Ready to organize the Olympics?

Renato Marques

Following the words of President Xi Jinping and other high-ranking officials from the Central Government, the local government has rushed to promote the idea that Macau has transformed itself (overnight) into a City of Performative Arts and Sports.

The idea presented by the central government makes perfect sense. It aligns with expanding local revenue sources and reducing dependence on the casino industry. Still, instead of developing a serious, honest plan to follow through on these instructions, local authorities hurriedly claimed, “It is already done.”

Recently, Chief Executive (CE) Sam Hou Fai was again caught in exaggerated claims that work had been completed before it actually began.

During the closing of the 15th National Games, while praising the event’s organization, he also stated that the successful joint hosting by Guangdong Province, Macau, and Hong Kong would demonstrate Macau’s readiness to host the Olympic Games.

Ignoring the excitement factor that might have influenced such overstated remarks, the recent organization of the 44th Macao International Marathon contradicts the CE, but, more importantly, it highlights that Macau still has a long way to go before it can consider itself a true player in organizing major sports events.

In reality, it’s not enough to say that “the event was successfully held.” If we truly want to be a “City of Sports,” we need a more critical, honest, and evaluative approach to the events we host.
We can only “get better” at something if we first acknowledge our flaws.

As the largest-scale event (by number of participants) that Macau hosts each year, the marathon can serve as an example and a learning resource for hosting other events.

Aside from the competition side, where I am not aware of any issues, the marathon struggles in other areas, such as transportation. There is no solid plan from the organizers to transport over 12,000 people to Taipa’s Olympic Sports Center, where the marathon begins.

They assume it is just an individual problem and that each person should find their own way to get there, and that is where the problem starts.

All large-scale events, particularly when hosted in a small place like Macau, involve the whole city – its people, those participating, and those not participating.

It is absolutely essential to plan transportation for runners, organizers, volunteers, invited athletes, and everyone simply on their way to work or home.

The marathon forces road closures and disruptions, which are normal and acceptable, but this issue is aggravated by the marathon’s scheduled time. Yes, you read me correctly –aggravated, not minimized.

The marathon starts at 6 a.m. (before the buses are operating normally and when the LRT is closed), forcing all those mentioned to either use private transportation or take the night buses (N2 and N3), which are designed for a few dozen people, not thousands.

The outcome was what happened last Sunday: people arriving late, getting lost, running with their backpacks, and drivers caught off guard by road closures, unsure how to proceed. In the end, it painted a terrible picture for the event and for Macau.

Luckily, almost no one saw it happening! Oh, wait – wasn’t the goal of hosting sports events to “increase visitation”? I guess not; otherwise, why would the event occur before sunrise, unlike marathons everywhere else in the world, which commonly start between 8 and 9 a.m.?