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The Organisation of Marathons in Divided Cities: Brussels, Belfast, Beirut and Jerusalem

2012; Routledge; Volume: 29; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09523367.2012.702106

1743-9035

Bruno Coppieters,

Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management

Abstract The organisers of city marathons want to involve a large number of participants and to mobilise the support of local neighbourhoods. This is a particularly difficult challenge in a divided city, especially when the route crosses dividing lines in disputed territories – in which case, organising a marathon carries the risk of generating fresh conflict. But it is possible to avoid such an outcome. Brussels, where the dispute about the city boundaries has always been a peaceful one, has a city marathon that crosses these boundaries, and Belfast, a city with a long history of intercommunal violence, has successfully organised a marathon every year since 1982. Despite the segregation of Beirut's neighbourhoods, the participants in its marathon have run through the whole city since 2003. In Jerusalem, by contrast, a political row over the route of the first marathon in 2011 broke out in the municipal council long before the starter pistol was fired. To examine the reasons for these different outcomes, this article looks at the different types of territorial division in these cities, the types of relationship developed between the marathon organisers and the authorities, and the values the organisers have chosen to promote. L'organisation de marathons dans des villes divisées : Bruxelles, Belfast, Beyrouth et Jérusalem Les organisateurs de marathons urbains veulent impliquer un grand nombre de participants et mobiliser le soutien de locaux proches. Ceci est un défi particulièrement difficile dans une ville divisée, particulièrement quand le parcours croise des lignes de démarcation dans des territoires disputés - auquel cas un marathon porte le risque de relancer un conflit. Mais il est possible d'éviter un tel résultat. Bruxelles, où le débat sur les frontières de la ville a toujours été paisible, possède un marathon urbain qui qui croise ces frontières, et Belfast, une ville avec une longue histoire de violence intercommunale, a organisé avec succès un marathon chaque année depuis 1982. Malgré la ségrégation des voisinages de Beyrouth, les participants à son marathon sont passés en courant dans toute la ville depuis 2003. À Jérusalem, au contraire, un conflit politique sur le parcours du premier marathon a éclaté au conseil municipal en 2011 bien avant que le coup de feu du départ ne soit tiré. Afin d’examiner les raisons conduisant à ces différents résultats, cet article s’attache aux différents types de division territoriale de ces villes, aux types de relations développées entre les organisateurs de marathon et les autorités, et aux valeurs que les organisateurs ont choisi de promouvoir. La organización de maratones en ciudades divididas: Bruselas, Belfast, Beirut y Jerusalén Los organizadores de maratones urbanas desean involucrar a un gran número de participantes y movilizar el apoyo de las poblaciones locales. Éste es un reto especialmente difícil en ciudades divididas, en especial cuando el recorrido atraviesa líneas divisorias en territorios bajo disputa, en cuyo caso organizar una maratón conlleva el riesgo de alimentar el conflicto. Pero es posible evitar este efecto. Bruselas, donde la disputa sobre las fronteras internas de la ciudad siempre ha sido pacífica, cuenta con una maratón que cruza dichos límites, y Belfast, una ciudad con una larga historia de violencia intercomunitaria, cada año ha organizado con éxito una maratón desde 1982. A pesar de la segregación de los barrios de Beirut, los participantes en su maratón han corrido por toda la ciudad desde 2003. En Jerusalén, por contra, surgió una disputa política en el consistorio en torno al recorrido de la primera maratón de 2011 mucho antes de que se diera el pistoletazo de salida. Con el objetivo de examinar las razones de esta variedad de resultados, este artículo analiza los diferentes tipos de división territorial en las mencionadas ciudades, las formas de relacionarse entre los organizadores de las maratones y las autoridades locales, y los valores que los organizadores han optado por promover. Die Organisation von Marathonläufen in geteilten Städten: Brüssel, Belfast, Beirut und Jerusalem Die Veranstalter von Stadtmarathons möchten eine große Anzahl von Teilnehmern einbeziehen und die Unterstützung lokaler Wohngebiete ankurbeln. Dies ist eine besonders schwierige Herausforderung in einer geteilten Stadt, besonders wenn die Route Trennungslinien umstrittener Gebiete kreuzt – in