Drawing on Previous Examples of Major Sporting Events Essay Example For Students

Drawing on Previous Examples of Major Sporting Events Essay Eh, seen on the 4th January 2012). But nowadays, countries and cities bid to host these kind of events with more pragmatic objectives where art, culture and sport can be considered as tools of place marketing and urban regeneration (MATHESON, 201 0), gut even if these aims are respectable, the history shows that the results are not always as expected. While London is going to host the Olympic Games in the summer of this year, it could be interesting to obese »e some examples of the past and to see how the London authorities are using this important experience, That is why, the aim of this essay is going to critically discuss the assumption that London will benefit from hosting the Olympic Games by drawing on previous examples of major sporting events and festivals. To deal with this subject, the essay is divided in 3 parts. Firstly, we Pupil talk about what authorities look for When they bid for hosting major sport events and festivals, followed by a section which will draw upon the lessons learned from previous initiatives, and finally we Will examine if London authorities seem to have taken into account these lessons. . The expected aims when hosting mega events As noted by L Davies (201 1), over the last two decades there has been a new trend emerging within sport, which has seen a shift, frown investment for the sake of sport to investment in sport for good'(pas. This shift, which has also been seen within art and culture, is a new emerging trend generated by the context of globalization. According to the metaphors of communication of cities noted by Alias Baristas and Asp Suspicion (2004), mobile capital and tourists are the highly flexible consumers, cities are the product, and local government, organizations and institutions are the manufacturers, the marketers and the retailers (IPPP). In a highly competitive market (rabid), sport, art and culture are then a piece Of factors used by the last kind Of actors to improve their product, by making it different and meeting the needs of the consumers. More concretely, sport, art and culture have been more customizes to address urban regeneration objectives (L Davies, 201 1) because a lot of governments, sporting and non- sporting organizations believe that a Wide range Of economic and social benefits can be conferred by this to individuals and communities. This can be then used to revivalist declining urban areas (rabid). The important term of legacy needs then to be introduced. Indeed, this word for which numerous authors explain that its a widely contested and certainly misunderstood concept, has become overused in all major sporting events from the bid to the planning of the event and post-event period. For L Davies (2011), this term represents: the wide range of outcomes commonly associated with and expected of major events, ranging trot physical elements including sporting infrastructure and urban and environmental development, through to wider socio-economic improvements to an area such as enhancing skills and workforce development, community relations and social capital (p. L), According to MATHESON (2010), the presentation of short-term impacts to bid and to host major events are not sufficient anymore. Nowadays, the city and the host country need to prove the investments can be sustainable with the creation of legacies, whether to win the right to host the event, to encourage community and stakeholder support for the event, but also to justify when there are high levels of public sector investment. Thats why the authorities which host such egg events take more and more care of the legacy planning and even create specific organization, Which in the case Of the London 2012 Olympic Games is named the Olympic Park Legacy Company. The Legacy planning can be widely varied With themes including the improvements Of the physical activity levels, the educational benefits, the sustainability and regeneration developments, and economic and social developments (Scottish Government, Bibb). But as L Davies claims. When she reuses the idea created by Grafton and Press (2008), a cube with three dimensions: positive and negative, planned and unplanned, tangible ND intangible can be used to conceptualize the concept of legacy. The problem is then, that in reality the studies realized to measure the feasibility and the impact of the events are only focused on the positive, planned and tangible dimensions. Thus, because it can be quantitatively measured, the economic outcomes are often lead to the foreground (rid). Now we have presented the aims to some cities and countries to host major sporting events and festivals, the next part will look at some lessons learned from previous examples of cities and countries which have hosted such mega events. Drawing On What You Have Learned About City Road Essay ThesisThe London 2012 Olympic Games faced to these previous lessons While the Olympic Games will begin in few months, it is not currently possible to clearly know the assumption that London will benefit trot hosting the Olympic Games but what we can already say that unlike the examples of Sydney and Athens, the London authorities seem to have taken legacy as a very important factor of the success of the Games from the outset (L Davies, 2011), This argument can be illustrated by the early creation of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (POLL), which aim is to lead the long-term physical transformation of the Park after the Games (rabid). Sitting the official website of the London Olympic Games and of the POLL, the general feeling when seeing the very diverse list of legacy aims, is that the London authorities tried to take advantage f previous failed examples. It begins with the considerable aim to regenerate an important part of Ea st London, within the Olympic boroughs which represent the greatest cluster Of deprivation in England and Wales (L Davies, 2011 , IPPP). The local communities seem then to be the focal point of the legacy aims which plan With a holistic consideration to create a vibrant and active Olympic Park (POLL web site, seen on the 5th January 2012), which will be fully integrated Within the surrounding ,and to provide the Widest possible public benefits(rabid). The Olympics are seen as a unique chance to connect communities across the Lea Valley (rabid) and to achieve this, transports connections have been or are being improved, for example the upgrading of the Stratford Regional Station. Another aim claimed by the London authorities is that 100% of the spectators will get the Games by public transport, or by walking or cycling (London 2012 legacy site, seen on the 5th January 2012). Concerning to the long term usage of the Olympic Park, the POLL plans to transform it after the Games. The aim being to create a new centrality with mixed usages, a unique 21st century garden city (POP_C web site, seen on the 4th January 2012), with an important emphasis on sustainability highlighted by the elaboration of The London 2012 Sustainability Plan: Towards a One Planet 2012. This is where the Olympic stadium, transformed into a multi-purpose venue which will be adaptable for a wide range of sporting and cultural events to maximize its chance to being regularly used, will be a central point (bird). But while all of this looks perfect, the reality is not, as noted L Davies (2011, IPPP) even she said proposals currently reflect aspirations rather than reality, with implementation and funding of legacy plans still unclear. Indeed, in the context of economic crisis, the final global cost of the Games has tripled compared to the initial budget (Photojournalism, seen on the 7th January 2012), what should lead us to think about what will be the real legacy of the Olympic Park, What Will be the final cost for the taxpayers, about the difficulty the POLL will certainly have to find investors for the transformation of the Park, about the high probability that an important part Of the jobs created by the event Will only be temporary. Conclusion What cities are looking for today by hosting international events like the Olympics or the Commonwealth games or like the title of European Capital of Culture, are primarily of short-term effects, such as the fact that these events have real lever effect to obtain funding from private sector and public institutions like the European Union to make public and private infrastructures which are often realized at a very large scale. This kind of initiatives taking more and more part of an approach that aims to address the needs to transforming urban landscapes to address globalization and intercity E. , Spooning Ay 2004). But at the sight of previous examples such as the Beijing, Sydney and in particular Athens Olympic Games, authorities hosting these events are now asked to foresee the long-term effects, which are called the legacy. But while the London Authorities seem to have taken seriously into account the legacy planning from the start of the Games preparations, with the main aim to regenerate a part of East London areas containing some of the most deprived neighbors of England and ensuring that within 20 years the communities who host the 2012 Games will have the Same social and economic chances as their neighbors across London, according to the Strategic