ABSTRACT
This chapter overviews the current shifting trends affecting mega-events, focusing particularly on the growing popularity and expansion of cultural events and the decrease in cities seeking to host mega-events like the Olympics and Expo. The last several bidding cycles for the Olympic Games in particular have seen multiple candidate cities abruptly cancel their bids, leading to the unprecedented move of both the 2024 and 2028 Games being awarded simultaneously. The IOC’s Agenda 2020 also encourages the scaling down of the Olympics and using existing venues rather than constructing new ones. The plans for the upcoming Paris 2024 and Milan 2026 Games clearly demonstrate a change in thinking and approach to hosting mega-events, as both events will come to involve heritage sites in varying ways. Meanwhile, the European Capital of Culture program, though comparatively smaller in size and budget, has continued to grow in its popularity in recent years, coming to inspire various national and regional Capital/City of Culture events like the UK City of Culture, Italian Capital of Culture along with others across Latin America, the Arab World and Asia. The increasing spread of such events and the downscaling of other mega-events represents a much greater potential to interact with heritage.
