Could Phl afford the Olympics?
The recently concluded Southeast Asian Games highlighted the ability of a small citystate like Singapore to host the 10-nation multisport event. For the Philippines, sports that were expected to do well, for the most part, did well. The next question is, inevitably, can other ASEAN countries do just as well, or better, and who could host larger competitions, like the Asian Games or the Olympics.
For this writer, it is unlikely that the Philippines will be able to host the ultimate sports event, the Olympic Games, in this lifetime. Too much has to open, too much has to be invested, and it is too long a commitment for the country to focus on, and, with the fluid political landscape, wherein the winners of succeeding elections erase the programs of their predecessors, it’s doubtful such a campaign would even get off the ground. After all, who would get the credit? We’d be better off trying to host one-offs, like world boxing title fights or NBA games.
But for the sake of argument, and since it doesn’t cost anything to dream, what would need to happen for the Philippines to get this moonshot? First, we have to bear in mind that this could be a long-drawn effort and cost a lot of money. On a smaller scale, some cities take more than a decades before getting the license to stage the Palarong Pambansa, which is only a school-based event, and held annually. The Olympics may be a 20- or even 30-year plan, considering the next Games are already bidded out five to seven years ahead of time.
To begin with, the Philippines would have to have a track record of hosting the SEA Games and Asian Games, and we haven’t done the latter. The logistical requirements alone would be daunting. There would be tens of thousands of athletes and coaches, even more journalists, and a few million tourists and spectators. Food, traffic, security and accommodations would be a major concern, and would require the tight cooperation of concerned local governments. And we know that that rarely happens in the regular course of events as it stands. Since the Asian Games likewise takes place every four years, getting the franchise by itself might take some time.
Politically, we would also have to ingratiate ourselves with the European powers that be in the International Olympic Committee. From what this writer has gathered, Chicago allegedly lost its bid for the Olympic Games after such a great start simply because of a security issue. Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey supposedly had won over many of the European IOC reps. But when President Obama himself arrived to pitch for his hometown the Windy City, his Secret Service clamped down on his hotel which was also where the voting IOC members were staying. Some of them were apparently miffed. Instead of feeling like they were being courted, they felt treated like suspects in their own territory. Thus, Chicago lost momentum as voting went on.
Speaking of courting, an Olympic bid alone would cost in the neighborhood of $10 million, including full-blown presentations, preliminary research on the host venues, peace and order situation, and availability of hotels, public transportation and so on, remember, each country has at least one IOC representative, expect for those who have already hosted the Games, who have a second representative. Each bidding city or country would have to woo over 200 officials. As reported, sometimes, the wooing becomes wining and dining, or crosses the line, as it did in the Utah Winter Olympics case, when allegations of bribery and other misdeeds were published in international newspapers. Similar to getting a bill through Congress and enacted into a law, you need lobbyists and deep pockets to “entertain” voting members and sway them to your favor.
Next and perhaps most difficult of all, is there enough infrastructure around the entire country to accommodate all the events of the Olympic Games? Of course, some sports share venues since they only take a few days, or are held at different times of the day. In the Atlanta Olympics, the 70,000-seat Georgia Dome was partitioned into two by tiers of international media. One side was used for gymnastics, the other for men’s basketball. The organizers further subdivided the schedule by holding three sessions of two basketball games each day, with the US team always playing last. What about events with bigger needs, like equestrian, sailing, triathlon, athletics? Do we have enough places to play, and are they near enough a central transportation hub so that fans will have easy access to all the matches?
All in all, including refurbishing roads and venues, the country could possibly spend around $30 billion or more just on preparations. Who would the national government entrust such a large amount to? Who would have the clout and chutzpah to even attempt it?
One advantage is, with an event of this magnitude, global sponsorship is an easy sell,. Moreover, the Olympic Program (TOP) is a fouryear partnership with sponsors. For the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, organizer Peter Ueberroth asked sponsors to build venues and allocate a nine-figure amount to television sponsorship. LA was the first modern Olympics to make money.
Another advantage is that everyone will want to help by volunteering as a liaison, usher, driver, interpreter, and so on. The number of volunteers would likely surpass 100,000 for the two and a half weeks. The downside is that, after those magical events, the country will end up with monolithic arenas that will be underused, at best.
Then again, it doesn’t cost anything to dream.