ABSTRACT

This book brings together different perspectives of mega-event bidding, hosting and legacies. Their impact is considered through an international range of mega-events in terms of land use, political and socio-economic change, and the placemaking processes that accompany these area-based regeneration projects. From city-regions that have not been successful or withdrawn from mega-event selection, to contemporary Olympic, Football World Cup and Expo host cities whose legacy is still unfolding, to event sites whose legacy is now established, the global appeal of the mega-event is apparent from this collection. 

The book interrogates the mega-event phenomenon in ten countries, from North and South America, and Australia, to Western and Eastern Europe. Drawing on their historical evolution and antecedents, and following recurrent themes of urban regeneration and resistance, the book highlights the importance of major events and festivals to the creation and marketing of place through branding and regional growth

In considering a range of mega-events critically and in different national and geopolitical contexts, the book will be of interest to policy and decision-makers at local, regional, national and international levels, and will be of particular interest to professionals, scholars and students working in planning, urban studies, sport and leisure studies, and in event and festival management.

chapter 1|14 pages

Introduction

part I|2 pages

Mega-events

chapter 2|18 pages

Pestilence, toxicity and all the fun of the fair

Brownfield sites, mega-events and areal regeneration, 1939–2012

chapter 3|18 pages

From Albertopolis to Olympicopolis

Back to the future?

chapter 4|17 pages

A World Fair for the future

Revisiting the legacy of the Expo ’98 urban model

chapter 5|17 pages

The regional scale of contemporary mega-events

The Milan Expo 2015, the post-event and the challenges for public policies and spatial planning

chapter 6|19 pages

Fighting Faust

Resisting exclusion in Rio de Janeiro’s pre-Olympic urban image-construction programme

chapter 7|19 pages

A new road and rail link from the mountains to the coast

The mixed legacy of Sochi’s most expensive project

part II|2 pages

Alternative mega-events strategies

chapter 8|13 pages

Bidding trepidation

Stockholm’s uncertain relationship with the Olympic Games

chapter 10|14 pages

A ‘host of priorities’

Toronto’s pursuit of urban waterfront development through Olympic bidding