Missing Link behind Beirut Marathon’s Exorbitant Cost

How is it possible for a woman, who is not affiliated to any political party, to impose a one-day lockdown on Beirut by blocking most of the city’s roads?

How is it possible for a woman to secure around $4 million as an annual funding for Lebanon’s Beirut Marathon Association (noting that the Central Bank’s contribution amounts to $1 million in addition to May al-Khalil’s personal boost)?  

Despite the growing difficulty to secure the needed funds, an additional sum of $600,000 has been provided for this year’s event.

But, how can this woman persuade the country’s businesses to invest in said event, knowing that it encloses a significant, unnecessary risk?

Some agree that May al-Khalil’s success story is attributed to several factors, notably her ability to establish a strong social network.

Hailing from a Druze family, May al-Khalil is married to Businessman Faysal al-Khalil, brother of Development and Liberation MP Anwar al-Khalil. She managed to benefit from her excellent ties with the Hariri family, forged by the ongoing close friendship with Nazek Hariri. In fact, al-Mustaqbal Movement’s representative at the Lebanese Olympic Committee, retired Brigadier General Hassan Rustom, also serves as the deputy head of the Beirut Marathon Association.

Al-Khalil seems to be invincible against her opponents as she was keen on including members belonging to different sects in her association.

In an interview published in al-Akhbar newspaper, al-Khalil said that people would have lost trust in her had she been affiliated to a certain political faction, dismissing reports claiming that she is seeking to run for Parliament or to acquire a ministerial portfolio (even if she was offered the Sports and Youth Ministry).

But how does Lebanon’s sports sector draw benefit from such an extravagant event which entails exorbitant expenditures that might have been useful for other sports?

According to the association’s Financial Officer Elham Fakih, the $4 million-worth marathon contributes to injecting dynamism into the country’s economy, attributing the association’s high budget to the monthly salaries being paid to 28 employees as well as the logistic expenditures.