{"id":108225,"date":"2018-01-17T22:47:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T20:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/why-countries-should-break-the-crippling-cycle-of-hosting-big-sporting-events-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2018-01-17T22:47:44","modified_gmt":"2018-01-17T20:47:44","slug":"why-countries-should-break-the-crippling-cycle-of-hosting-big-sporting-events-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/why-countries-should-break-the-crippling-cycle-of-hosting-big-sporting-events-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Why countries should break the crippling cycle of hosting big sporting events | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why countries should break the crippling cycle of hosting big sporting events<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Local residents holding Chinese and Olympic flags attend a rehearsal in Chongli county of Zhangjiakou ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.<\/span> Reuters\/Jason Lee<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All over the developing world, metropolises are rushing to cement their status as \u201cglobal cities\u201d. These are metropolitan centres that compete to become important hubs of cultural and economic activity in the interlinked global world. It\u2019s all part of what scholars describe as \u201cthe modernity game\u201d. And sport is rapidly emerging as an important way to display modernity and earn the \u201cglobal city\u201d mantle. <\/p>\n

In earlier times, Western countries played host to massive events like the World\u2019s Fair to cement their status as modern world cities. Non-Western countries were left to \u201ccatch up\u201d \u2013 and despite their best efforts, few beyond Japan, South Korea and Singapore managed to do so.<\/p>\n

International sporting competitions are the new World\u2019s Fair and can propel cities up the global city rankings. Hosting the Olympic Games (in summer or winter, depending on their climate), the Commonwealth Games or a single discipline event like the FIFA World Cup offers cities prestige. <\/p>\n

Pyeongchang County, South Korea is hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics and Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympics. For \u201cglobalising\u201d cities in emerging market economies, these sporting extravaganzas offer a way to demonstrate their \u201crising\u201d geopolitical importance.<\/p>\n

For proponents of the \u201cglobal city\u201d model, this is reason to celebrate. But it also illustrates the ongoing attempt by non-Western countries to compete not only in sports but economically and culturally with the former colonial powers. Who are the modernity game\u2019s score-keepers? Who decides who is winning and who is losing? Who determines what counts as \u201cglobal\u201d and what constitutes the \u201cmodern\u201d? <\/p>\n

For the moment, the referees still seem to be primarily Western in terms of historical, geographical or philosophical orientation. The rankings after all originate from the West and are judged by Western entities. So, win or lose, it is still the West\u2019s game. They make the rules.<\/p>\n

When elites in emerging market economies accept the rules of today\u2019s modernity game and agree to play by them, they\u2019re re-enacting a centuries-old inferiority complex in relation to the coloniser. By accepting the rules, they\u2019ve already lost the game.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve lost in more than one sense. By allowing the (former) coloniser to define the field of competition, they\u2019ve conceded the ability to craft their own definition of \u201cmodern\u201d and \u201cglobal.\u201d <\/p>\n

Internalising the rules of the modernity game entails an acceptance of equating positive judgement with \u201csuccessfully\u201d adhering to Western ideals. This sounds abstract but concretely, it results in the misdirection of money that could be better spent elsewhere. <\/p>\n

Flexing geopolitical muscle<\/h2>\n

Countries are using sporting events to illustrate their increasing geopolitical significance. There are plenty of examples.<\/p>\n

China hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics. India hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010, the same year that South Africa staged FIFA\u2019s World Cup 2010. Russia will host the soccer showcase later this year and Qatar will host it in 2022. <\/p>\n

Brazil hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup and, two years later, the controversy-ridden Summer Olympics. <\/p>\n

The BRICS nations \u2013 Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa \u2013 and other \u201cdeveloping\u201d countries had to direct already limited resources away from important social projects to stage these expensive events.<\/p>\n

Citizens of these countries have become increasingly wary of the huge costs and question the wisdom of spending national monies on a once-off spectacle.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s 2010 World Cup and the same event in Brazil four years later were met with protests by citizens who wanted to see their countries\u2019 scarce resources put to better use. Both countries have high levels of income inequality.<\/p>\n

Similar protests took place before the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. <\/p>\n

Governing elites in each of these instances overrode the waves of dissent with a dismissive, \u201con with the games\u201d attitude. <\/p>\n

Why do governments direct scarce resources to hosting games over their citizens\u2019 more basic needs? Why are elites in developing countries so determined to succeed at the modernity game and make their cities \u201cglobal\u201d? <\/p>\n

One line of argument is that \u201cglobal cities\u201d attract investment, tourism and knowledge workers which all help the economy to grow. To attract professionals, many aspiring \u201cglobal cities\u201d have also made large investments in expensive art. Hosting sporting events and art fairs are useful in building \u201cglobal cities\u201d for highly-skilled workers and high-end consumers. <\/p>\n

But there\u2019s little space for the working-class majority in any \u201cglobal city\u201d. These places tend to suffer heightened social divisions and high inequality. <\/p>\n

Global sporting events exacerbate these problems: cities\u2019 poorer citizens are often displaced, \u201cmaking way\u201d for new stadiums and other infrastructure.<\/p>\n

A colonised mentality?<\/h2>\n

Instead of playing the modernity game, why don\u2019t \u201cdeveloping\u201d countries change the rules? My research indicates that the elite obsession with \u201ccatching up\u201d with the West does not result in erasing an inferiority complex vis-\u00e0-vis \u201csuperior\u201d Western modernity. Instead, it entrenches the inferiority complex that took root through colonialism.<\/p>\n

The Japanese philosopher Takeuchi Yoshimi argued that Japan\u2019s post World War II modernisation efforts amounted to trying to \u201ccatch up\u201d with the \u201ccolonial master\u201d. This, he writes, represents the intensification of the master-slave relationship between the coloniser and the colonised.<\/p>\n

The modernity game, although not modernity, originated in the West. Cities can only \u201cwin\u201d if they adhere to Western standards. Yes, that adherence can be positive when it yields good infrastructure and access to clean water and services \u2013 assets that benefit many people. But when the \u201cgame\u201d only results in more inequality, it\u2019s clearly time to change the rules.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Melissa Tandiwe Myambo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
\n<\/p>\n

Read more on The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Join the fun:<\/strong> Add Your event<\/a> | Submit a Press Release<\/a> | Add your listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why countries should break the crippling cycle of hosting big sporting events: Local residents holding Chinese and Olympic flags attend a rehearsal in Chongli county of Zhangjiakou ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Reuters\/Jason Lee All over the developing world, metropolises are rushing to cement their status as \u201cglobal cities\u201d. These are metropolitan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[5772,8890,2345,18699,5495,4848,1094,4017,13444],"class_list":{"0":"post-108225","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-break","8":"tag-conversation","9":"tag-countries","10":"tag-crippling","11":"tag-cycle","12":"tag-events-2","13":"tag-hosting","14":"tag-should","15":"tag-sporting","16":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}