The Chinese city of Guangzhou is all set to host the 16th Asian Games
Rupak D. Sharma in Guangzhou
Asia News Network
Stadiums. Check. Athletes’ Village. Check. Security. Check.
With everything set in place, China is ready to host another mega sporting event after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The 16th Asian Games, which will begin on November 12 in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, will provide the country another opportunity to exhibit its wealth and achievements. And the government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the smooth execution of the event.
Guangzhou, one of the prosperous cities in China, had started making preparations for this sporting gala soon after winning the bid for the Games six years ago. In this period of time, it has spent over 100 billion yuan (US$14.9 billion) to build world-class stadiums or renovate the old ones, beef up security and partially clean up its polluted environment.
The arrangements made so far give assurance that Guangzhou will not repeat the mistakes made by New Delhi, which nearly bungled the Commonwealth Games in October.
The Indian capital was in a mess even weeks prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. At Connaught Place, the commercial district of New Delhi, and many other parts of the city, heaps of mud, sand and cement laid strewn, which left one wondering whether India’s capital was a big construction site or a venue for one of the biggest sporting events in years.
Then there was a shooting incident days before the beginning of the Games in which two Taiwanese television cameramen were injured. A major disappointment for the government at that time was the incomplete work at the stadiums and athletes’ village over which many players threatened to boycott the event.
Guangzhou, on the other hand, has said all its 70 stadiums and gymnasiums are ready for use and have been handed over to the organising committee. The construction works at the athletes’ village, where the participants of the event will stay, are also complete.
“We have also held 47 test events in the sporting facilities since August 2009 and all the problems and issues have been dealt with,” Sun Xiuqing, aka Michael Sun, external relations director of Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee told an Asian media delegation that recently visited the city.
A visit to the city also shows that it is well prepared to host the grand sporting event. Roads have been widened and the Pearl River has been cleaned up. Security cameras can be spotted throughout the city and the number of checkpoints has also been increased. The city has also invested a significant amount on extending its high-speed railway network for the convenience of people, who will be visiting the city during the Games.
The Guangzhou government has said the works it has conducted in the name of the Asian Games is actually facilitating urban development which will benefit the city in the long run.
For instance, the government has spent quite some amount on industrial waste water treatment. “This is crucial for the residents and they will be able to reap benefits for it even after completion of the Games,” Sun said. Likewise, huge chunks of money have also been poured into building bridges, sewage treatment, subway extension and environmental protection.
“That’s how our investment on the Games crossed 100 billion yuan,” Sun said, trying to silence the critics who have been claiming the government is overspending on projects related to the Asian Games. “This money would have been spent (on these projects) even without the Games.”
According to Sun, only 6 billion yuan ($899 million) has been spent on the construction of sporting facilities and another 7 billion yuan ($1 billion) has piled up as operating expenses. The government is confident it will be able to raise this amount through sales of tickets and broadcasting rights, among others. Sun said critics should also consider that “the places where the facilities have been built will have high market value”, which will indirectly benefit the residents.
But above everything, it is the spotlight that the city will get which will matter the most in the long run. This will give Guangzhou—which is only known as an international labour-intensive manufacturing base—an opportunity to show the work what it is doing to attract high-tech industries. The Games will also promote surrounding cities like Zhuhai and Foshan, which have ample tourism spots but are largely unknown to the outside world.
Now, the only thing that might draw criticism is the quality of the city’s air. Even after doing quite some work, the haze has not stopped covering the sky of the city, although the government claims that the air quality in the Pearl River Delta has improved drastically in the first nine months of this year. The city does not want to draw negative publicity due to this weakness like Beijing did during the Olympic Games in 2008.
But the government believes that relocation or the complete shutdown of more than 30 chemical plants will make some contribution in its effort to clean the air. The government has also ordered owners of large vehicles to use the highest-octane gasoline to reduce emissions and the city’s environmental protection bureau has set up 29 checkpoints to monitor vehicle emissions.
“The aim of the Games is also to promote a healthy and civilised lifestyle with bluer sky, cleaner water, smoother traffic and more beautiful buildings,” the organising committee has said. “We are serious about it.”Published in Nov 5-18 edition of AsiaNews
Guangzhou Asian Games key facts:
- The Games will draw 10,156 athletes from 45 Asian countries and region
- The athletes will compete in 476 events under 42 different sports categories
- The Games is the largest ever in terms of the number of participants and the number of sports categories
- 4 new sports categories—dance sports, dragon boating, roller sports and cricket—have been added for the first time to the Games
- For the first time, the Games will also see women competing in sports such as boxing, kabaddi, water polo and cricket, among others
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