|
Hosting World Cup worth billions to Australia Article from: http://www.news.com.au/images/sourc...lytelegraph.gif By Tom Smithies February 29, 2008 12:00am THE full magnitude of what hosting the 2018 World Cup could bring to Australia can be revealed today as a government report highlights the billions of dollars of economic benefits. Just days after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged his Government's backing, the report revealed the financial boost Japan and Korea enjoyed after hosting the 2002 World Cup - a staggering $27 billion. The data was prepared for the Department of Tourism after the 2003 Rugby World Cup to assess the impact it had and helps put the Cup into context against various other big sporting events. The RWC generated $290 million and even the Sydney Olympics only produced $6 billion. Last night, Football Australia chief executive Ben Buckley said the report was hard evidence of the effect hosting a World Cup could have on the country and sport in general. "Figures like that illustrate why we are bidding for such a big tournament," he said. "There are obvious and substantial economic and social benefits to be gained from a World Cup and the historical evidence is that it benefits the economy across the board. "It goes way beyond football, though obviously it would be a huge shot in the arm for the code. But all walks of life, let alone all sports, would benefit from the investment in infrastructure and facilities. "Even bidding for the tournament can have benefits but we're very serious about winning." Hosting a World Cup requires significant investment across transport, communications and associated infrastructure but the net benefits are seen to be huge. Germany, for instance, spent about $2.4 billion refurbishing and building the 12 40,000-seat stadiums that are required. The German Government estimates the 2006 World Cup created some 50,000 jobs and brought millions of tourists to the country. But what all those figures equally prove is how stiff the competition will be to land the event, with England, China, the US and Holland all expressing serious interest. The ultimate choice will be determined in the corridors of governing body FIFA and in offices around the soccer world. The decision on who will host the 2018 World Cup will be taken by the 24-strong executive committee - not, as in previous years, by the congress of all FIFA's member nations. The committee is dominated by Sepp Blatter and includes powerbrokers Jack Warner from Trinidad, Chuck Blazer from the US Federation and UEFA chief Michel Platini. These are the men whose heads have to be turned - and they are all coming to Sydney in May. FIFA will hold its congress here, the annual talkfest when delegates from all the 200-plus member nations gather for a week of discussions, dinner and mutual appreciation. It is a good opportunity to show Sydney's wares, but the politicking has long been underway and Football Australia will have to mount a diplomatic offensive of epic proportions to garner enough votes. Warner, for instance, was previously hostile to England's bid but after meeting officials from the English FA, is now supportive. Frank Lowy's power will carry influence and it will be crucial to secure the backing of the AFC, whose head, Mohamed Bin Hammam, is on the executive committee. |
|
World Cup 2018: The Contenders By Charlie Caroe Last Updated: 5:21pm GMT 31/10/2007 There are five potential bids competing against England for the right to stage the World Cup 2018. United StatesHosts of the 1994 World Cup, as Fifa looked to conquer football's final frontier, the United States used nine stadia, averaging 69,000 spectators per game, to earn the overall attendance record of 3,587,538. The trophy was won by Brazil on penalties after the final finished goalless. The USA staged Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003, and also have new stadia in Seattle, Houston, Tampa and Phoenix. China As well as preparing for the 2008 Olympic Games, China hosted this year's Women's World Cup. With spending on the Olympics surpassing $40 billion dollars, any bid must be taken seriously, as China make themselves serious contenders for world-class events. The Chinese team made the World Cup for the first time in 2002 and are surely a future power in the game. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/gr.../31/ufncont.jpgLet the Games begin: Beijing's Guangdong Olympic Stadium will play host to the Olympics before being a likley centrepiece to a World Cup bidAustralia Quarter-finalists in Germany last summer, the Socceroos are fast improving as a team. With the legacy of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the 2003 Rugby World Cup in the recent past they are well placed to mount an impressive bid, with a reputation for efficient event management. As with China, the main issue for Fifa may be kick-off times for European broadcasters. Russia Money will certainly not be a problem in a country where the national team's new training camp is already being funded by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, to the tune of £20 million. Russia recently won the rights to stage the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, and will have the experience of staging a large international sporting event. Benelux Co-hosts of the European Championships in 2000, Belgium and Holland will be teaming up with Luxemburg for their bid. Matches would be staged in Belgium and Holland only, with Luxemburg hosting the Fifa congress, and not earning automatic qualification. Fifa may be their biggest stumbling block with the suggestion co-hosting may not be allowed again after Japan and South Korea shared the 2002 edition. Other runners: Canada, Mexico |
|
