Those who are away from India, just for your info.. these days the word that we
come across every minute in news channels and every day in newspapers is
"Austerity" the latest buzz word.... :)
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New Delhi, Sept. 16: The axe of austerity has fallen on sports too.
The latest victim of the cost-cut drive, which has suddenly unravelled to
ministers and politicians the virtues of flying economy class, is A.R. Rahman.
The Oscar winner’s “one year to go” musical show at India Gate on October 3 has
been cancelled by the Commonwealth Games Organising committee.
“We are cancelling the show as part of the austerity measures that we have
decided to undertake. This was decided by the organising committee itself and
we haven’t received any notification about this from the Government of India,”
organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said today.
The show was expected to be a huge draw with the maestro belting out his hits
to an audience sources said could have numbered close to 20,000. The organisers
were also planning to cash in on the star’s appeal to generate excitement about
the 2010 Games from October 3-14, the first mega sporting event of its kind in
28 years since India hosted the 1982 Asiad.
At the last Games in 2006, Melbourne hosted some of the most innovative
artistes and performers from across the Commonwealth. A big hit was The
Festival Melbourne 2006, which cost $13 million to stage but attracted about a
million people.
China, too, pulled out all stops to make last year’s Olympics one of the most
spectacular sporting events in Asia.
Kalmadi, however, doesn’t seem to believe in “frills”, though the Rahman show
would have cost the Commonwealth Games exchequer Rs 10 crore, peanuts compared
to the Games budget of Rs 2,264 crore.
Moreover, insiders say, advertisements and television rights would have earned
the organising committee big bucks as revenue.
This isn’t all.
Kalmadi has also done away with the cultural show at Trafalgar Square after the
Queen’s Baton Relay ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London on October 29 that
will mark the start of the journey of the Games to Delhi — a 1.75-lakh
kilometre trek through 70 countries.
“The Queen’s Baton Relay will start from Buckingham Palace in the presence of
India’s President Pratibha Patil. There will be no cultural event after the
handing over of the baton. We have decided to cut down costs on all frills. We
are also going to travel by economy class,” Kalmadi said.
Earlier, it had been planned that after the Queen handed over the baton to star
shooter Abhinav Bindra, there would be a grand opening ceremony at Buckingham
Palace. But that, as they say, is now history.
It is estimated that the handover ceremony will be watched by an estimated two
billion people on television across the globe.
“All these events should come out of the funds the CWG will generate. I don’t
see why this is happening. Austerity might just be an excuse, I am sure they
have their reasons. We have to meet the standards set by the other countries
that have organised the Games before. It will show India in a bad light,” said
K.P.S. Gill, who headed the Indian Hockey Federation.
“Also, it’s wrong to speak suddenly about austerity when one has already taken
on a big event such as the Commonwealth Games. Standards should not and cannot
be compromised,” the former top cop added.
