A SURE ECONOMIC WINNER FOR MAJOR GAMES Not LONGER
Consider the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. First, Budapest, Los Angeles, Paris, Rome and Hamburg were the five number city winners. But, Budapest, Rome and Hamburg gradually withdrew due to a lack of political will and regional cohesion, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris.
In an unprecedented walk, the International Olympic Council in 2017 picked the 2024 and 2028 facilities together, with Paris and Los Angeles taking goes hosting due to the lack of candidate places.
Even with significant investments in public and athletic system, the prices of hosting the Olympic Games have skyrocketed. The host places ‘ questionable economic gains add to the difficulties. The days of having a capital number city win the lottery are probably long gone.
There are also post-Games white elephants, yet when a network area is honored for a prosperous Olympic Games. These are the purpose-built sports services that must meet stringent world-class requirements so that they are fit for world-record shows. But these features, however, have limited post-Games use, because of their size or professional character. The legendary albatross around the number city’s chest also has high maintenance costs for years to come.
Nearly all of the amenities that were constructed specifically for the 2004 Athens Olympics are now abandoned. However, there are the inherent fees to consider, such as the option costs of people saving that could have been spent on other interests.
Open finances can be burdened for years by paying off the debt left over from a big sports event. For instance, Montreal took three years to finish the debts incurred by hosting the 1976 Olympic Games, while Greece’s loan from the Olympics contributed to the legendary Greek debts and political crisis a few years afterwards.
To be sure, perhaps if Singapore were to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, our governmental control may help us avoid having a sizable public debt. But, any cost overruns may come with a heavy political price. It raises the question of why we should actually enter this condition.
Although improvements have been made to the Commonwealth Games, the hunt for its impact continues to be its biggest weakness. Used to be viewed as a valuable sports showcase for smaller countries and territories that struggled at the Olympics, the Games were once seen as a helpful showcase for smaller nations and territories. But so far, it is still not seen as a powerful sporting event by runners, donors, and places.
Yet for Singapore, the Eastern Games ( with 12,500 players in Hangzhou last year ) is ranked higher in terms of overall fame and profitability. An individual gold at the Commonwealth Games ( about 5,000 athletes ) earns the athlete S$ 40,000 under the Singapore National Olympic Council’s current Major Games Award incentive scheme. In contrast, an athlete pockets S$ 200,000 for an Asiad gold and S$ 1 million for an Olympic gold.