated to have cost US$50bn, though (in a
rare exhibition of informed journalism) an article in the Washington Post
challenges this figure[ii].
Regardless of whether it is THE most expensive or not, it is unarguable that it
is very expensive. Before I actually move on to the point I have to make, here
are some more figures to satisfy the analytical reader.
- · Cost of Beijing 2008: US$40bn[iii]
- · Cost of 2010 FIFA WC: US$5bn[iv]
- · Cost of Vancouver 2010: US$6.5bn[v]
- · Cost of 2014 FIFA WC: US$14.5bn[vi]
- · (Forecast) Cost of Rio 2016: US$3bn[vii]
- · (Forecast) Cost of 2022 FIFA WC: US$230bn (yes, you read that right)[viii]
The
justification for this expenditure is almost as overused as the “dog ate my
homework” excuse – the events will lead to high tourist and sponsorship
revenue, and leave a lasting sporting legacy. Beijing 2008, for example, leaves
behind the unenviable legacy of unused and neglected venues, falling into a
state of disrepair. What was the baseball stadium is now an expanse of
unhealthy foliage. The volleyball stadium resembles a ghost of its former self,
covered in torn posters from six years ago. This problem extends to current and
future events too. Sochi’s future rests on the quicksand that is Formula One,
which as illustrated by South Korea and Turkey is often an unwelcome, parasitic
guest. The Arena da Amazonia in Manaus (which is being constructed from scratch
for the 2014 FIFA World Cup) will be a 45000-seater, multi-million dollar
football stadium in a city with no major football club.
If the 2014
World Cup teaches us a story – and it does (remarkable, considering it hasn’t
even happened yet) – it is that sport no longer resembles the great unifier it
once was. Consider, on one hand, the incredible story of how Nelson Mandela
endeared himself to South Africa through the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Compare this
example with what is happening in Brazil right now. Here we have perhaps the
most football-crazed nation in the world, with a record 5 world cups; yet riots
and dissent abound on the streets. A generation that idolises Ronaldo,
Ronaldinho and Romario (to name a few) would rather have the most popular event
in the world taking place somewhere other than in their own backyard.
The
conclusion is saddening, yet inescapable. Sport is rapidly turning into just
another driving force for inequality. Those who stand to profit from sporting
events are the governments, who service their own expenses through tourism
revenue. Broadcasting companies, motivated by a mixture of FIFA’s greed and
their own self-interest, extort hefty pounds of flesh from subscribers –
nowhere is this more evident than Singapore, where it is highly likely that TV
subscribers will end up paying close to $100 each to watch the World Cup. Large
corporations enjoy sponsorship monopoly – think Coca-Cola, Visa and Sony
(FIFA’s official partners) – granting them a month’s worth of unlimited
advertising all around the globe. Meanwhile, it is the proletariat whose money
is used to set the dominoes in motion. And for what? In the end, precious few
locals stand to benefit from sports infrastructure. Perhaps, most damningly,
the vast majority of Brazil’s football-loving public will never be able to
afford a ticket to enter the very stadia they paid for.
[ii]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/did-the-winter-olympics-in-sochi-really-cost-50-billion-a-closer-look-at-that-figure/2014/02/10/a29e37b4-9260-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html
[iii]
Ibid.
[iv]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/8192484/South-Africa-recoups-just-a-tenth-of-the-3bn-cost-of-staging-World-Cup-2010.html
[v]
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-olympics-worth-the-7-billion-price-tag-study-says/article15036916/
[vi]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-29/brazil-world-cup-kick-starts-billionaire-boon-as-farmers-lose.html
[viii]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/8749931/Qatar-World-Cup-in-2022-could-cost-138-billion-according-to-financial-analyst.html