Sunday 18 May 2008

World Youth Day

World Youth Day (WYD) is coming to Sydney. It is a religious extravaganza that like the Olympics seems to occur every four years or so. It has no relevance for me but I appreciate that it is an event of significance for others.

Our state Government keeps telling us WYD will be bigger than the Sydney Olympics and bring greater benefits. The Government, which is pouring millions of public (ie our) dollars into this event, would say that, wouldn't they? Many have suspected the event will underachieve in promised benefits and overachieve in inconvenience.

The latter suspicion is starting to materialise. New traffic signs have suddenly appeared on roadsides all around Randwick Racecourse and surrounding suburbs. Although the racecourse is kilometres away from where I live, the traffic signs extend much closer.



I have a sense of dread that I will be drawn into this hoopla whether I am interested or not. And not just for a day either; this 'day' apparently lasts for a week.

3 comments:

  1. Trust me on this one, it will be good for Sydney. Like other major events we hold in this city there will always be some inconvenience. But each time we host one of these world focused events our city becomes the shining star on the world's stage. It will be good for our economy during the event and in the future as more of these big events are attracted to our beautiful city. - Do I sound like a spokesperson? :)

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  2. So shall we look out for World Muslim Day, World Buddhist Day etc to follow? And with taxpayers money of $126 million being wasted on WYD I can not see any benefit to us, whilst our hospitals, schools and public transport are in dire straits...

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