dem Fall birgt die Organisation eines Marathons das Risiko, einen neuen Konflikt zu verursachen. Aber es ist möglich, dies zu vermeiden. Brüssel, wo der Streit um die Stadtgrenzen schon immer ein friedlicher war, hat einen City-Marathon, der diese Grenzen überschreitet, und Belfast, eine Stadt mit einer langen Geschichte von übergemeindlicher Gewalt, hat jedes Jahr seit 1982 erfolgreich einen Marathon organisiert. Trotz der Segregation von Beiruts Wohngebieten sind die Teilnehmer im Marathon seit 2003 durch die ganze Stadt gelaufen. Im Gegensatz dazu brach 2011 im Gemeinderat in Jerusalem ein politischer Streit über den Streckenverlauf des ersten Marathons aus, lange bevor der Startschuss fiel. Um die Gründe für diese unterschiedlichen Ergebnisse zu untersuchen, betrachtet dieser Artikel die verschiedenen Arten der territorialen Aufteilung in diesen Städten, die Art der Beziehung zwischen den Marathon-Veranstaltern und den Behörden, und die Werte, welche die Organisatoren zur Werbung gewählt haben. Keywords: marathonsport policyethnic conflictsdivided citiessport valuesMots-clés: marathonpolitique sportiveconflits ethniquesvilles diviséesvaleurs sportivesPalabras clave: maratónpolítica deportivaconflictos étnicosciudades divididasvalores deportivosSchlüsselwörter: MarathonSportpolitikethnische Konfliktegeteilte StädteSportwerteView correction statement:Erratum Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the people I was able to interview in Beirut (November 2007), Belfast (May 2010) and Jerusalem (February 2011). I had 17 interviews with officials involved in organising the marathons, elite runners, sports journalists and political representatives (names have been withheld). I also took part in the half-marathon in Brussels (2007) and completed the marathons in Beirut (2007) and Belfast (2010). Moreover, I had the opportunity to present and discuss my ideas at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies in February 2011. I am grateful to Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov, John Darby, May El Khalil, Sabine Fischer, Donald L. Horowitz, François Janne d'Othée, Lior Lehrs, Roger Mac Ginty, Allan Muller, Oded Raanan, Fabrice Randoux, Patrick Stouthuysen, Jos Van Roy, Michael Waller, Sigrid Winkler, Catherine Woollard, Aviel Yelinek and the two anonymous reviewers of the journal for their comments on a previous draft of this paper or on my research. I am further much obliged to Veronica Kelly who made the language corrections. Notes 1. Marathons were organised in Brussels in the 1980s and 1990s. The first-ever marathon in Jerusalem actually took place on 27 October 1992. But unlike the 2011 marathon, it was a one-off event, and not sanctioned by the International Association of Athletic Federations in accordance with a set of formal criteria. See the letter from one of the participants, Dov Schwartz, ‘Letters: Marathon Woman’, The Jerusalem Post, March 28, 2011, and the reply from Melanie Lidman, ibid., on http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Letters/Article.aspx?id=214203 (accessed January 6, 2012). 2. The organisers of the New York marathon estimate its economic impact at about $250 million, taking into account the relatively long stays of the runners from outside the city and their families. See Evan Weiner, ‘New York City Marathon Is Area's Biggest One-Day Sports Event’, Newjerseynewsroom.com, November 4, 2010, http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/professional/new-york-city-marathon-is-areas-biggest-one-day-sports-event (accessed September 2, 2011). On the economic impact of marathons, see Cobb and Olberding, ‘The Importance of Import Substitution’. 3. On the relationship between health and charitable values in marathons, see Nettleton and Hardey, ‘Running Away with Health’, 441–60. 4. Recent publications written from this perspective include Sugden, ‘Critical Left-Realism and Sport Interventions’, 258–72; Schulenkorf, ‘Sport Events and Ethnic Reconciliation’; and Kartakoullis and Loizou, ‘Is Sport (Football) a Unifying Force?’. 5. In explaining the differences between divided cities in terms of organising marathons, the following analysis does not distinguish between individual and team sports. That would require a wider comparative angle, involving a large number of sport disciplines. One could a priori assume that ethnic identification and mobilisation would be more likely to happen in team sports than in individual sports, but much still depends on the institutional context in which the sport organisation is embedded. Concerning Lebanon, Danyel Reiche observes that swimming fully reflects sectarian affiliations, whereas rugby – a sport that does not have a long tradition in Lebanon – does not. Reiche, ‘War Minus the Shooting?’, 266. 