Olympic bidding and social license: a micro analysis of a public debate

Social license or public approval is often a major issue in the bid phase of the Olympic cycle and is typically sought through a referendum. Instead of the macro factors usually utilized to explain referendum outcomes, this paper adds to the literature by taking a micro approach that focuses on how local residents encounter the prospect of hosting the Games. Building from the work of economists who have examined the role of announcements about bidding as “news shocks” and “sentiment shocks” in a potential host community, this paper takes a more sociological approach by showing how bidding stimulates interaction and debate at the grassroots and utilizes extensive empirical research from two Winter Olympic cities, Calgary, and Vancouver. Local residents encounter the intrusive nature of an Olympic bid that is filled with prospective unknowns and that exists as a political policy option. Bidding stimulates and provokes conflict and debate through face-to-face verbal and non-verbal communication around six major themes, and the competing narratives that develop around costs, the IOC industry, and local priorities. It will be shown how local citizens struggle to determine their own responses to Olympic initiatives in interaction with others which contributes to the volatility of referendum outcomes.