Balkan States Could Make A Joint Bid For The Olympics, Says Tadic
The Balkan states could collectively host the Olympics in the not too distant future, if Serbia’s President Boris Tadić has his way. In an apparent flash of inspiration while visiting the London 2012 Olympic venues on Wednesday, the president came up with the idea as part of his greater plan to reunite the states of the former Yugoslavia. Maybe the idea is not as far-fetched as it might appear at first.
There are plenty of recent examples of countries working together to successfully host international sporting events. Spain and Portugal put in a combined bid for the World Cup 2018, alongside a bid from The Netherlands and Belgium, while Japan and Korea jointly hosted the football tournament in 2002, so why not bring together these ex-YU stable-mates to hold this sporting opus across the Balkans.
Explaining the root of his idea during his three-day visit to Britain, President Tadić said: “Serbia and the Balkans are always associated with fragmentation, war and instability. In fact, once I said that my strategic goal is the de-balkanisation of the Balkans. If I might say, right now, it is the Scandinavisation of the Balkans. In that direction I was suggesting to my counterparts to do something which is very strange for ordinary people.
“First of all, to write the common book about our common history. I am not sure that we can deliver that very fast, but we have to start to think about that. The second is to build common Embassies. I am thinking of sharing the common infrastructure with a few Embassies, to show that we are somehow together.
“Then today, visiting the Olympic centre in London, we had a new idea: To be a candidate for the Olympics in the future, to organise the Olympics together. We have been very efficient at organising the [winter] Olympics in Sarajevo, as Yugoslavia, and Belgrade was a candidate for organising the Olympics. Unfortunately we failed at that time. But you never know.
“We are very successful at organising sports events, but this is not about organising sports events: this is about creating something together. That is what I am offering to my counterparts and friends in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Slovenia – even though Slovenia is right now a member state of the European Union.”
The more the idea is considered, the more value it holds. There would be shared resources and joint impact on infrastructure, plus shared opportunities for promotion and investment. Sport has the power to bring people together. Hopefully, by the time this idea could be put into action, the foundations would already be in place.
No comments yet.
Be first to leave your comment!