Shanghai Grand Prix, a rich man's club
China will host its first ever Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday. As economic interests dominate the sport event the poor will just look on.
Shanghai (AsiaNews/SCMP) A tobacco store on Huai Hai Road, Shanghai's luxury shopping venue, is having a special promotion this week: every time you buy ten cartons of West cigarettes total cost: 1,100 yuans (or about US$ 137) you get a free ticket to the F1 race scheduled for this Sunday. This is one of the many signs that the interests of the event's sponsors and the city fathers are one and the same, namely pulling off China's first ever F1 Grand Prix.
A show like this will delight the (rich) few and leave the lower classes wondering whether public monies were well spent. Liu Ming, a Shanghai taxi driver, has one answer. "Formula One is a rich man's sport," he said. "With prices at one thousand yuans, ordinary people cannot afford the event." In fact, without the promotional discount, the average ticket price would be US$ 400 in a country where the average worker makes US$ 200 a month. This effectively means that only the well-off can get a seat in the stands. More important, as Liu Ming points out, "the circuit is an hour from the city and few will make the trip there. Compared to basketball or football (soccer), car racing is a minor sport. Few locals are really interest in car racing. Why doesn't the government spend money on sports that the poor like?," he adds.
Controversy has dogged the event from the start of the year. Both location and cost are the main bones of contention. In the end, the bill has reached 5 billion yuans, not counting what was spent in building access roads and new housing. Many houses had to be torn down to make way for the construction of a structure that will only host one F1 race a year. Negotiations are however under way to bring in a motorcycle Grand Prix and a German competition.
For government officials and local organisers motor sports offer an ideal opportunity to enhance China and Shanghai's prestige and draw media coverage, something important for a country set to host the Olympic games in Beijing in four years time
"The government is more interested in promoting the city's image than in any immediate return," said Chen Xiyao, director of the Centre for International Research on Racing Cars. "The track won't produce any short term profits," he added.
Not everyone is losing though. Shanghai hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops are expected to benefit. "We raised room prices to US$ 200 per night plus 15 per cent charges," said a spokesperson for the Peace Hotel. "Every room is reserved for this week-end and the same is true for the other four 5-star hotels in the city."
Sponsors will also not lose. The expected 150,000 paying spectators and the millions of TV viewers across the country will the logos of the many corporate sponsors who have lavished millions of dollars on cars and drivers. Sinopec, one of China's three largest oil companies, Shell, Vodafone, Hewlett Packard, West, Lucky Strike e Marlboro are some of the names.
"The race is an excellent platform to promote our company and products across the world," a Sinopec spokesperson said. Thanks to a multibillion dollar contract the oil company is not only the Grand Prix's largest TV sponsor but has also won the right to have it named after it.
For tobacco companies, the event will also be a windfall. Although Chinese law bans tobacco advertising and ad signs will not be allowed along the circuit, their names will be quite visible on the drivers' suits and cars like West on McLaren and Marlboro on Ferrari. (DS)
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22/07/2021 09:27
