In the week the London 2012 staium plans were revealed, Glasgow has won the rights to host the Commonwealth games in 2014. A superb coup for the Scottish City as the beat off a rival bid from Nigerian captial Abuja. The wider significance of this decision was outlined in this morning's edition of The Sun.
As it stands, the next decade is set to begin with Golf's Ryder Cup taking place at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales in 2010 and finish with England hosting the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Sandwiched in between will of course be the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 Ryder Cup, also in Scotland. Add to this England are also bidding for both the Rugby and Football World Cups in 2015 and 2018 respectively, it would seem that Britain will not be the place to be in you aren't a fan of Sport!
Young sports stars will now be given extra motivation to 'be the best' as they aim to represent the nation on home soil. Millions of pounds will also be put in at grass roots level to aid the development of the 'stars of tomorrow'.
And it's not just good news on the track/field/pitch/green (delete as appropriate). The economic benefits and regeneration for the entire nation will be immense. Infrastructure will be massively improved and transport links should/will be developed and expanded so getting around will be easier for all. Millions of jobs will be created, tourism will sky-rocket and for the most part, it's great news for the development of the UK.
However, from a completely selfish point of view, as an aspiring sports journalist, the news is bittersweet. Accesability to all these events will no doubt be a lot easier as they all be taking place on our very own doorstep but what about my opportunities to travel? Part of the reason I took followed this career path was the possibility that I would be able to jet-set around the world reporting on events from Europe, Asia and America. Sadly, for the next decade it looks like I will be reporting live from Newport, Birmingham and Stratford.
The beautiful thing about sport is that it is provides an environment of ultimate highs and lows. After the lows of recent times, last weekend saw Paula Radcliffe and Joe Calzghe restore some national pride. This news of potential line-up for the next decade should also help get the feel-good factor back as far as British sport is concerned.
Despite this
1 comment:
Nothing wrong with sports, its just the supporting of sports i don't like.
lol.
Post a Comment