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.
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.