England 2018?

In light of the recession, the team responsible for putting together the Olympics in London in 2012 have said that they probably would not have bid, had they known the true costs and the state of the economy.

The economy is currently dire. And, even when the recession does end, we're going to have a long period when things are still pretty tough. We're going to have to pay higher taxes to cover the currently-reduced rate of VAT, to fill the black hole caused by buying all those banks, to pay for the government's current raft of social projects, and to undo the damage caused by the so-called easing that is going on. Things are going to be hard for a good long time.

Which leads me to question just why it is that the powers-that-be thought now would be a good time to put in bids for England to host the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022. It has to be considered a massive extravagance, and is very likely to be a net-loss maker. Even if it does make money overall, those gains are going to be heavily concentrated around London, and not even close to balanced across England, never mind the UK as a whole.

This isn't an "England shouldn't have the World Cup" rant. In general, it is right that this country bids for prestigious events of this nature. ("This country" being the UK, of course. But, in real terms, only England can host the World Cup. That's the price we pay for having four national teams.) It's just that this really isn't the time.