6. On the ethnic dimension of marathons in the US, see Cooper, ‘Community, Ethnicity, Status’; Cooper, The American Marathon; and various entries in Kirsch, Harris, and Nolte, eds., Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports. 7. On the Pyongyang-Nampho Marathon for Reunification, see Merkel, ‘The Politics of Sport Diplomacy and Reunification in Divided Korea’, 300; and Merkel, ‘Sport, Politics and Reunification’, 416. 8. http://www.saharamarathon.org/ (accessed January 6, 2012). 9. ‘It will be a matter of honour for our capital, Nicosia, to reveal the ongoing political issue of occupation and division of the city, the last divided capital in the world’. http://www.nicosiamarathon.com/index.aspx?Language=ENG (accessed October 20, 2011). 10. The explanation of the historical significance of the Brandenburg Gate published in the programme of the so-called ‘reunification marathon’ of 1990 is reproduced on http://www.germanroadraces.de/274-1-19627-20-years-of-german-unity-the.html (accessed January 6, 2012). See also Collings and Sykes, Marathon!, 75–8. 11. The starting point for the 2004 Brussels marathon was the Atomium, likewise a national symbol of Belgium. The runners then crossed the city borders in the north of the city, rather than in the direction of Tervuren. See ‘ING Brussels Marathon neemt nieuwe start’, http://sport.be.msn.com/nl/atletiek/article.html?Article_ID=77671 (accessed March 29, 2011). More information about the history of the Brussels marathon can be found on the Belgian runners’ forum, http://www.chatnrun.nl/ (accessed March 29, 2011). 12. In full: Agentschap voor de Bevordering van de Lichamelijke Ontwikkeling, de Sport en de Openluchtrecreatie. 13. See the Wikipedia article ‘De Gordel’, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Gordel (accessed January 6, 2012). 14. ‘Overheid betaalt de rekening’, Brussel Deze Week, May 27, 2010. 15. In 2008, the organisers experienced problems with some of the municipalities along the route, which refused to pay policing costs. This was one of the few difficulties the marathon organisers have had to resolve with the local political authorities. See http://www.telebruxelles.be/portail/emissions/les-journaux/le-journal/2554-1003-marathon-un-itineraire-incertain (accessed January 6, 2012). 16. This was different from those marathons organised in parallel with the 20 km in the 1980s and 1990s, where the Belgian national anthem was played at the start and the finish line was at the Cinquantenaire. 17. A short documentary on the first Belfast marathon may be found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDQvUQMuRFc (accessed August 22, 2011). 18. The following section, including the history of the Belfast marathon, is largely based on interviews in Belfast, May 2010. 19. See, for instance, a Reuters report of 1985: ‘Sectarian barriers in this segregated and troubled city opened Monday to allow about 3,000 athletes to run in the 4th Annual Belfast City Marathon’. ‘It is one of the few days in the year when people can mix regardless of their beliefs’, said Paddy Murphy of the Northern Ireland Sports Council. The marathon takes members of the province's Roman Catholic-minority in the province through Protestant areas such as Sandy Row, where they could face violence on any other day of the year. (…) ‘I have met runners from both communities who have seen some parts of Belfast for the first time on the marathon’, said John Kinahan, a senior executive for the Guinness brewery’. ‘Belfast's Strife a Distant Finisher on Marathon Day’, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1985, http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/guinness-brewery (accessed January 6, 2012). On sports tourism in Northern Ireland, see Devine and Devine, ‘The Politics of Sports Tourism’, 171–82. 20. On the compromise solution concerning the route, see Saoirse32, ‘West Belfast “Back on Track”’, March 31, 2005, https://saoirse32.wordpress.com/2005/03/31/west-belfast-back-on-track/ (accessed April 28, 2012). 21. Interviews in Belfast, May 2010; Ian Graham, ‘Dissident Republicans Blamed for Bomb on Belfast Marathon Route’, The Independent, May 6, 2003. 22. BBC News, ‘PSNI Chief Condemns Marathon Bomb’, May 3, 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4503283.stm (accessed February 5, 2011). 23. http://www.belfastcitymarathon.com/opencontent/default.asp?itemid=5§ion=ABOUT (accessed January 5, 2012). 24. http://www.sportni.net/about (accessed January 6, 2012). 25. BBC News, ‘Prisoner Group Hold Belfast Marathon Protest’, May 3, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8658233.stm (accessed August 20, 2011). 