Some people think that it is a waste of
money for countries to host big sporting events like the world cup, and that
the money would be better spent on other things. However, others think that
hosting large sporting events has a clear, positive impact on a country.
There
is fierce competition between nations to host major international sports events
like the World Cup or Olympics as it is a unique opportunity to boost the
national reputation of the host nation. In spite of its undeniable benefits, I
believe that the costs are too great and therefore governments should
prioritise other key issues to better benefit their citizens.
On
the one hand, becoming a host nation for global events such as the World Cup or
the Olympics brings a number of economic and infrastructural benefits. During
these events, there is an influx of tourists from all over the world who need
places to stay, restaurants to eat in and traditional products to purchase. The
efforts made to cater to these tourists will remain long after they have gone.
The cost of renovating a hotel might pay for itself during the event and then
begin turning a large profit in later years. The other main area of development
is related to the rapid expansion of quality infrastructure. Nations will be
forced to invest in new sports facilities like swimming pools and stadiums as
well as make renovations to pre-existing infrastructure like roads and
airports. For example, China used the Beijing Olympics as an opportunity to
modernise old buildings and roads.
On
the other hand, these competitions use up tremendous resources from the host
nation for a temporary competition. To ensure the success of these prestigious
events, governments must waste a large percentage of the nation budget in the
years leading up to the competition, oftentimes in the billions of dollars. The
newly constructed facilities usually fall into disuse after each tournament. A
salient example of this is Brazil as many of the swimming pools and sports
facilities that were used in the 2014 Olympics are currently abandoned and
becoming decrepit. Meanwhile, there are other pressing issues that have been
festering including the need for new schools for underprivileged students and quality
healthcare for the elderly population. If the government had prioritised these
issues the country would be in a better position and its citizens would have a
higher standard of living.
To
summarize, due to the exorbitant costs, I am of the belief that the government
should not allocate such a large percentage of its financial resources to
hosting global events with negligible long-term impact. Instead, these events
should be hosted in the same countries year after year so that the new
infrastructure pays for itself over time.
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