The bidding procedures for both World Cups and Olympic Games have become vastly expensive and overblown thanks to the Maharaja-like egos of these two bodies. Bidders must be queasily vainglorious and yet ready to abase themselves in the pursuit of victory.In the background, the lobbying of the sports marketing empires, the broadcasters and the sports equipment companies beats out a constant theme, “money talks”. And yet it is not beyond possibility that England’s acceptance of a more modest role in the hosting business will be also forced upon these two world bodies in the very near future.Earlier this year, ISL, a Swiss-based sports marketing group, affiliated to both Fifa and Uefa (the European football governing authority), went bust. Meanwhile, the company to which Fifa assigned the TV rights for next year’s World Cup in Japan and South Korea, has been obliged to scale down its extortionate fees to national broadcasters buying up match coverage.Indeed, as the draw for the World Cup Finals was made in Pusan, South Korea, yesterday, it was only masking Fifa’s long- acknowledged fear that the tournament will be a logistical, political and marketing nightmare.

They have already stated, in their wisdom, that joint-hosts will not be considered again, since it seems to double the organisational and political burden rather than halve it. Both Fifa and the IOC will also have to wean themselves off an addiction to grand, capital cities. These may have the infrastructure but the building, travel and hospitality costs are huge.It is distinctly possible that a lower-key attitude to global sports events, though achieved in error, is now much more in line with the sensitivities of a world fearing recession and beset by confusion Ditch the bombast Small is beautiful.. Gordon Brown’s announcements are never quite what they seem. In the past he appeared to be spending recklessly when he was hardly spending at all. Sometimes he seemed to be sparing Middle England taxpayers when he was hitting them stealthily.

Now we come to the Big One, the one we have all been waiting for, and it is not quite what it seems either. Only this time the illusion is more extraordinary than ever before.We all know now that the Chancellor can appear to be acting in one way, while in reality doing something altogether different Now he is performing contradictory acts simultaneously. Like the later Beatles albums or the more serious Woody Allen films, we recognise the tricksy echoes from his “early years”, but he has moved on to more subtle and complex terrain. What Mr Brown has done in hinting at the need for higher taxes is both more mundane and more dramatic than the headlines have suggested.Let us get the more mundane over with first. From the way Mr Brown’s statement has been presented, it would seem that taxes have not been increased since 1979. Both the crusading supporters of Mr Brown and his right-wing opponents have fed this impression “What bravery!” shriek some Labour MPs.

“I’m emigrating”, scream some reactionary fools calling in to various phone-ins on national radio. It was not long ago that poor old Norman Lamont announced substantial tax rises Indeed Mr Lamont performed a double whammy. In one Budget he proposed tax increases, some of which he would implement only in a year’s time. He therefore got slaughtered twice for the same announcement.As for Mr Brown himself, he has been busy with his stealth taxes since 1997 There is nothing new about tax increases They did not end in 1979. Nor will Mr Brown’s new tax rises next March be as great as some of the predictions have been suggesting They may not be great enough.