26. As stated by Belfast Councillor William Humphrey, ‘It is important that this council be seen to treat all the communities in our city equally – and not least to ensure that the Marathon, one of the most successful events of its kind, is fully inclusive for all those who wish to take part in it’. UTV-News, ‘Belfast Council Blocks Sunday Marathon’, May 13, 2010, http://www.u.tv/News/Belfast-Council-blocks-Sunday-marathon/d7e7a920-3ffd-4cf5-9543-ba1472f4fb88 (accessed February 10, 2011). The Christian Institute, ‘Belfast Marathon: No Sunday Race in 2011’, May 14, 2010, http://www.christian.org.uk/news/belfast-marathon-no-sunday-race-in-2011/ (accessed February 10, 2011). 27. ‘No Sunday Marathon Next Year’, News Letter, May 12, 2010, http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/no_sunday_marathon_next_year_1_1847448 (accessed August 20, 2011). 28. For the history of the Beirut marathon, see Running Middle East, the journal published by the BMA. The following section is largely based on extensive interviews conducted in Beirut in November 2007. 29. See Tanielian, ‘Between State Amnesia and the Foot Soldier's Remembrance’. 30. BBC News, ‘Hezbollah Takes over West Beirut’, May 9, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7391600.stm (accessed February 5, 2011). 31. A description of the 2007 marathon is to be found in Fabrice Randoux, ‘Un marathon pour souffler’, L’Équipe, December 10, 2010, http://www.patriciafarget.com/img/actu/Pages%20de%20Equipe101207.pdf (accessed August 21, 2011). 32. On the organisation of the marathon races in Beirut, various blogs, including from former BMA race director Mark Dickinson, have been posted on the website http://beirutmarathon.blogspot.com (accessed February 14, 2010). 33. Norton, Hezbollah, 56. 34. Kenny Laurie, ‘Prime Minister Runs alongside Compatriots in Beirut Marathon’, The Daily Star, November 8, 2010, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=121296#ixzz1GIrPU8Mu (accessed March 16, 2011). 35. BBC News, ‘Lebanese Leader Killed’, November 21, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6169606.stm. On the 2006 marathon, see the various postings on the discussion website SkyscraperCity, http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391939 (accessed February 4, 2011). 36. The following overview is based mainly on interviews with the marathon organisers in Beirut (November 2007). 37. On the Jerusalem half-marathon, see Asia Rooms.com, http://www.asiarooms.com/en/travel-guide/israel/jerusalem/festival-%26-events-in-jerusalem/jerusalem-half-marathon.html (accessed December 31, 2010). 38. Interviews in Jerusalem, February 2011. 39. For a political portrait of Nir Barkat, see Kevin Peraino, ‘Batman in Jerusalem’, Newsweek, September 18, 2009, http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/09/18/batman-in-jerusalem.print.html (accessed August 21, 2011). 40. See Weiner, ‘The Palestinian Boycott’. 41. Nir Hasson, ‘Head to Head/Former Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Yosef “Pepe” Alalu, Should Residents be Afraid of Nir Barkat?’, Haaretz.com, June 23, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/head-to-head-former-jerusalem-deputy-mayor-yosef-pepe-alalu-should-residents-be-afraid-of-nir-barkat-1.297775 (accessed January 6, 2012). 42. The letter is reproduced on the Internet on http://www.scribd.com/doc/45040788/2010-Open-Letter-Jerusalem-Marathon-2011-sponsored-by-ADIDAS (accessed March 1, 2011). Organisations supporting a boycott of Israel and Israeli products made their own appeal to Adidas to cancel its support: ‘Adidas, Don't Help Running Apartheid: Cancel Sponsorship of Jerusalem Marathon!’, http://boycottisrael.info/content/adidas-dont-help-running-apartheid-cancel-sponsorship-jerusalem-marathon (accessed February 5, 2011). 43. Interviews in Jerusalem, February 2011. 44. Melanie Lidman, ‘City Councilors to Adidas: Boycott Jerusalem Marathon’, The Jerusalem Post, December 7, 2010, http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=198299 (accessed September 3, 2011). 45. Melanie Lidman, ‘10,000 Set to Participate in Jerusalem Marathon’, The Jerusalem Post, March 15, 2011, http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=212189&R=R2 (accessed August 21, 2011). 46. Mohammed Mar’i, ‘Jerusalem's Marathon, Slated by Mufti, To Go Ahead’, Arab News.Com, March 24, 2011, http://arabnews.com/node/372029 (accessed June 30, 2012). 47. Elad Benari, ‘Hamas Angry at Adidas Over Jerusalem Marathon’, Arutz Sheva 7, March 16, 2012, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153835#.T3L4Ku3QU20 (accessed March 28, 2012). 48. The full narrative of the route is to be found in http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys/publish/showPublishEng.asp?pub_id=38401&father_id=36674&lang=2 (accessed December 31, 2010). 