Political and religious leaders in Australia have welcomed the announcement made by Pope Benedict XVI that Sydney is to host the Catholic Church’s largest gathering, World Youth Day 2008.
The Pope himself is expected to attend the event that is estimated to bring in at least 250,000 pilgrims to Sydney. It has been 13 years since a papal visit to Australia.
On Sunday August 21 the Pope made the announcement in front of one million people from over 190 countries at a mass in Cologne, Germany.
It has been a dream of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, for Australia to host the World Youth Day said the Cardinal’s spokeswoman.
Prime Minister John Howard believes all Australians will welcome the Pope when he arrives in 2008. “It will be his first visit to Australia as Pope and I know that not only Catholics in Australia but all Australians will look forward to that visit in 2008 most warmly,” he told reporters.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma is also happy about the successful bid which he believes could pump up to $110 million into the state’s sagging economy. Mr Iemma has already released a $20 million budget just for security and logistics for the event which will be held in Sydney Olympic Park. “We expect a minimum, a very conservative estimate, of about $68 million to $70 million in return in economic benefits to NSW. Some estimates say that could raise as high as $110 million.” Mr Iemma said.
The event will build upon Sydney’s portfolio of being able to efficiently and successfully handle big world wide events such as the Rugby World Cup and the 2000 Olympic Games. World Youth Day 2008 will commence July 15 and end July 20.
With AAP