Sunday, October 1 Samaranch calls these Olympics 'best ever' Associated Press SYDNEY, Australia -- From the fields of play to Sydney's spectacular harbor, Australia and the world's athletes cut loose Sunday, bidding goodbye to two weeks of sporting triumphs and doping scandals -- a memorable Summer Olympics proud to claim the coveted title of "best games ever." Fireworks exploded across the Sydney sky, heralding an 8.5-mile "fuse" designed to carry the Olympic torch's symbolic light from the main stadium along barges in Homebush Bay to a jam-packed downtown, where the majestic Harbor Bridge for an explosion of light. "Seven years ago, I said, `And the winner is Sydney,"' said Juan Antonio Samaranch, the retiring president of the International Olympic Committee. "Well, what can I say now? Maybe, with my Spanish accent, `Aussie, Aussie, Aussie."' The crowd of 100,000 thundered the response now known across the world: "Oi! Oi! Oi!" Organizers wanted a relaxed closing show that let competitors and spectators send the games off in style. And a raucous, untethered, schticky party they got. It veered oddly among comedy (slapstick routines), ancient ritualism (Greek priestesses in flowing dresses) and the simply hallucinogenic (a giant upended fish skeleton and shrimp on bicycles) -- testament to what choreography, technology and an arenaful of enthusiastic spectators can do. The festivities began minutes after Elias Rodriguez of Micronesia ran into Olympic Stadium, ending the men's marathon and freeing the arena for athletes to swarm in. And if anyone worried these would be dubbed the "Drug Games," it didn't show Sunday night: The Olympic flame went dark, but the partying went on. Olympics-giddy fans and volunteers packed a stadium crackling with energy. They did the wave, flashed flashlights by the thousands into a crystal-clear night and chanted that spirited "Aussie" chant. And with cameras and carefree smiles, 10,000 athletes flooded the biggest Olympic arena of all. Swimming gold medalist Ian Thorpe, in a red coat, carried the Australian flag, waving it to the music. It was a fun, festive end to the games. And, boy, was it weird. Thirteen-year-old Nikki Webster, who journeyed through 50,000 years of Australian history in the opening ceremony, returned to star in the more festive wrapup, which grew progressively more surreal. If Salvador Dali ever held a homecoming parade, it might have looked like this. A lawnmower crashed through a stage and hundreds of band members -- on purpose -- in a mass chase torn from a Buster Keaton movie. There emerged outsized plastic dancers, robots on stilts and an angry inflatable kangaroo pushed by trolls in halos. Athletes batted around a behemoth eyeball. And nobody seemed to mind. "Let's party," the scoreboard pulsed. The ceremony was broadcast live on giant screens across Sydney and Australia. It featured a flyover by two Royal Air Force F-111s, fireworks artists from five continents, 7,000 performers and a parade of "Australian icons" from Greg Norman and Elle MacPherson to country singer Slim Dusty and aboriginal rocker Yothu Yindi. Also included: Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan, a good-natured symbol of the struggle over the nation's changing image. Australia expended great effort showing itself off during these Olympics to help visitors and a TV audience of billions understand that the world's southernmost continent is more than kangaroos and boomerangs. But, mindful of the tourism dollar, it also recognizes that pop-culture images still sell -- and sell well. Thus the closing featured the Men at Work song "Land Down Under." It featured the rubber thong, "Australia's beach footwear of choice." It featured a tune any Olympic visitor cannot fail to recognize -- the unofficial national anthem, "Waltzing Matilda." The verdict was certain and confident: Australia has successfully introduced itself to the world. "All Australians are entitled to feel proud of our athletes, our country and ourselves, and what our nation has achieved during this period," Olympics minister Michael Knight said. As with any Olympics, the 2000 Summer Games offered a dizzying selection of memorable moments to take home -- and some that everyone wishes they could forget. From the pool to the track, the baseball field to the wrestling ring, athletes made the marks of a lifetime. It was the Olympics of the Thorpedo. Of Cathy Freeman, the aboriginal sprinter who shouldered a nation's racial burden. Of Eric Moussambani, the swimmer from Equatorial Guinea who barely finished and captured the imagination of an underdog-friendly world. It was an Olympics of whooshes -- Thorpe and Susie O'Neill and Jenny Thompson and Inge de Bruijn whooshing through the water. Marion Jones and Maurice Greene whooshing along the track. Stacy Dragila and Tatiana Grigorieva whooshing over the bar and claiming spots in pole-vaulting history. It was an Olympics of surprises and unexpected twists: the U.S. softball team rallying for gold after a series of stunning losses; American wrestler Rulon Gardner defeating the most formidable foe of all, Russian Alexander Karelin; the U.S. men's basketball team nearly falling to Lithuania; Lance Armstrong losing the 33-mile time trial to his close friend Viacheslav Ekimov of Russia. It was an Olympics of firsts, especially for women. Trampoline and taekwondo and synchronized diving made their debuts, as did women's pole vault, women's water polo and women's weightlifting. And it was the Olympics of doping and cheating, showcased as never before thanks to more stringent IOC testing policies and punishments. Positive tests claimed five medals, including a gold captured by Andreea Raducan, the little Romanian girl whose doctor prescribed cold medicine that turned out to be banned. During the Olympics themselves, athletes underwent about 3,600 tests -- more than in any previous games. Less than 0.5 percent tested positive; officials say that percentage is declining. "It shows that a) athletes are more frightened, and b) that the testing is improved," said Jacques Rogge, vice chairman of the IOC Medical Commission. These were the final games for Samaranch, whose wife died hours after the opening ceremony. He went back to Spain to bury her and returned a day later. He has praised the Sydney games throughout. He said the games "could not have been better." "I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever," Samaranch said, and the stadium shook with cheers. He has applied that moniker to games in the past; a notable aberration was Atlanta, which he called simply "most exceptional." And 2004? Despite a slow start, Athens got an endorsement Sunday from the IOC, whose director-general said there is "no Plan B." Some speculated the next Summer Games might return here if Greece wasn't properly prepared. "I know that Greece lost time," said Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who helped secure Athens' bid and was re-enlisted anew as head of the organizing committee. "But whatever it will need," she said, "we will do it." |
| "Seven years ago, I said, `And the winner is Sydney,"' said Juan Antonio Samaranch, the retiring president of the International Olympic Committee. "Well, what can I say now? Maybe, with my Spanish accent, `Aussie, Aussie, Aussie."' The crowd of 100,000 thundered the response now known across the world: "Oi! Oi! Oi!" |
|
Originally Posted by forwardone
C`mon, only one vote so far. No one have any opinions on this at all?
|