49. The terminology on the marathon website is taken from the description to be found at the memorial site itself. 50. Hazel Ward (AFP), Jerusalem's First Marathon Takes a Wrong Turn, March 25, 2011, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hQC8z_LFA1RSmehB-UQNgcqhlQZQ?docId=CNG.bd4326a710cbe97b7421d5ca4ebf2793.c1 (accessed April 29, 2012). 51. Melanie Lidman, ‘Ready, Set, Go! (Just not on the Light Rail Track)’, The Jerusalem Post, March 11, 2011, http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=211705 (accessed April 29, 2012). 52. ‘Running the Marathon for a Fallen IDF Hero’, The Jerusalem Post, March 8, 2011, http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=211221 (accessed March 10, 2011). 53. ‘Sarah, je hebt het gehaald, mazzeltof!’, Runner's World, July–August, 2011, 83–7. 54. Khaled Abu Toameh, ‘J’lem Bombing is a “Natural Response to Israeli Crimes”’, The Jerusalem Post, March 23, 2011, http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=213511 (accessed August 21, 2011). 55. Yaacov Lappin, ‘Police, Shin Bet Quietly Intensify J’lem Bomb Probe’, The Jerusalem Post, March 25, 2011, http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=213782&R=R1 (accessed January 6, 2012). 56. On Northern Ireland, see Griffin, The Politics of Irish Athletics; Sugden and Bairner, ‘“Ma, There's a Helicopter on the Pitch!”’; Sugden and Bairner, Sport, Sectarianism and Society; and Fahy, How the GAA Survived. Concerning Lebanon, see Moroy, ‘Le sport comme adjuvant’; and Reiche, ‘War Minus the Shooting?’. On Israel, see Reshef and Paltiel, ‘Partisanship and Sport’; Nevo, ‘Sport Institutions and Ideology’; Sorek, Arab Soccer in a Jewish State; and Mizrahi, Bar-Eli, and Galily, ‘Sport Policy in a Transformed Socio-Political Setting’. 57. Mizrahi, Bar-Eli, and Galily, ‘Sport Policy in a Transformed Socio-Political Setting’, 13. 58. Nevo, ‘Sport Institutions and Ideology’, 342. 59. See Bale, Landscapes of Modern Sport, specifically chap. 5, 100–19 concerning the placelessness and dedifferentiation of modern sports landscapes. 60. Melanie Lidman, ‘Chariots of Fire: Jerusalem's Upcoming 2nd Marathon’, The Jerusalem Post, March 7, 2012, http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=260758 (accessed March 29, 2012). 61. Bale, Landscapes of Modern Sports, 101. 62. Ibid., 144. 63. As the 2011 Jerusalem marathon website put it: ‘People tend to think of the capital as a place that amounts to battles between the sacred and the profane, but this explanation dissipates when you arrive in Jerusalem at night. Whereas during the day, the city is full of people rushing to work, the place calms down at night and everyone comes to the city center to drink beer, smoke a nargila, and, most of all, forget the troubles of the world’. 64. The original theme for the 2006 Beirut marathon was ‘The whole world is running to Beirut’. After the Israeli invasion the same year, it was changed to ‘For the Love of Lebanon’ (Interviews in Beirut, November 2007). 65. For an overview of the winners and winning times since 1982, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast_Marathon (accessed February 5, 2011). 66. For 2010, we have the following results: there were 2005 finishers for the Brussels full marathon, and 4870 for the half-marathon. There were 2583 finishers for the Belfast full marathon and 1969 relay teams, with up to five runners each. In Beirut, 348 participants completed the full marathon, as compared to 7615 finishers for the 10-km run. In Jerusalem, in the 2011 race, some 830 runners completed the full marathon, 2000 ran the half-marathon and more than 3000 finished the 10 km. The figures for the marathons in Brussels, Beirut and Jerusalem are based on the race results as listed on the respective official websites. The figures for the Belfast marathon are from http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/belfast-marathon-2010-team-relay-results-14792054.html (accessed January 6, 2012). 67. On the politics of remembrance in a post-conflict situation, see Bairner, ‘The Cultural Politics of Remembrance’. 68. Support for the victims of landmines and an appeal for the release from an Israeli jail of Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese prisoner convicted of murder, were both expressed in the 2007 marathon. See Iman Azzi, ‘Run, Beirut, Run’, NOW Lebanon, November 19, 2007, http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=20222#ixzz1GfSJcocM (accessed March 15, 2011). 69. In this respect, it would be interesting to compare the Jerusalem Marathon with the annual 10 km race linking Bethlehem and Jerusalem, known as the John Paul II Peace Marathon. The two could be compared in terms of values and organisational framework.