Despite all the concerns and the barrage of criticism by various prophets of doom, the Games were a success by all accounts. Good for India but also good for other developing countries with similar aspirations. Some records were set and others were broken.
There was also a considerable amount of short-termism combined with narrow tunnel vision. One example refers to a prominent Indian who has a following in conservation and environmental matters. Another person who spoke out against the basic premise of hosting the Commonwealth Games referred to the cost. I am sorry I did not note their names. This is bad blogging I agree!
What the second critic said was that India had committed itself to spending around £2 billion of public money. That money, he argued, could have been used for a host of alternative purposes. The Games were a waste of time, money and human energy… Many projects in rural development and education would have found ready takers. Of course any number of organisations would have found alternative uses of the funds! However what is not known is the cost benefit analysis of the Games. It should be remembered that sides of the equation consisted of tangible as well as intangible costs and benefits. However, if one was to focus on tangibles for the moment there must be a benefit equation which would suggest how every rupee spent on the Games would have translated into direct tangible outcomes. Did the proposers of the Games publish such data? It would be very helpful to examine any analysis of cost and benefits and to engage in positively critical analysis. Readers’ contributions are invited. Did the Games generate a factor of 2 or 3 in terms of their returns, that is, did every one rupee invested in the Games provide a suitable return of over 1 rupee? Again it would be very good to see the analysis.
Another recent scenario relating to the hosting of large sporting events was the FIFA World Cup. The Russians beat us and many howls of despair were heard across the UK. Was it a fair decision or did the FIFA Executive Board Members punish the English media and therefore England for exposing alleged backhanders and bribes? Who knows? Secondly was the award of the 2022 World Cup also similarly tainted? The fact remains that subject to expert management of both World Cup bids the hosts, namely Russia and Qatar should do very well out of the Cup. Only time will tell! In th meantime it is best to rely on expert evidence.
