(raskan/Pixabay)
Ever since the end of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouverites have been patiently waiting for another world-class event to put the city back on the world stage. It was a long 16 year wait, but in 2026, the FIFA World Cup will arrive at BC Place.
There are certain processes that occur in a host city when an event of this kind occurs, some good, some not so much. City “beautification” within a certain distance of BC Place will start soon, which sounds like a great idea on paper. Vancouver is far from perfect, and with the Downtown Eastside often in the spotlight for it’s dire homelessness and drug problems, now might finally be time to improve the situation, right? Well, maybe on a surface level, but if you’re expecting anything beyond that, you’re probably in for a huge disappointment.
In 2024, Paris held the Summer Olympics. As part of their own beautification project, the Eiffel Tower was given an extensive renovation, a new Olympic village was built, and many of the city’s most vulnerable were moved out of sight of international attention. Homeless people of the Seine-Saint-Denis area were evicted in mass, placed on buses, and dropped in unfamiliar locations, or in some situations, even being deported. This horrific process was reported on by some outlets, but went largely ignored, as it obviously puts a dark stain on the Olympics and the city of Paris.
Maybe I’m being a bit paranoid, but the situation in Seine-Saint-Denis sounds eerily familiar. The Downtown Eastside problem can be solved, but it’ll take far more time and resources than the beautification fund allows for, so why not just move the problem elsewhere? We’ve already witnessed the homelessness problem spread throughout Metro Vancouver, with areas like Central Surrey and Langley City being particularly hard hit, so what’s stopping Vancouver from pulling the same move as Paris? They’d have to justify it, maybe build temporary shelters throughout the Metro, but the likelihood of any progress being made to actually solve the problem is slim to none.
The very fact that we could see something like this play out next year should be a wake up call. The province, Metro Vancouver, and the city itself have been in the business of “bandaging” this problem for decades now, without committing to sweeping long-term changes that would help the less fortunate actually get back on their feet. Maybe the world needs to see the Downtown Eastside. The garbage, the needles, the people. Perhaps that’s our wake-up call, our most sensitive issue, on display for the world to see. The World Cup should be a showcase of our character, so whatever happens to the Downtown Eastside next year, let’s hope it doesn’t detract from the biggest sporting event in 2 decades.
More information on the Paris Olympics Homeless Crisis: Migrants and homeless people are cleared out of Paris during the Olympics | AP News
Written by Noah Schmidt
Contact: nschmidt20@my.bcit.ca