I was at the Emirates in Glasgow this morning to get a taste of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, and as you can see from the photos below I had a good spot to cheer on Jemma Reekie as she won her semi-final. I felt a bit sorry for the chap in the Morocco shirt, though - I'm not sure if he was a very passionate coach or a family member (probably the latter), but he was on the floor with his head in his hands for a good five minutes after the Moroccan runner went from being in the lead in one of the men's 800m semis, to being caught on the line by several athletes, and missed out on qualification altogether.
Having been to several Davis Cup matches in the same venue over the years, I was fully braced for the now-familiar incongruity of a Union Jack Fest across the road from Celtic Park, but actually it wasn't too bad. It was a very international audience, and to the extent that there were 'home' flags, there were as many saltires as Butcher's Aprons.
I was remembering that the first time I was at the Emirates was for the badminton during the Commonwealth Games ten years ago, which prompted me to check whether there has been any resolution to the crisis over the hosting of the next Commonwealth Games in 2026. It seems there hasn't been, and the likelihood is that the event will either be postponed for a year or cancelled altogether. If the latter happens, there must be a question mark over whether the Commonwealth Games will ever be held again.
I'm not quite sure how I would feel about that. On the one hand, the demise of the event would be seen as accelerating the increased irrelevance of the monarchy, which would obviously be thoroughly welcome. Queen Elizabeth was obsessed with the Commonwealth, because it was the only sense in which she had held together her supposed birthright of Empire. Without the Commonwealth Games, is there really a Commonwealth? It's the only thing that gives the institution any real meaning for most people.
But on the other hand, the Commonwealth Games is the one and only opportunity for Scotland to compete as a nation in its own right in a number of high-profile sports, most notably track-and-field and swimming. It's also an opportunity for Scotland to win medals in sports that are popular here but are clearly never going to make the Olympic programme, with the obvious example being lawn bowls.
So maybe on the whole the pros outweigh the cons and we should hope that the Commonwealth Games survive in some form.
No i dont think pros outweight the cons , competition will always take place its what athletes do , if the commonwealth games fold they wont be missed for long , by many , something else will take their place the funding will be used for another competition.
ReplyDeleteI think it was the commonwealth games in Glasgow where the security stopped people entering with Scotland flags.
"competition will always take place its what athletes do"
DeleteBut in "Team GB" vests rather than Scottish vests. There are any number of international athletics competitions - Olympics, World Championships, European Championships. But the Commonwealth Games is literally the only one in which Scottish athletes can compete for Scotland.
Well better that Commonwealth Games go and Scotland has no games in which to compete as Scotland - that might wake more people up to the need for self-determination
DeleteSport is absolutely the best case example of national pride and other such divisions being positive. It lets people wholeheartedly support a group without any rancor or blowback, in principle, so long as sportsmanship is upheld.
ReplyDeleteAs such if any international competition goes down for reasons that aren't fostered hostility between people then it's a sad thing to my mind. The British Empire may have had issues, but that doesn't mean anything good from it has to be thrown out too.
I can't think of anything good from the British Empire apart from personal fortunes made. The union jack waggling festival known as the Commonwealth Games doesn't really compensate from the Bengal Famine, the Irish Famine or the Highland Clearances, to name just three imperial achievements. I know the union jack represents a state that doesn't take part in the games but its ubiquity in Glasgow was notable.
DeleteGiven a choice between the Scottish Government and Glasgow Council spending at least £500 million on the Games - OR - £100 million on a new Belford Hospital in Fort William, dualling the A9 and saving lives, working on the A82 and saving lives, and other more normal activities, guess which I choose?
ReplyDeleteDo you mean on hosting the Games? I didn't necessarily mean that. The general feeling seems to be that if it goes ahead, it'll be hosted by an alternative Australian city. In fact I think UK involvement has been ruled out.
DeleteYes, hosting the games here. 2014:
Delete"The Games were delivered within a budget of £543 million. The SG and GCC provided £425 million towards the overall cost of the Games. The remaining costs were met by £118 million income from ticket sales, sponsorship and other commercial sources."
https://www.gov.scot/publications/glasgow-2014-commonwealth-games-legacy-final-evaluation-report-april-2018/pages/2/
It would be a lot more now for 2026, and no wonder Australia (and the Gold Coast) turned it down. Yousaf in his utter stupidity offered to part fund it if the UK offered, but the rUK had far more sense. I don't think anyone will want to spend the extortionate sums of money again. Costs and frills just escalated. Sorry to be a killjoy.
Well, OK, but as long as you understand that's raising a completely different issue from the one I was addressing in the blogpost. I was talking about whether the Commonwealth Games should continue, not about whether Scotland should host it again.
DeleteIf the games continue in their current extortionate profile if some madcap country decides to blow its national budget for 2026 or delayed year, it still means that the next one after that would find it hard to find a host, and some lunatic showoff at Bute House would offer to pay money we can't afford, to share in the cost of, ooooh, £5 billion by then (Australia's estimates had already escalated to £2.5 billion).
DeleteThe only way the Games are worthwhile saving at all, is if the costs are cut way down, by 90% if not more. THEN it might be about sport, not about taxpayer funded jollies and lovies.
That's absolutely fair enough, inflated disproportionate costs abound.
DeleteJosh Kerr showed in Glasgow that whilst wearing a Great Britain shirt you can celebrate doing well in athletics by draping yourself in the Saltire.
ReplyDeleteWow!
DeleteAs someone who worked for the organisation in Glasgow I think it would be a real shame.
ReplyDeleteCan say hand on heart nobody thought it was about the royal family, it was about Glasgow, Commonwealth nations ans Scotland coming together. Shame cancel culture might get another victim.