Assessing and Augmenting the Potential for Global Mega-Events to Support Sustainable Urban Development: A Study of the Olympic Games

Global urbanization finds cities at the challenging nexus of growth and sustainability. Many are simultaneously pursuing a strategy of attracting global mega-events–the pinnacle being the Olympic Games. The sustainability and value of such events has been a source of debate, but a gap exists in the research looking from the lens of the city to see whether hosting an Olympic Summer Games could be adjusted towards sustainable urban development. This qualitative research adopts a constructionist hypothesis: With adjustments to governance, funding, and event franchise structures, global mega-events such as Olympic Games could make significant contributions to sustainable urban development and the events themselves more sustainable. To explore its validity, 36 senior experts from the fields of urbanism, city leadership, Olympic movement, and academia were interviewed, while the Games of London 2012 and Rio 2016 provided case studies. The hypothesis proved resilient but incomplete. Changes to governance, public funding policy and event franchise were found to be potent but only if host cities have generation-long, sustainability goals. The findings prompt policy change that would generate significant, positive impacts for leading cities and a more sustainable model for the Olympic Games.