Where once an event like the Olympics or the World Cup may have been seen as a triumph of corporate and athletic enterprise, today’s world counts the cost of games much more carefully.
Previous events have left countries with decaying venues and huge bills that take years to pay off.
Local communities are increasingly unhappy that a large portion of their government’s funds are directed towards events that might line the pockets of corporations, but do little to support local industry.
The $51 billion Sochi Winter Olympic Games — believed to be the most expensive Olympics in history — may have showcased modern Russia to the world, but it also shone a spotlight into the darker corners of the country’s society: its treatment of LGBT people, the crackdowns on free speech of groups like Pussy Riot, and the corruption among the country’s elite.
The spotlight will soon turn on Brazil, with the World Cup kicking off in June.
Here too, the event has brought world attention to the country’s issues.
Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to protest the enormous financial costs, the forced evictions of communities, and the exploitation of construction workers.
Marginalised people bear the brunt of costs for these global events.
A new report from Caritas Australia estimates that around 200,000 people have been forced out of their homes in favelas in Brazil to make way for the construction of venues for the World Cup – that’s one in every 1000 people. Continue reading.
Source: Eureka Street
Image: ShutterStock