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<span style="font-weight: bold">Why stars like Usain Bolt may continue to shun British stage
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By Matt Slater BBC sports news reporter
Source: BBC website
These are good times to be the minister for sport in the UK.
Domestic football is one of the country's best exports, we are punching above our weight in numerous sports on the world stage, and we are all so excited about the prospect of hosting the Olympics that we are standing on the pavement in our thousands to watch strangers jog by carrying a small patio heater.
So it is no surprise that Hugh Robertson, the lucky incumbent, was able to stand before an audience of international sports leaders in Canada on Thursday and tell them Britain is the centre of the sporting universe.
"We are ready to deliver a great Olympic and Paralympic Games," Robertson said in Quebec.
Sports minister Hugh Robertson
Sports minister Hugh Robertson is "banging the drum" for Britain as a sporting venue
"But the top-class sport will not stop there. Over the next few years we are to host some fantastic competitions that will keep the passion for sport burning."
London 2012, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2015 Rugby Union World Cup …it's an impressive list, all right, not to mention the dozens of other leading annual and one-off events that decorate the calendar. But it could be even better.
Take Usain Bolt, for example.
The world's fastest man has not raced in the UK for three years. This is not because there have been no events good enough, because he has no fans or commercial interests here, or because he is so used to British conditions that he does not see the benefit of a pre-Olympic run-out.
Bolt has not set foot on a British track since 2009 because it will cost him.
The UK, like most countries, demands a share of any appearance or prize money earned by overseas stars when they compete here. But unlike most countries, the UK also wants a cut of any endorsement income earned by those visitors during their stay.
Until recently, this meant Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) divided the amount of days somebody like Bolt competed in the UK by the amount of days he competed anywhere, and then sent a tax demand for that proportion of his total earnings.
This, potentially, could be quite a sum, as the Jamaican billboard is earning almost £10m a year in endorsements and only competes 10 days or so a year.
Bolt's response to this threat was as straightforward as most of his races; he simply decided to stay away. And he has not been the only one.
British golf fans have had to make do with far fewer opportunities to watch the world's best foreign talent on our courses, and tennis followers have had their Rafael Nadal rations reduced.
Read the rest of the story at the BBC website
</span>
By Matt Slater BBC sports news reporter
Source: BBC website
These are good times to be the minister for sport in the UK.
Domestic football is one of the country's best exports, we are punching above our weight in numerous sports on the world stage, and we are all so excited about the prospect of hosting the Olympics that we are standing on the pavement in our thousands to watch strangers jog by carrying a small patio heater.
So it is no surprise that Hugh Robertson, the lucky incumbent, was able to stand before an audience of international sports leaders in Canada on Thursday and tell them Britain is the centre of the sporting universe.
"We are ready to deliver a great Olympic and Paralympic Games," Robertson said in Quebec.
Sports minister Hugh Robertson
Sports minister Hugh Robertson is "banging the drum" for Britain as a sporting venue
"But the top-class sport will not stop there. Over the next few years we are to host some fantastic competitions that will keep the passion for sport burning."
London 2012, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2015 Rugby Union World Cup …it's an impressive list, all right, not to mention the dozens of other leading annual and one-off events that decorate the calendar. But it could be even better.
Take Usain Bolt, for example.
The world's fastest man has not raced in the UK for three years. This is not because there have been no events good enough, because he has no fans or commercial interests here, or because he is so used to British conditions that he does not see the benefit of a pre-Olympic run-out.
Bolt has not set foot on a British track since 2009 because it will cost him.
The UK, like most countries, demands a share of any appearance or prize money earned by overseas stars when they compete here. But unlike most countries, the UK also wants a cut of any endorsement income earned by those visitors during their stay.
Until recently, this meant Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) divided the amount of days somebody like Bolt competed in the UK by the amount of days he competed anywhere, and then sent a tax demand for that proportion of his total earnings.
This, potentially, could be quite a sum, as the Jamaican billboard is earning almost £10m a year in endorsements and only competes 10 days or so a year.
Bolt's response to this threat was as straightforward as most of his races; he simply decided to stay away. And he has not been the only one.
British golf fans have had to make do with far fewer opportunities to watch the world's best foreign talent on our courses, and tennis followers have had their Rafael Nadal rations reduced.
Read the rest of the story at the BBC website
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