The World Cup: Holy Grail or Poisoned Chalice?
Hosting football's premier tournament is a big honour for any country, but is it worth the cost?
All eyes will be on Russia shortly as it hosts the FIFA World Cup, one of the world's great sporting occasions. The country will get a boost as tourists visit Russia's many far flung cities and spend freely in hotels and restaurants. But staging the event is not cheap. Russia will be spending at least $12 billion at a time when its economy is suffering from sanctions. And - once the teams and their fans leave, the clean-up is expensive and the legacy uncertain. This week Ritula Shah and a panel of experts ask what's to gain from hosting the beautiful game's greatest showcase.
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(Photo of Iranian player in training in Russia by Sergei Bobylev\TASS via Getty Images)
Contributors
Andrew Zimbalist - Professor of Economics at Smith College in the US and the author of Circus Maximus, The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup
Fernando Duarte - Brazilian BBC journalist and football expert
Anastasia Ouspenskaya - Russian BBC journalist and football correspondent
Manuel Veth - Editor of Futbolgrad, a website devoted to Football in the post-Soviet states
Also featuring:
Peter Okwoche - BBC African Service
Dennis Shkurin - Associate Professor of Applied Sociology in Yekaterinburg, one of the cities hosting the World Cup.
Broadcasts
- Fri 8 Jun 201808:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Fri 8 Jun 201817:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Fri 8 Jun 201823:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Sat 9 Jun 201803:06GMTBBC World Service except Australasia & News Internet
- Sat 9 Jun 201811:06GMTBBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
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The Real Story
Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.
