Talking-up Scotland

Two years before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Scottish Government commissioned research into the history of legacies flowing form major sporting events. Here’s the conclusion:

‘There does not appear to be an inherent direct link between elite sporting events and positive legacy outcomes.’

http://www.gov.scot/resource/0040/00406065.pdf

That’s a polite way of putting it. No major sporting event (see evaluation report below) has ever produced a meaningful legacy in terms of increased participation by the local population or of any significant regeneration of the local area to benefit the local population.

Here’s how the Scottish Government’s own evaluation in 2015 put it:

There is no inevitable improvement of grassroots active infrastructure related to hosting major multi-sports events. Some research has found potential tensions between funding the infrastructure required for elite competition sport and investment in community grassroots infrastructure.

‘Thus, the message remains unchanged that increased sports participation and/or physical activity is not an automatic result of hosting a major sporting event, but is instead affected by a multitude of individual level, social and environmental factors.

Put more honestly, the Games damaged grassroots, local, infrastructure, reducing accessible facilities for the general public and probably reducing local participation.

The evidence from London 2012 was specific on participation:

‘The number of people playing sport in England has fallen since the 2012 London Olympics, despite the Games’ pledge to “inspire a generation.” Latest figures show 15.8 million people play sport or exercise at least once week, a drop of 0.4% since 2012.’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36540017

 Also, from the Guardian in 2015:

‘And since the Olympics, once-a-month participation figures show nearly 700,000 fewer adults are playing nationally funded sports. Since 2010, over 1.5m more people are not taking part in any sport. And that against the backdrop of a growing population base.’

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jul/05/olympic-legacy-failure-sporting-numbers-plummet

Looking back across the history of the Olympic Games supposed legacies; see this damning evidence from British Columbia Medical Journal in 2009

‘Is there any evidence that physical activity levels have increased in conjunction with previous Olympic Games? In fact, relatively little research has been done to study the “trickle-down” effect of staging an Olympic Games. Population-level data collected after the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games revealed no impact on parti­cipation in sport-related activities. Population-wide surveys on physical activity levels conducted in conjunction with the Sydney Olympics found little change in citizens’ activity levels from pre- to post-event. In fact, physical activity levels actually were lower in 2000 in Australia than in 1999 and 1997, the years leading up to the Olympics. Success by a country hosting the Olym­pics may have an impact on people already active in a sport that does well, but activity levels overall do not increase.’

http://www.bcmj.org/council-health-promotion/olympics-and-physical-activity%E2%80%94how-can-our-patients-benefit

Further, the cost of Olympic Games has been much more expensive than first stated, taxpayers have picked up the tab and the Olympic Committee still walks away much richer. See this from The Political Insider in 2016:

‘The Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games misleadingly claim that since 1984, every host city has broken even. This assertion conveniently excludes capital costs of stadiums, infrastructure, and the Olympic Village—the most expensive part of the tab.

In fact, every modern Olympic games has overrun its budget expectations. Research from Oxford University concludes that the average cost overrun in the last 50 years is 179 percent.

The average summer Olympics generates $5–6 billion in revenue, half of which goes to the International Olympic Committee. Brazil’s anticipated budget for the 2016 Rio Games is $11 billion and counting.’

http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/olympics-scam/#ixzz4UghzCzR5

Mind you:

‘Glasgow 2014: Commonwealth Games ‘was £25m under budget’

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-29935465

 Then again, £543 000 000 could have built around 10 000 new homes for the people of Glasgow.

Finally, the locals had their say in an extended Guardian piece which essentially trashes the idea that the locals benefited in any way but rather, their community was sacrificed for the Games. Here’s a snippet:

“We used to have a cafe and a chemist, two newsagents and a chip shop, but all that’s been flattened. They took away our high street, leaving us without any amenities for the last three years, and what have we got to show for it? A ‘transport hub’.”

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/mar/03/glasgow-faces-reality-commonwealth-games