THE Olympics are billed as the greatest show on earth and, for me, the opening ceremony in Rio definitely delivered. It was more than colourful from beginning to end, including the many and varied national costumes on display from the athletes parade.
The ceremony paid homage to the evolution of Brazil in a rather innovative and effective way and the best bit of all, was the cost – only about £3 million. That may sound like a lot of samba dancers to you and me, but the London 2012 opening ceremony cost £27m and in Beijing four years before that the bill was a whopping £65m. I think Rio’s effort was value for money and great family entertainment, although matchsticks were needed for those who watched it live.
Perhaps there is a lesson here for the future – put a cap on the cost of the opening ceremony and invest the money saved back into sport, preferably at grassroots level.
I think the Games themselves have been a little lacklustre to date, but I am probably a tad premature with this statement and it may be a little too early to pass this harsh judgement. What these Games have been, without a doubt, is mired in controversy.
Even leaving aside the biggest pre-Games talking point, doping, and the lack of strong leadership to deal with this issue, the action since day one, has been peppered with problems.
More athletes than I can remember ever before have received some serious injuries, with cycling and gymnastics bearing the brunt, and it has all been covered by social media for your continuous car-crash entertainment. What has surprised me immensely is that they have managed to avoid even more serious incidents, and not, and I hasten to add this, thanks to any robust preventative health and safety measures, put in place by the organisers.
For anyone who watched cycling, the lack from control of supporters lining the route was a disaster waiting to happen. Why people would think that running alongside a cyclist, waving flags directly in their face, is giving support to the athlete, is beyond me. Why there wasn’t better stewarding in place is another mystery and a question that has to be answered and resolved for the future safety of not just participants, but spectators as well.
Sport is entertainment and we are all looking for an exciting game, a fast finish, a medal winner, but not at the expense of the safety of athletes or any support services,which must be ensured at all times.
Another issue has been a lack of spectators at some events. Have they been priced out of supporting the Games? Poor tickets sales could not have come as a surprise to the organising committee in the run-up to the Games, so why have they not taken steps to deal with this issue? They could have filled the stadiums by giving tickets to local people and local sports clubs.
I apologise if this all seems a little negative – or possibly what could be termed a rant! I am sure the pace will pick up and that I will spend the weekend watching, reading and hearing all about the wonderful achievements of our talented athletes. All of this, I trust will be achieved without any further accidents. Lessons must be learned and quick.
Maureen McGonigle is the founder of Scottish Women in Sport
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