Durban to host Commonwealth Games 2022

[Dave A]

So it's official now. Durban will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

[Xplosiv]

Sadly this event is set to be another white elephant (World Cup 2010) with corrupt politicians (and their chosen tenderpreneurs) the only winners.
Billions to be ploughed into upgrades of existing facilities and the construction of new facilities.
Undeclared backhanders to "smooth" the process.
And on and on...
Yes, there will be increased tourism (hopefully the latest visa charade is dropped by then) and that will bring in some money.
And of course the athletes will be spending money and TV rights will be sold.
But at the end of the day Durban will be sitting with a huge bill which will be difficult to offset.
The previous games hosted in Glasgow cost the city some £575 000 000 (R11 790 000 000) and all other contenders for 2022 withdrew.

I'm happy for Durban, but wonder if it is really worth it.

[Dave A]

Seriously? Do you think World Cup 2010 was a white elephant?

My impression is it did SA quite well overall!

[Xplosiv]

Don't get me wrong, I loved South Africa hosting 2010. Went to quite a few of the matches (and I'm not even a football fan). Was impressed by what we built and how smoothly (and relatively crime free) everything went.
As a PR exercise it was a great boost for South Africa.
FIFA dictated what we had to build (at our own expense) and bulldozed their mandate on us.
The 2010 World Cup generated billions, of which SA and the host cities received a tiny fraction - like a father giving his kids pocket money.
Behind the scenes was a lot of corruption, much of which is only coming to light now. Irregular payments to strange associations to ensure that SA won the right to host. The tenders. The free tickets to politicians (and their extended families).
Then there are the stadiums left behind that are now under utilized and costing millions in upkeep. Probably 8 cities would be doing themselves a favour by blowing up their stadiums. They are a drain on the economy.
SA put on a great show and hosted a great event, but we were short changed and left with a hole in our pocket.

[Gaynor]

Going to watch it with interest. Let's hope it means Durban gets an upgrade and gets back to some of its former glory. We just visited Scottburgh and I'm sad to say it's not what it once was. Really hoping this makes the coastal towns jack up a bit.

[BusFact]

I'd be curious as to what the 2010 numbers are. The challenge is that they require a fair amount of guessing. A lot of the benefits are said to be such things as extra tourism, and ripple effects of the capital expenditure on infrastructure. These are not easy things to measure accurately. I'm almost certain that the SA Government and SAFA did not generate a profit from the event. Well certainly not one that they could put in a set of company financials and get a loan from a commercial bank.

I still think SA can be proud for what they delivered. It was a serious achievement. Just not so sure it was a profitable one.

IMO, one hangover from 2010 is the on going etoll saga in Joburg. The highway improvement work was sold to the public as part of the benefits of hosting 2010 and everyone though great. Then afterwards the fine print was revealed that road users had to pay for it - continually.

In addition, I think some of the opportunity for South Africans to make money off the event evaporated when the FIFA storm troopers arrived and prevented a lot of small businesses from trading around the events. Their ability to prevent anyone using the term "2010" was nothing short of ridiculous IMO. "South Africa 2010" should have been available to South Africans to use as public domain. "FIFA soccer world cup" is a more reasonable restriction.

Ultimately I think that from a financial point of view, not many people benefited obviously. From a pride point of view, yeah we did better there.

[IanF]

I hope that the Government have learnt and don't leave Durbs with a legacy like the etolls.
The games should be great and will be another proud moment for us.

[Justloadit]

You bet the government has learn't. The next time they going to be more devious about it, as they know the public is brighter than what they thought the first time round.

[Xplosiv]

I think this sums up my feelings:

http://www.runnersworld.co.za/columns/columnists/mike-finch/durbans-commonwealth-games-are-we-mad/

[Dave A]

A fine day in Glasgow is not that far from a bad day in Durban

My view is closer to this R20bn bonanza view. Overall more positives than negatives...

The big thing to bear in mind is the infrastructure demands are not the usual "start from scratch" situation most cities find themselves in. The area has been deliberately developed with an eye on hosting the Olympics one day. And to no small extent, the Commonwealth Games is an important stepping stone towards that.

[BusFact]

Dave, I really hope you are right. Unfortunately my initial impression is one of some concern over their estimates:

1) 200'000 international visitors will visit Durban for the games. Gut feel says that's a tad optimistic.
2) Each of the above visitors is expected to spend an average of R60'000 into the local economy (which means over and above their flights). Yeah perhaps some of the Europeans, but I have my doubts as to how many of those "200'000" visitors will have that sort of budget. I certainly doubt it would be the average budget.

Ultimately the biggest warning sign I see is the fact that no one else bid to host the games. That should have alarm bells ringing.

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that this is a hugely expensive branding exercise. The funds could be better spent.

[Dave A]

Ultimately the biggest warning sign I see is the fact that no one else bid to host the games. That should have alarm bells ringing.

My read on that is we had the "never before held in Africa" inside track. Plus our track record for delivery on big events is beyond doubt now.

[gac]

Unless I missed something somewhere to the contrary, I recall reading that Durbanites (all 7% or so of those who actually pay rates) are still carrying the cost of a stadium that struggles to pay its own way. Do you have any idea of the accepted net balance of the world cup event?

[gac]

An informative article. No doubt the organizers were immensely relieved that Durban took it on and one can't help ponder whether their desperation has a few palms well greased, covertly of course. That aside it is rather ironical that when money flows in the right direction the otherwise usual stand against a symbol of colonial rule just melts away, which tells us a lot about the frontbenchers who lead the rebellion for questionable gain.

[gac]

Dave, help me out a bit please:
The article is based on a "report" - by who?

It states.....
"Generating total spend of R20-billion, which will translate into GPD growth of R11-billion;" - HOW?

"Creating 11,650 jobs;" - PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY?

"Training up a significant portion of the 10,000 volunteers, many of whom will be youth from rural areas;" - TO DO WHAT EXACTLY THAT WILL ASSIST THEM GOING FORWARD?

"Fast-tracking of government projects, such as housing development through the building of the athletes’ village and Durban’s public transport system;" - SEEING IS BELIVEING.

"Creating a “feel good” factor by replicating the carnival atmosphere of past Games;" AT WHAT NETT COST? I FEEL BETTER WHEN THE RATES & SERVICES I PAY REMAIN RELATIVELY CONSTANT TO INFLATION

"Reducing crime." - FOR THE DURATION OF AND IN THE PRECINCT OF THE GAMES ONLY

If these are the principal justifying reasons then something is horribly wrong.
There is such a backlog of housing and infrastructure development in KZN that diverting funding into these Games is a slap in the face for the masses of this country who have been over-promised and under-delivered for so long.