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'Alive and kicking' Manchester repairs Britain's image, boosts event's futurePosted: Monday August 05, 2002 10:10 AM
MANCHESTER (Reuters) -- Manchester's successful Commonwealth Games have not only repaired Britain's tattered reputation as a host of major sports events but also revitalized a festival that appeared to be on its last legs 16 years ago. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge believes the 17-sport Games, which finished on Sunday, have cancelled out a fiasco over the staging of the 2005 world athletics championships which London had to abandon last year. The event, bringing together 72 nations from the group of largely former British colonies, has also shown that the "Friendly Games" have a solid place in today's competitive market where sporting festivals have to fight for sponsors. "Ten years ago I thought this event was dead," one IOC official said. "But clearly it is very alive and kicking." British sports officials, keen to launch a London Olympic bid for 2012 at the end of this year, needed the Games to be a success to persuade the world that the birthplace of many sports was grown up enough to host a modern, multi-discipline event. The packed, enthusiastic crowds at the showpiece event of athletics and the excellent atmospheres at other venues at the 11-day Games impressed Rogge during a visit to the city. In an interview with Reuters, he said: "This has done a lot of good for British sport. It has been a major success. A comeback was always possible because of the underlying fundamentals of British sport. Britain can do it." Now British Olympic officials will try to persuade Prime Minister Tony Blair that his government should underwrite a 2012 bid which is likely to cost up to 15 million pounds ($23.55 million) -- and guarantee financial support if London wins. The IOC will decide the venue of the 2012 Olympics in 2005, around the time when Blair is likely to face a general election dominated by public spending on health and education. Outstanding success The question is whether the British public would stomach talk of spending millions on sport stadiums at a time when the funding of hospitals and schools will be under the spotlight. Britain has not staged the Olympics since 1948 when it stepped in after the Second World War to revive the event. British sports minister Richard Caborn said a final decision on any bid would be made by the end of the year. It is clear that Olympic officials want to enter a 2012 campaign but will only do so if they have the full support of the government. "Manchester had been an outstanding success and it sends a clear message that Britain can do these things," British IOC member Craig Reedie said. British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive Simon Clegg added: "If we bid and are successful it will be due -- in no small part -- to the success of these Commonwealth Games." Last October, Rogge questioned Britain's commitment to world sport after it shelved plans to build a national athletics stadium at Picketts Lock in north London and gave up the right to host the 2005 event. But the Manchester athletics enjoyed the best crowds at a major track and field event since the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart. The host country also performed well at the Games -- an important factor in IOC minds when they choose a venue. Buzz The buzz around Manchester also proved that the 72-year-old Games still have a place in the sporting calendar, even when world athletics championships are held every two years. When the event was last held in Britain in Edinburgh in 1986, former publisher Robert Maxwell had to step in to rescue them from financial trouble. They were also upset by a boycott. Britain spent 170 million pounds (US$266.9 million) on new venues for the 2002 event and marketed it well. The next Games in Melbourne in 2006 are also expected to be well-run after Sydney staged a glittering Olympics in 2000. The British should not get too carried away, however, as they consider entering an Olympic bidding battle that is expected to include top European cities such as Madrid and Moscow, German and U.S. cities which are yet to be finalized, and Toronto. London's transport system is not as well developed as other major European countries and Britain would have to invest heavily to make it possible for thousands of athletes, media and fans to get around the city -- a key part of any Olympics. Another sobering fact. A few months after praise was lavished on Germany for the 1993 world athletics championships, Berlin was well beaten in the IOC vote for the 2000 Games. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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