The last time Scotland hosted the Commonwealth Games, in 1986, it all went horribly wrong. Half the Commonwealth boycotted the games and the event made a huge loss. Could the same happen in 2014? Are the organisers prepared for such a political threat?
Meadowbank Stadium where the last Scottish Commonwealth Games were held
I don’t want to be a doom-monger, as the sale of tickets gets under way, but “The Games” have always been open to political exploitation. Peace campaigners in ancient Greece used the Olympics to call a truce in a series of endless wars. Roman emperors used them to distract the people from questioning their rule. The Commonwealth Games themselves were founded in 1930 to bind the crumbling British Empire together. Alex Salmond is using them to bolster the cause of independence.
But worse than the treat of propaganda, is the threat of boycott. In the last few weeks we have heard calls for the winter Olympics in Russia to be boycotted over the issue of gay rights. The London Olympics last year were unusual in not suffering any boycotts. The Olympics have a history of stay-aways, over issues as varied as Soviet invasions to apartheid.
In 1976, 26 African countries boycotted the Montreal Olympics in protest at New Zealand’s sporting links with South Africa. Nigeria followed this up with a boycott of the Commonwealth Games in 1978 in Edmonton, Alberta. And in 1986, 32 African and Caribbean countries stayed away from the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, again over the issue of apartheid.
Mrs Thatcher was refusing to condemn sporting links with South Africa and trying to limit international sanctions against the white regime. In true Thatcherite style, she stuck to her belief that engagement was the best way of ending apartheid, despite the disastrous effect her policy was having on the Edinburgh Games. She wrote in her memoirs of visiting Edinburgh on that occasion:
“We went to see the competitors – those at least whose countries had not boycotted the event – in the games village, to be met by a few catcalls and some sour criticism. I did not disagree with Denis when he remarked that this was one of the most poisonous visits we had ever made.”
The event descended even further into farce when Robert Maxwell volunteered to save the games from financial ruin, and then only provided an eighth of the money he’d promised.
Let us pray that the same does not happen to the Glasgow Games. But it is not hard to see that it could happen again. Anything can upset the international community and lead to a boycott – something silly that Britain or Scotland does, or something silly that one of the participating countries does and then – like New Zealand in 1976 – insists on appearing in Glasgow. After all, it was only a kiss in Moscow last week that has threatened the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
So, how could the games organisers in Glasgow respond to such a threat of boycott? I hope it’s as much a part of the planning process as the travel arrangements, the security, the construction programme, the ticketing, the sponsorship etc. Will the games go ahead despite any boycott? How big a boycott could the games withstand? Could athletes from non-Commonwealth countries be invited to fill the empty spaces in the games village? Could the games be postponed for a year?
Perhaps there is nothing the organisers can do but hope that no boycott emerges. And if it does, it could be counted an “act of God” for which no plans can be made. But the risk is huge – £523m in money terms, not to mention the risk of disappointment for the 262 potential medal winners and all those of us hoping to buy tickets. So in the next 12 months we need to keep politics separate from sport, have contingency plans in case of a small boycott and hope for the best.