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Patrick Blennerhassett

It’s safe to say the allure of hosting a major sporting event has faded.
For many the last straw was the debacle that was the 2016 Summer Olympics, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Take Rio’s Maracana stadium – the iconic venue stood empty as politicians squabbled over who would take care of it months after the Olympics.
Infiltrated by looters, ramshackled by thieves and infested with worms, it signified the ugly underbelly of hosting an incredibly expensive sporting event.

Brazil had no business hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics, or even the 2014 Fifa World Cup. The country was already in a state of economic despair, and the price tag for both events was dear.
Experts believe the grand total for the Olympics might exceed US$20 billion (HK$156 billion), and that the World Cup cost Brazil US$11.6 billion (HK$90.8 billion).
Surely Brazil, who finally emerged from its biggest economic recession on record in 2017, could have put all those billions to better use?
Taiwan warned it could be kicked out of Olympics if name change that angers Beijing goes ahead
Chinese president Xi Jinping has a “dream” for China to host the World Cup, and the country is circling another Olympics bid too, further showing how far we’ve come from the all-consuming brightness of major sporting events.
Many other nations are running in the opposite direction to China when it comes to the two events, though.

The milestones keep on coming! Check out our latest progress on the road to 2022 #seeyouin2022 pic.twitter.com/UgoCjezKcc
— Road to 2022 (@roadto2022) November 21, 2018

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Calgary, which hosted the Winter Olympics back in 1988 and did well in terms of legacy, recently held a referendum to decide if they wanted to put in a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The answer was a resounding no from its citizens and a plea to put that money into schools, hospitals and transportation.
Two years ago, when the International Olympic Committee picked Beijing for the 2022 Winter Games, the only other option was Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Shanghai confirms study into 2032 Olympics but clarifies it has not decided on a bid
Oslo, Krakow, Stockholm, St Moritz and Lviv all bowed out for various reasons, most notably public backlash that taxpayer dollars could and should be funnelled elsewhere.
The Summer Games haven’t fared any better – for 2024, the IOC began with a robust list of potential hosts. Then, one by one, Budapest, Rome, Hamburg and Boston gave into local backlash, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris remaining.
The IOC ended up cutting a deal and now both will get to host, with LA taking the 2028 Games.

The World Cup has not fared much better. Vancouver, Canada recently pulled the plug on joining other American and Mexican cities as part of a three country bid, and quite frankly, the move was not surprising when Premier John Horgan announced they wouldn’t pony up any cash.
‘We can help make Xi Jinping’s dream come true’ – could this tool unlock China’s World Cup ambitions?
Qatar, set to host the next World Cup in 2022, is already a lesson in disaster. Dozens of workers have died building the stadiums, the tournament has had to be moved to November and December because of the heat, which will disrupt the European league schedule, and there are rampant allegations the whole thing was bought and paid for through bribes.

I worked at the Winter Olympics back in 2010 in Vancouver, and it was undeniably a magical two weeks, from what I can remember after one too many nights in the Holland Heineken House.
The city’s hangover was worse.
The housing built for the Olympic Village was seen as a failure up until a few years ago, and the city’s notorious downtown Eastside drug problem has only got worse, an issue that screams for more funding.
China to test bid for 2030 Fifa World Cup ahead of targeting tournament in 2034
The price tag for Vancouver’s Olympics was relatively low (US$5.83 billion), but for a city of under 2.5 million people, that is a lot of money when they desperately need more public infrastructure projects.
However, unlike many nations such as Russia, Brazil, London and South Korea, at least Vancouver got its storybook ending.

Sidney Crosby, Canada’s poster boy when it comes to ice hockey – the Winter Olympics’ marquee event – scored the gold medal-winning goal in overtime againstarch rivals the US. The streets across the country erupted into what felt like a two-day party.
It threw Vancouverites a bone, something to make it all seem worthwhile, a scripted ending which makes it tough to slag the event at all. Canadians got a steroid injection of national pride when they needed it the most.
Sadly, it rarely happens to the degree it did in Vancouver, and much like Brazil, the enduring legacy of major sporting events leaves much to be desired.

To achieve its football goals, scandal-hit China can learn from Japan

Chinese superfan books into Lionel Messi’s hotel for glimpse of hero in Beijing

Sport and politics should be kept as far apart as possible

Meet Sam Li Sirong, China’s 19-year-old fashionista football star who features in Louis Vuitton’s Archlight Sneaker 2.0 campaign with Jaden Smith and models for Hublot when he’s not on the field

Fifa World Cup 2022

The cost-benefit analysis of hosting a Fifa World Cup or Olympics: Rio’s warning to China is to do so at your peril

An aerial view of Maracana Stadium, which was used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, shows that the turf is dry, worn and filled with ruts and holes in January 2017. Photo: Reuters

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 06, 2018 shows a general view of the construction site at the Al-Wakrah Stadium, a World Cup venue designed by celebrated Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, some 15 kilometres on the outskirts of the Qatari capital Doha. - A 23-year-old Nepalese labourer who died on August 14 working at the World Cup stadium in Qatar, fell to his death, one of the main contractors at the site said. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 28: Sidney Crosby #87 of Canada celebrates after scoring the matchwinning goal in overtime during the ice hockey men's gold medal game between USA and Canada on day 17 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Canada Hockey Place on February 28, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Quarter Final - Russia vs Croatia - Fisht Stadium, Sochi, Russia - July 7, 2018 Russia's Denis Cheryshev celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 13, 2014, Germany's midfielder Mesut Ozil celebrates holding the World Cup trophy after the final football match between Germany and Argentina for the FIFA World Cup at The Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Mesut Ozil's decision to quit playing for the German national football team Die Mannschaft unleashed on July 23, 2018 a racism storm in Germany, but earned the applause of Ankara with a Turkish minister hailing "a goal against the virus of fascism". / AFP PHOTO / Patrik STOLLARZ

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Brazil set bar for new low, hosting World Cup and Olympics amid recession
Cities and countries backing out from bids as public gets wise to cost-benefit analysis



Brazil set bar for new low, hosting World Cup and Olympics amid recession, and now cities and countries are backing out from bids as public gets wise


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


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.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Brazil set bar for new low, hosting World Cup and Olympics amid recession Cities and countries backing out from bids as public gets wise to cost-benefit analysis

Brazil set bar for new low, hosting World Cup and Olympics amid recession

Cities and countries backing out from bids as public gets wise to cost-benefit analysis