Should India Bid For 2024 Olympics?
Should India Bid For 2024 Olympics?
In a significant development, the national Olympic body and the union government have invited Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee chief for a meeting with PM Narendra Modi later this month to talk on the development of sports in India and a likely bid for 2024 Olympic Games. Thomas Bach who became IOC president in year 2013 is expected to meet PM Narendra Modi and also top IOA officials on April 27. Is India ready to bid for 2024 Olympics? Should India Bid For 2024 Olympics?
Yes
• India has the financial and engineering skills to translate grand projects into the reality like the Mumbai’s latest terminal inaugurated recently.
• India can definitely deliver on large global scale infrastructure projects not just as empty gestures of national magnificence but as economy boosting firms that can result in several intangible benefits, apart from jobs.
• India should bid for 2024 Olympics and operate it as a revenue generating, viable enterprise. It is not an anti-poor measure and definitely India can splurge on necessary requirements.
• Olympics can be a huge success in India only if it is not kept as a public event like the 1982 Asiad or the CWG 2010. It should be a profit-endeavor project that should be implemented in public-private partnership by the best companies of India.
• The 1992 Barcelona Games proves that deft planning and smart thinking can deliver profits. A major part of infrastructure-spend was contributed by the private sector and the change was evident.
• The Games should be taken as an excuse to revive a poorer section of the city. It can be translated into a benchmark for project delivery and event management
• The cost-benefit analysis should be done following modern concepts where critical infrastructure is considered as an investment which results in collateral value and delivers returns over decades.
No
• The Montreal Games became the most expensive affair in 27 centuries, leaving a debt which the native people would have to repay over 30 years.
• The 2000 Sydney Games is another example of an unsuccessful event which left a $1.7 billion debt overhang.
• The 2004 games in Athens was another expensive event that cost $11 billion. The actual expenditure was double of the initial estimate due to poor planning, financial mismanagement and missed deadlines.
• The Greek government is forced to spend more than $130 million annually to maintain the stadiums.
• Olympics standards are way higher than the standards for the Commonwealth Games. India’s failure in Commonwealth states where India stands as of now.
• Another problem with India is that it doesn’t have a strong athletics team.
• Everyone is aware that the CWG have attracted plenty of flak for the corrupt practices and much extended delay in the work. It is tough to organize Olympics in a transparent way in India.
• In a nation where there is poverty, corruption and no financial discipline, it is not rational to invest in crores on a two-week sports spectacle.
Conclusion
It is important to take into account the successes rather than thinking about the failures. The measures should be taken to convert every failure into success. And, in fact India is in a much better position to achieve this. It has the required resources to make Olympics a huge success. Therefore, it should take a step ahead in the right direction, and bid for 2024 Olympics.
Discussion
- RE: Should India Bid For 2024 Olympics? -Deepa Kaushik (04/07/15)
- After hosting the Common Wealth Games and F1 racing event track, we should be aware of our capabilities and shortcomings. India is not a very rich country. We have limited economy with many mouths to feed. We cannot take a blind chance and get into debts which would clearly ruin the country.
Making the event a grand success, getting economic profit out of the Olympics requires the game to be made a public event. With our people getting to the arena would create a havoc and mess around. We need to be a far more vigilant on the hygiene and cleanliness measure before even giving a thought of letting the event be a public one.
The biggest challenge being the corruption lingering around every nook and corner of the country, we cannot expect to have a fair play without corruption around during the management and set-up of the arena. The games just not only mean the sport event, but inviting a lot many foreign guests, their stay during the visit and managing their requirements along with the arrangements for events. Everything to be arranged without any fallacy should be the highest priority to keep up the pride and prestige of our nation at the international stage.
Another major challenge across the country is the law and order situation, and especially, the security for women. we are in a situation or in fact our inability to protect our own females, how can we assure the security of the players and their attendants visiting here? After the release of the Nirbhaya documentary, we have a very bad image across the world and our law and order situation is actually in a shameful condition. With the prevailing conditions, we should not take the risk of inviting outsiders and add to the degraded image of our nation at the Universal Front.
Bidding Olympics is not the matter just for the pride, but it involves many other responsibilities. It would not necessarily add to our economic development, but would definitely add to the lingering fear factor for security of our honourable guests.
- RE: Should India Bid For 2024 Olympics? -saket (04/07/15)
- the scams in the last Commonwealth games (scam of rs 70,000 cr) are a clear indication of india not being fit to organize such events. Such scams lead to an international shame. India is still fighting with the problems poverty, illiteracy, unemployment. the govt should spend 1.1 billion (the bid amount for Olympics) in such areas
further the taxation may increase to raise money which would effect the population most of which struggle to earn their daily bread.
