If a country creates a strategy for events and major sports championships, only to never actually implement it, this inverted power move could indicate any and all of several problems:
 
 

  • It may demonstrate a lack of political will or decisiveness, indicating that there is insufficient political support, commitment, or determination to move into the implementation phase, even if a framework or strategy exists.
  • It could stem from insufficient resources or funding. A common obstacle is that while a strategy exists on paper, difficulties in securing national, regional, or local government support mean that projects remain at the planning stage. Major championships often require government commitments and guarantees to be realised.
  • It may signal that the strategy was mostly about cosmetics rather than any genuine desire for change. Putting a strategy in place, even with no intention of implementing it, can be a way for a country to appear progressive or internationally oriented, short term, without really being prepared to take the actual steps and make the necessary investments.
  • It could also indicate a lack of cooperation between actors. Strategy work emphasises the importance of collaboration among sports, broad tourism (including meetings and events), and politics. Failure to implement the strategy may indicate a lack of coordination and consensus among the concerned actors.
  • And finally, it may be a failure to adapt to real world conditions. In some cases, the strategy may have been developed without sufficient analysis of the actual prospects, or perhaps it may not be possible to adapt the existing plans to changing conditions or external factors.

In practice, the failed implementation leads to the country losing influence, credibility, and opportunities to shape developments in the field. This relegates the country to the sidelines while other, more proactive, nations take the lead and raise their profiles through major events. Lofty ambitions with no follow through may also lead to disenchantment within the event and sports sectors and all affected business communities.

Suppose a country has some of the world’s most prestigious prizes – such as Sweden, which established the Nobel Prize well over a hundred years ago – yet systematically fails to link them to the fact that almost no Nobel Prizes in history have been awarded to laureates that has not been involved in, or at least been a delegate to, international conferences for knowledge building, networking, and research. In such a case, this might indicate a severe lack of imagination, creativity, and a failure to understand how things are interconnected – despite it being abundantly clear.

Do the most prominent event cities around the world really have a more advanced understanding of the importance of conferences for the world’s development? Or is it simply a matter of culture and attitudes, which should, at least in theory, be easier to adjust? Yet, so many politicians do not understand, and do not want to learn, or cannot, dare not, or can’t be bothered to learn. As such, it’s not terribly surprising that we haven’t made further progress. It is high time for imagination about what could be achieved to take more space in all discussions about our collective future – and, even more importantly, in discussion about the future of our children and grandchildren.

Perhaps it is time for global university degrees in how to utilise and apply our imagination more effectively? Dare to dream.