Major sporting events such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup are arguably the most significant global contests. However, people’s views on hosting such events vary. Some people claim that organizing massive sports events is advantageous, while others consider that it is a waste of resources like time and money. Although there are some examples of inadequate investment from certain hosts, I believe hosting worldwide sports tournaments is mostly beneficial for the host in a number of ways.
On the one hand, there is much criticism on hosting large sporting events and recent history presents relevant examples of popular failures by hosts. Brazil’s case is quite possibly the most infamous one. This country hosted back-to-back major events: the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. Both of these tournaments required billions of dollars from a country that has notable issues related to the sectors of education and healthcare. In fact, Brazil also has a considerably high crime rate, and hosting these events while experiencing such issues obviously attracted controversy. Nevertheless, the country organized both, but it can be argued that these events were of temporary benefit, and country’s issues were largely ignored. Today, Brazil still has many of the problems mentioned earlier and there is no significant investment in dealing with those.
On the other hand, there are many examples of smart investments by other hosts. The latest instance is related to Qatar. This relatively unknown country in the Middle East has become a popular nation as a result of hosting the 2022 World Cup. In other words, Qatar’s example shows how certain countries spend money for international recognition and tourism boost. In addition, even though Qatar spent billion of dollars on this 30-day event, it managed to turn the world’s attention to it, which can potentially lead to economic benefits in the long-term. Another testament to how beneficial FIFA World Cup can be is South Africa in 2010. This was the first African nation to host the event and organizing it led to more community engagement and economic stimulation. Being the first African nation to host the event instilled a sense of pride in residents of the country, having a positive impact on its population as a whole.
With regard to my stance, I support those who believe in benefits of major sporting events. However, I think that hosts should be carefully chosen. For instance, countries that have persistent social issues, such as Brazil, should probably not be given rights to host such events, whereas nations that are economically ready should be given an opportunity. For example, Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup and there is nearly no controversy surrounding this particular event because it did not cost Germany as much as it did to other nations. Additionally, we should remember that hosting major sporting events is not only driven by a desire to generate profit. Other priorities such as being in a global spotlight and increasing country’s civic pride should be considered as well.
In summary, while some examples point out economic failures related to hosting sports events, I associate such major tournaments with numerous advantages.