Commonwealth Games: A sporting spectacle amid chronic poverty

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was a brilliant 11 days of sporting endeavour at the highest level and, unusually, we were able to buy a paper whose sports section was not wall-to-wall football.

I wish that would continue. There were 22 different sports with many more separate events within each one. The talent and endeavour on display was inspiring. For the first time para sports were fully integrated into a multi-sport Games.

Overall, an enthusiastic atmosphere was evident in Glasgow with thousands of visitors adding their own colourful culture to the city’s own. Sport, musical and other cultural events were organised throughout the City, which added to the atmosphere.

The opening and closing ceremonies were little about sport directly and featured ideas about Scottish and Commonwealth culture which would not have everyone’s agreement.

A black South African female soprano, Pumeza Matshikiza, sang Hamish Henderson’s “Freedom Come All Ye”. Ironically, a song which rejects Scotland’s past role in aiding the establishment of the Empire, the forerunner of the Commonwealth by, in the main, exploitative brute force. It’s a song that looks forward to a future society which is multiracial and just and was particularly moving.

Not much was made of its significance by the TV commentators, probably not appreciating the ‘revolutionary’ nature of the song.

After one of Jamaica’s many athletics gold medal presentations and the playing of Jamaica’s National Anthem, Hampden rang out to Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier”, with its description of the brutality of the slave trade, central to Glasgow’s early growth and the creation of the Empire itself. Again, I am not sure all spectators recognised its significance.

Unfortunately, not all the events were open for many Glaswegians to view live, due to cost and the demand for tickets, although much of the games were live on TV.

The BBC produced their own peculiarly anglo-centric version of the games. The other so-called “home countries” were featured centrally as well as BBC’s own choice of ‘favourite sportspersons’ from other countries competing. In the sport I am most involved with, athletics, it took an American commentator to properly place in context all of the efforts of all of the athletes and not just the English ones.

The security for the games was airport style for every venue, underlining some of the political discord against which the games were taking place.

Locally, spending on the Games infrastructure was taking place against a background of austerity and cuts, particularly relevantly in local Government spending.

a real commonwealth

Also evident was the poverty, which abounds in many of the countries taking part. There were few sports fans from the poor countries of the Commonwealth. Bikes and sports clothing and equipment generously donated are symbolic of the generosity of the human spirit, but no substitute for revolutionary change in the distribution of the worlds wealth equally around all countries and all people.

Many millions around the world enjoy sporting activity. Unfortunately the inequality of wealth distorts the development of sport both collectively and individually.

Decent facilities, clothing and equipment are in short supply for millions. What we need is for all peoples of the world to have equality of opportunity to develop their talents in sport or whatever. Harnessing the wealth of the 1% and using it to benefit the 99% i.e. a socialist plan of production is what we need – a real Commonwealth. What a Games we would have then.