Opinion | Could the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area host a Summer Olympics?

A China Daily column floats a grandiose idea: a Summer Olympics hosted in the Pearl River Delta in 2032

As the allure of the Olympics plummets, joint bids may become the new norm for both the Games and World Cup

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The Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau motorway in the Futian district of Shenzhen, one of 11 cities included in the Greater Bay Area project. Photo: Roy Issa

Published: 10:11am, 24 Jul 2019Updated: 2:45pm, 24 Jul 2019

When it comes to grandiose plans, the Chinese government always has a flair for the dramatic.

The Belt and Road Initiative, an unprecedented, massive infrastructure and development plan involving 152 countries in the hope of making China the new trading heart of the world’s various routes, chugs along despite a trade war with the US.

China’s plans for the Greater Bay Area are also well known. The Communist Party is hoping to turn Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau into an internationally known innovation hub centred around two special administrative regions. More than 70 million people within a 56,000 square kilometre area bustling with activity, leading the world in technology, finance and recreation.

While Hong Kong citizens appear unwilling to toe the party line at this point, this unified vision coming to fruition seems all but a foregone conclusion. A recent China Daily column went one step further, floating the idea that when the 2032 Summer Olympics roll around, the area could host one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

The Ping An International Finance Centre Phase 1 lights up in the Futian district of Shenzhen, one of 11 cities included in the Greater Bay Area project. Photo: Roy Issa

Much of the popularity of hosting a Summer or Winter Olympics these days has waned, the spit shine has worn off, leaving a glaring price tag awaiting any city starry-eyed enough to think it will be the answer to all their metropolis problems. Rio de Janeiro in 2016 was the breaking point for many: a Summer Games held for the rich, built at the expense of the poor, airdropped in and washed away in a matter of months. The legacy: a massive debt (US$4.6 billion), crumbling arenas and a denizen population left shaking their heads at a horribly corrupt government.

When the International Olympic Committee announced Paris would host the 2024 Summer Olympics it came with a serious caveat. Along with Los Angeles, it was the only city that hadn’t pulled its bid. Thus, LA got a pretty good consolation prize as the IOC also announced the American city would host the 2028 iteration. This came along with a US$1.8 billion subsidy, an unheard-of sweetener, something that would have been laughed at by IOC brass just a decade or so ago.