Bermuda is a mistake for the America’s Cup. It is for us anyway.

Larry might be happy as Larry. Lord knows what went on in negotiations and who promised what to whom. But Bermuda despite its famous reputation as a haven for the rich and famous isn’t a location in which to host any sort of major sporting event.

Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts are wrecking the cup. They have promised much and delivered little. San Francisco was OK at best. It didn’t earn the money, it didn’t deliver on the rewards the city was promised. The Louis Vuitton Cup was a bust, and as a result of the tragedy the cup itself was sent into farce. I would have thought the last thing you do post all that is place the next one in a far flung, inaccessible, unmarketable backwater like Bermuda.

Major sporting events need to be in major sporting centres. They need to be in places that are easy to get to, where there is a big population base, where there are large marketing opportunities for those taking part.

If all Larry and Russell want to do is have a fun weekend with their rich mates in a flash island on their gin palaces, then fine. But don’t end up doing that having promised something completely different.

There is nothing in this for anyone outside of billionaires. There is no leverage of sponsors, no access for fans. It’s like the Rugby World Cup being held in Suva.

One of the ironies of this event has always been that given it’s run by successful people, you’d assume they’re smart when clearly they’re not. Well not at running sporting events.

I know they don’t care all that much, but having this country as part of the mix is critical. Having any syndicate outside of ones run by billionaires is good for the cup. Having genuine country based syndicates is good for the cup. Australia and us winning it in the past is proof of that.

But as it stands you can see easily why the Government would struggle to be interested in this. What value outside of patriotic is there for them to toss our money at it?

Having said that, I hope they do. I love the America’s Cup. I love the idea of it. I love how excited we get about it. I love what it’s done for our country. Comparatively a handful of millions is hardly going to send us broke, but Oracle isn’t making this fun or easy or even slightly appealing.