There is a growing trend where an increasing number of countries are willing to host international sports events. While this tendency can yield certain advantages such as long-term urban legacy, I firmly belive that the drawbacks- notable budget overruns and excessive public spending- are far more profound and outweigh its perceived benefits.
Perhaps the most significant benefit of hosting international sports events is the development of infastructure. When a country hosts foreign countries, governments start to significantly invest in city’s infastructure, by modernising public transportation, building state-of-the-art sports revenues, improving connectivity, and upgrading public transportation networks, which can provide local residents with long-term legacy that will serve tem long after the events. Beyond its immedite impact on strengthening local communities, it also allows faster work communtings, creates new opportunities for local sports teams and makes a country more appealing for tourists as a travel destination. This is exempified by Olympic games in 2018 in Russia, where life of the inhabitants has dramatically changed after large-scale infasturcture investments which improved their living standarts. Therefore, while hosting international sports events can benefit residents with favourable changes in infastructure, its significance remains relatively minor compared to its broader adverse impacts.
However, I strongly presume that hosting international sports teams can bring more detrimental consequences, chief among which is excessive financial burden on public. With governments excessively spending country’s budget on building new stadiums, meeting foreign guests and investing in facilities that are then underutilized, oteher aspects such as hospitals and schools might be deprived from funding for a considerable period of time, as the economic returns from sports events are highly questionable. The implications are not confined to the deterioration of medical and educational services, but also extend to long-term public debt, ultimately leaving govenments with little choice but to delay government employees’ salaries to cover the expenses. A perfect case in point would be 2016 Rio Olympic where excessive public spending on hosting facilies placed a strain on Brazil’s government, leading the country to long-term issues to tackle. In this context, I do believe that hosting international sports events poses more adverse ramifications, particularly in terms of financial difficulties.
In conclusion, although hosting international sports events can benefit local people with improved infastructure, I strongly contend that the far-reaching implications, driven by financial burden on public, decisively confirm that this is a negative development.