Consider with us a few headlines about the upcoming 19th Commonwealth Games in October in New Delhi, and compare them to what has been reported about the 16th Asian Games that will take place in November in Guangzhou, China.
We’re now 46 days away from the opening ceremonies of Delhi’s Games. Member nations are confirming more and more athletes on their rosters. But accusations of graft and corruption are also flying freely.
At the Games Village, health officials have reported heavy mosquito breeding in the Games Village, raising possible dengue fears. Mosquitoes are usually pretty prevalent this time of year because of monsoon rains, but the Municipal Corporation of Delhi still called the sanitation of the area “pathetic,” and said the basement of one building of flats was waterlogged, the Times of India report said.
As if the prime minister weren’t busy enough, he’s had to put his top ministers in charge of overseeing the Games preparations and will personally check the sites at the end of month.
Travel east about 3,500 kilometers and you’ll find the site of the Asian Games in Guangzhou in southern China, which will kick off on Nov. 12. On the website you can watch an hour-long video of the countdown ceremony, full of singing and dancing, with choreographed martial-arts moves galore.
The photos of the 70 or so Games venues, many of which were possibly erected or at least started when Beijing began preparations to host the 2008 Olympics, show them ready for athletes. In late July, the organizers took journalists around to show off the finished venues, according to the website. In the Chinese case, “finished” means ready for action, not ready for further finishing touches, such as clearing debris, painting and so forth, as in the case of Delhi’s 18 venues.
Now that Guangzhou has completed the major projects like venues and housing, they’ve moved on to the little things that make for a truly successful event. You can buy Asian Games mascot figurines, among other merchandise. On the site you can read about the organizing committee’s training session for management staff at venues responsible for catering, transport and environmental sanitation.
Also in late July, the organizing committee held a sample tasting event for the reporters’ cafeteria. There are photos of intricate spreads of meats and flower-cut vegetables. Caterers are clearly named on the Asian Games website. Even the price of a self-service meal is available: 50 yuan, or $7.35.
Delhi, meanwhile, is still taking bids from caterers. On the positive side: It’s chosen a song to greet Games athletes and A.R. Rahman is composing it.
There was one piece of protest-inducing news from Guangdong, the manufacturing province where Guangzhou city is located. Residents in the province became concerned when the government asked to switch the language spoken in a number of TV programs to Mandarin from Cantonese. The move was ostensibly aimed at catering to visitors arriving for the Asian Games who speak Mandarin. The government has insisted the proposal wasn’t aimed at doing away with the language or culture.
Back in Delhi, security issues are once again coming to the fore. New Zealand authorities are anticipating a terrorist attack on a “soft target” in the city ahead of the Games, according to a report from Agence France-Presse.
And much worse than any of the expected reports about delays and reports was this tragic news from the construction of venues, a two-year-old girl was killed when a truck hit her near the entrance to the main Games venue, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Her parents came to Delhi to work at the site, and have been working there for the past six months, police told the newspaper. Their daughter was playing with other children at the construction site itself, which is common for migrant laborers’ children. The driver fled the scene and the truck was impounded, the Times of India reported.
Source:- http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/08/17/a-tale-of-two-games/?mod=%20e2e_yahoo_home_india
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