Delhi Jealousy Belies Little Britain

Today marks the start of the Commonwealth Games, but so far all we have heard from the British media is how it has been beset by problems.  One cannot help feeling there is a touch of the old colonialist attitude towards the reporting of the build up to these games: how dare those darkies believe they can hold a successful international competition!  An excellent article by Mick Hume makes this point.

This of course follows on from the criticism of Beijing 2008 which, I can guarantee, in two years time will have provided a better competition than our overrated dump of a capital (what else did Seb Coe mean when he said London would not match the Beijing Olympics).  Want to see how well we can organise things?  How about a major golf competition in Wales which has been delayed by the surprising element of weather. Who would have though there would be rain in Cardiff in October?  Not the organisers of a British hoster Ryder Cup.

And if Britain is so great at hosting major international sporting events as the BBC and other media outlets are so quick to have us believe, what did Olympic president Jacques Rogge mean in 2002 when he said the Manchester Commonwealth games had gone a long way to restoring Britain's credibility in terms of hosting big sporting events.