Hosting a Multi-Sport Event: Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs?

Also read: Memorable Moments from the PanAm Games.

President Da Silva was met with emphatic boos at the opening ceremony.

From July 14th to the 28th, the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosted the Pan-American Games- one of the world’s largest sporting events. With over 5,500 athletes competing from 42 countries, the Games represent a massive endeavor for any host nation. For Brazil, a country determined to shed its image as a developing country and firmly establish itself alongside impressive middle-income countries such as China and India, the Games provided an ideal platform for showcasing the nation’s wealth and culture.

Needless to say, the sheer amount of organization and coordination that was required to hold such a huge sporting event is astounding. From lodging, to food, to security, cleaning, laundry, and transportation, right down to a simple helping hand, thousands of bodies (and an estimated 15,000 volunteers) were required to maintain the up-keep of close to 8,000 foreign athletes and their staff for two weeks of competition. The Brazilian people- with their intense energy, warmth of spirit, and vibrant love of sports- were fantastic, gracious hosts.

But with the Games now all said and done, I can’t help but wonder, was it all worth it? Are there any real positive dividends for holding a multi-sport games in a country like Brazil, where poverty and crime continue to (visibly) plague the nation?

Rio is ringed by Favelas (Slums) which the PanAm buses avoided.

Without a doubt, the Games itself drew in significant commerce during the two weeks of competition, with reports of up to 800,000 tourists flocking to the beautiful city of Rio, and certainly, the Games created considerable employment opportunities for its residents. But apart from these short-term benefits, how much could an event like this really add to the economy and to society itself in the long run? Will Brazilians view the millions of dollars devoted to running the Pan-American Games as a worthwhile initiative in years to come?

From the minute that I landed in Rio, I sensed great ambivalence about these very questions. It often felt as though a low-rumbling undercurrent of dissent was simmering just below the surface of the reality we were being presented as athletes. While we were always treated with utmost priority and care, I sensed a feeling of restlessness from the people that continually threatened to overshadow the event itself (and that consequently had the organizing committee falling over itself to mask). Several incidents in fact made me seriously question the rose-colored glasses I was being asked to don for the duration of my trip. Here are just a few.

Taking the bus from the airport to the athletes village, one of the first things we noticed apart from the sprawling expanse of low-development housing, was the highly incongruous nature of the main soccer stadium in Rio, which looked like a massive, glistening white UFO had been dropped down in the middle of an otherwise cohesive community. Several Canadians mused jokingly at the whereabouts of the inhabitants that presumably lived in the space where this massive structure now lay.

With security convoys leading us directly to the athletes’ village, I found out early on that the squash venue was a 1.5 hour drive away. It was only after talking to some other South American players (who had smartly consulted a map) that we found out that the venue was actually only about a 30-minute drive from the athletes village; our buses in fact, took a longer route to avoid having to take us through the seedier areas of Rio. In a city with the 3rd highest crime rate in the world, and where almost half of the 752 favelas (slums) in Rio are controlled by drug gangs, it was no wonder that the organizers had taken these extra precautions. (In fact, the Canadian athletes were required to attend a mandatory security briefing by our Royal Canadian Mounted Police, where we were advised, among other things, to avoid remaining idle at stop lights after 10pm for fear of being carjacked).

On our way to the opening ceremonies, a massive convoy of buses carrying the athletes to the stadium could not have been any more conspicuous. With security cruisers leading the procession, sirens blazing, effectively halting already grid-locked traffic, it must have appeared as though we were movie stars, making our way through the city. However, as we looked out our windows, there were long stretches of slums- set right next to the highway- that remained completely unfazed by our passing presence. I watched as one man stood atop his dilapidated house, creating a makeshift roof out of garbage bags. I saw barefoot children flying kites on barren grounds alongside pigs that roamed freely, rummaging through scraps of garbage. I saw dwellings bordering riverbanks gone black from the waste, objects as big as cars protruding from the murky waters. As we passed by, the dwellers scarcely lifted their heads to see us; they were impervious to the procession. For them, the harsh realities of everyday survival continued unabated. The Games would likely have little impact on these figures.

During the Opening Ceremonies, the President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva was greeted with emphatic boos within the stadium- a gesture hinting at fierce defiance. In a country of immense social and economic inequality, it seems as though the revered leftist, fondly referred to as “Lula” has created as many enemies as followers in his efforts to reduce poverty in the country. Unfortunately, the Americans too were met with a stadium full of boos, underscoring the fragile political climate that is the reality in Brazil and beyond today.

Time and time again, there were subtle reminders that all was not well in this great South American country. The airplane crash in Sao Paolo did nothing to deter from this feeling. Nor did reports of massive police raids (involving thousands of officers) on districts harboring drug gangs, just prior to the start of the Games. In an atmosphere of turmoil and uncertainty, I questioned whether this sporting event would have any lasting legacy on the country (other than massive debt). Would the people of Brazil look back on the Games as a worthwhile investment, in light of where that money could have gone?

As the games kicked off, a demonstration was held in front of the mayor’s office in Rio to protest the huge sums of money spent on the event (a reported four-fold increase to the initial budget), while commentators such as Joao Palomino of ESPN in Brazil argued that greater priority should have been given to issues such as poverty reduction. Others however, were pleased with the improved infrastructure and increased security, thanks in large part to over 20,000 police officers that helped bring security to the city well before the Games even started. Without a doubt, the Pan-American Games seemed to evoke great debate and ambivalence among the Brazilian residents.

But should social policies even figure into the cost-benefit calculations of countries looking to host a multi-sport games in the first place? Maybe holding an event such as this is meant to be a political display of strength and power; a global affirmation that such a huge feat can be achieved; a point of great national pride. These are all worthy causes, and maybe it is unfair to use sport as a platform for pushing social and economic standards or policies. Is it the international community’s place for example, to pressure China into improving its human rights record in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing? More interestingly, will the same amount of pressure be mounted against Vancouver on issues such as homelessness and the environment, leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics? Are there unfair double standards being placed on those not considered to be “first-world” countries?

There are no easy answers to these questions, but at the end of the day, despite outside perceptions and pressures, I do believe that a host nation’s population deserves a say on how their tax dollars will be spent; it is often forgotten that the people often have little sway on a decision that will ultimately have a significant impact on their lives. And from my time in Brazil, a constant palpable feeling of restlessness continued to place doubts in my mind that the people were adequately consulted about this Pan-Am venture. I don’t pretend to know much about this complex and diverse country, and I can’t profess to having been shown the whole story while I was there, but I did sense a real unease that included more than a small minority of detractors, and that ran far deeper than the issue of the Games alone.

If Brazil plans to hold the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in its country (as it hopes to do), it would be wise for the government and organizing committees alike to carefully consider these rumblings from its populace to ensure that those who will ultimately bear the brunt of these sporting expenses in fact view these events as positive investments, worthy of the heavy social and economic costs that will surely remain long after the wild euphoria of the Games are said and done.