The comparison challenge !

The splendour of the Bejing Olympic games opening ceremony achieved a new high. China is rumoured to have spent thirty billion dollars hosting the games, and that presents an impossible challenge for future Olympic cities.

London has the honour four years from now - and inevitably the world will expect an opening ceremony that it bigger, brighter and better than that presented in Bejing.

There simply can not be an even comparison. China is a one party dictatorship and there is no check on the spending decisions it's leaders make. Huge numbers were involved in the opening ceremony - and many were drawn from the People's Liberation army. There are no statistics on whether performers were paid for their services - or merely drafted - and huge numbers of people were relocated without adequate compensation to make way for the Olympic site.

Whatever decisions the London Olympic committee make will be subjected to intense scrutiny by the media and the British parliament. Every penny will be counted and in a democracy that expenditure will be measured against unmet social needs in the community. To even meet the spending level of China would provoke an unprecedented level of criticism.

This may be the time to make a necessary change. Maybe we have gone too far in creating ever bigger extravaganzas. Perhaps the time has come to scale back to an achievable format so that in the years ahead staging the Olympics can not only be considered by the richest of rich countries.

The Olympics are a world event and they originated in Greece, a country not considered wealthy. The last Olympics taxed their resources to the extent that they will be paying off that debt for many years.

The Olympics bring fame and glory to any country hosting the event. The media showcases that country to the world - and tourists come in droves.

Perhaps the Olympic spirit would be enhanced if staging the games became within reach for even the poorest country on this planet - but to do that fresh limits need to be placed on the cost !