During our conversation, Orr presented her views on the legacies of sports events, the often-ignored negative impacts and her observations on how Minneapolis has handled its preparations for the Super Bowl. How did you become interested in studying the impact of large-scale sporting events like the Olympics?
Hosting a major sporting event can give many economic, social and cultural benefits. However, the costs of hosting the event can also be quite high. What determines Hosting the olympic games in the the benefits outweigh the costs?
Advantages of hosting a major event 1. For example, cities which host the Olympics can be assured of a persistent increase in recognition and tourism. Barcelona, Sydney, Beijing have all seen this from hosting the Olympics.
For a country like China with a controversial human rights record, hosting a major sporting event can be a way to gain greater international acceptance.
This raised profile can be important for giving economic benefits, such as attracting tourists and business investment.
The importance of this point depends on the particular city. For a city like London, which already has a very strong reputation, hosting the Olympics will be less influential. However, even hosting the Commonwealth Games can be beneficial for a city like Manchester, which benefited from hosting games, despite the persistent rain!
Also, cities will usually have to invest in infrastructure and transport to cater for an influx of tourists. For example, there has been significant investment in public transport projects around London.
This will leave a lasting legacy for residents of London, especially East London.
From the London Olympics, the east of London has benefited from improved public transport. Jobs and Investment The several years of planning and investment will help create jobs and can revitalise depressed cities. This was an important claim of the London Olympics, choosing a site in East London, which at the time was relatively depressed.
Enthusiasm It is often easy to find reasons not to host a major sporting event, too much debt, more important priorities. But, a major sporting event can create enthusiasm and excitement for such an event. Also, a major sporting event can lead to a rise in volunteerism which promotes civic virtues.
Short term economic benefits The Olympics will see a surge in visitors, athletes and media. This will provide an increase in spending and injection of money into the local economy.
However, this injection of money, will only be short-term a few weeks and make little overall impact on the wider economy. Also, the injection of foreign visitors may be offset by locals leaving to avoid the influx and over-crowding. Disadvantages of Hosting Major Sporting Events 1.
The cost of building stadiums To host a major sporting event like the Olympics can cost significant sums, which have to be paid for by the taxpayer. Costs of Olympics have a tendency to rise over time and be much greater than expected.
It took 30 years to pay off the Olympic debt [ 2 ]. Short-Term use Many facilities built for the Olympics can never be fully used again. This can be mitigated by careful planning.
Other Olympic facilities, like the Olympic village, will be converted into affordable housing. However, some cities which failed to plan for the legacy of the Olympic were left with unused giant stadiums.
Potential for negative publicity If things go well, a city can benefit from positive publicity, but if things go badly, it can cause the opposite.
For example, the Winter Olympics has received adverse publicity because of corruption and cost overruns. The football World Cup in Qatar could backfire if players complain about the heat and conditions of migrant workers. Delhi suffered negative publicity over the state of its facilities at the Commonwealth Games.
Cost of Security Major sporting events increasingly have to implement higher levels of security. This is both costly and can restrict freedom of movement of local citizens during games. Higher taxes to pay cost Some cities have seen an increase in tax post games to finance a loss of putting on the sporting event.
The post-games cost of London is uncertain.Beijing, which hosted the Summer Olympics in , will host the Winter Olympics in , making it the first city to do so. The U.S. has hosted eight Olympic Games, more than any other nation. It will next host the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in Rio's Olympic-sized problems and a $12 billion price tag have many wondering whether hosting the games is worth the cost Rio's Olympic-sized problems and a $12 billion price tag have many.
Until the 80’s all Olympic Games took place in rich countries, with the only exception of Mexico In the 80’s, Moscow 80, Seul 88 and Sarajevo 84 started a trend that encouraged bids from developing countries with the result that after over half of all bids have come from this group.
Advantages of hosting a major event. 1. Raise profile of the city/country However, even hosting the Commonwealth Games can be beneficial for a city like Manchester, which benefited from hosting games, despite the persistent rain!
2. Long term investment. Other Olympic facilities, like the Olympic village, will be converted into. Many years of careful and precise planning are required to host successful Olympic Games, with all of the relevant organisations, authorities and stakeholders working together as one united team, to ensure that the Games leave a positive, longterm and sustainable legacy.
On Monday, Boston mayor Marty Walsh refused to support the city's bid for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The decision follows a concerted effort on the part of community activist.