In my last article, I discussed about some of the
major benefits of organizing mega sports events. In this article, the other
benefits are discussed.
By organizing a mega sports event, the host city has
the opportunity to position itself as an attractive international tourist
destination with upgraded infrastructural facilities which helps in improving
the experience of the visitors. For example, during the 1992 Olympic Games,
which was celebrated in Barcelona, the influx of tourists in Barcelona doubled,
reaching 3.5 million visitors per year between 1990 and 1994. In 2005, just
after the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the inbound tourism in Athens increased by
13% in 2005. The inbound tourism in Australia peaked during the 2000 Sydney
Olympic Games, with 1.6 million visitors spending more than US$ 4.7 billion.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup helped Germany in establishing the country as a
friendly and cosmopolitan tourist destination. Therefore, it can be said that
organizing a mega sports event helps a country to attract foreign tourists and
thereby generating revenue for the host nation.
For organizing a mega sports event, the host country
has to improve the infrastructural facilities in sports. These improved sports
infrastructure and the opportunity to compete with the best sporting nations encourage
the youth of the host country to actively participate in the sporting
activities. This increased participation helps in producing champions in sports
by establishing a system of talent identification. The emergence of the role
models in sports inspires the youth of the host nation to consider sport as an
impressive career option. Moreover, sport occupies important position in the
public policies of the host nation due to the hosting of mega sports events. A
prominent position in the public policies ensures greater investment for the
promotion of sports, especially at the grassroots level. These upgraded infrastructural facilities and
increased participation opportunity provide a career direction to the youth of
the nation in the field of sports. For example, during 2002-2007, INR 11.45
billion was allocated for sports in the Five-Year Plan, while in the next
Five-Year Plan (2007-2012), INR 46.35 billion was allocated for sports,
especially for organizing the 2010 Commonwealth Games which was held in Delhi.
Now, the question is how to harness the legacies
created by holding a mega sports event. More specifically, what would be the
way forward! The sports infrastructure, developed and upgraded for hosting a
mega sports event, must be utilized properly in order to create a culture of
sports in the nation. More such events may be organized to use the facilities
developed during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and 2017 U-17 FIFA Football World
Cup in India. A comprehensive strategic plan, involving the stakeholders of
sports, may be prepared to identify and nurture the sporting talents at the
grassroots level. Sports must be integrated with the education system to ensure
more participation at the school level. China introduced one such system,
called ‘Three Level Training System’, to take the sporting talents from local
school sports to provincial teams and finally to the national team. It is
equally important to provide scholarship to the budding sports-persons so that
they can focus on sports.
From the discussion, it is clear that holding a mega
sports event not only establishes a country in the global sporting map, but
also creates a culture of sports which helps the host country to produce
sporting talents of international repute. These events have a long term impact
on the economic, social and sporting aspects of the nation which is holding them.
However, it is the responsibility of the stakeholders of sports to sustain these
benefits which will help the nation to become a sporting nation.
