ABSTRACT
This chapter is on the evolution of the bidding process and nature of bids for the Summer Olympic Games, as the bidding cycle around this event has, historically, been the most prominent in terms of both interest from prospective hosts and in the academic literature. In the period which predated the Second World War, the physical reach and impact of peripatetic events grew further and began to go beyond basic facilities. Roche work highlights the role of Expos and early sporting mega events in demonstrating the high cultural forms of Western civilisation; for they were typically the preserve of Western nations during this period, and he highlights how this ultimately parlayed into an attempt to position the nation demonstrating their practices as a global leader. If the period before the Second World War could be characterised as one of 'accidental physical impact', then the post-war period, beginning with the 1960 Rome Olympics, saw the pursuit of a wider, planned urban change.
