India started counting her days for the mega event, the common wealth games 2010 going to be held in Delhi. All the arrangements are expected to be over well in advance as per plan.There is a common view among some section of the society that spending huge sum of amount on a sporting event is not necessary. Its true that nearly 30% of our people live below poverty line. We are unable to provide them with their basic amenities. Still the sports sector is also suffering a lot without proper exposure and resources needed to bring out better sports men. The mega events such as CWG and SAG have lots of benefits for the host country and its people.
The following are the various benefits and significance of conducting mega events.
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The infrastructure of the host city is enhanced with the construction of new stadiums and buidings .It is the most essential thing because during the Mega event, thousands of people will gather in the host city from each part of the world. They are athletes,journalists or tourists. No matter whom they are or what they do, they will live in the host city for a while. So traffic conditions, housing conditions and stadium conditions have close relationships with their standard of living in the host city. Infrastructure faces the biggest challenge and it will give all people their first and last impression of the city.
Sports venues become symbolic of the Mega events. People can always easily remember the main stadium of a host city and regard it as one of the most important symbols of that city. Recently, people request not just a basic venue, but one with modern architecture and special functions is now the aim for host cities. More importantly, host cities already noticed the venues’ effect on city development over a long period. “The idea was that most of these facilities would serve as multipurpose community facilities both before and after the Games with maximum utilization by different users groups sharing the facility. It was hoped that new and upgraded facilities would not be stand-alone endeavors but would stimulate community revitalization.” (Hiller, 2000:446), therefore building new sports venues are not only for the Mega events but also have influence on city development. It seems some global cities always get the right to host some important competitions and exhibitions. Modern venues are their advantage to be the host city for international events. These big events could accelerate the city development.
When building these infrastructures, we should consider the future of the city’s development and not just confine them to the Mega events. Some negative news regarding venue usage in Athens came to light after the Games. The same situation also emerged in Sydney before 2004. The situation was improved by the government effort recently. So this is a common problem and it relates to the city development in future.
As the mega events have got a lots of advantages to the host countries, still there are noted drawbacks in conducting them. The infrastructure established for the events must be in par with the city development plan. It must be utilized in future for various sporting activities. At present, in our country except for cricket other sports are not given much importance. People who choose sports as a career are getting reduced day by day. More over tourism will increase revenue but its not permanent. The expense must be justified with the results. Another important thing that needs our attention is the involvement of Indian firms in constructing the stadiums and other buildings. At present stadiums are constructed by foreign companies with Indian labour. This phenomenon will help those firms to showcase their talents rather than showcasing our nations potential. We have to tap the knowledge and potential of our people to showcase our assets rather than serving as a platform for foreign companies to display their abilities.