The allure of the Olympics is palpable and undeniable. Later this week, my home country of France will host an estimated 15 million visitors and millions more viewers of the Olympics (July 26 – August 11) and Paralympics (August 28 – September 8). This will be France’s sixth occasion hosting the Olympics and I will be proudly present in Paris to admire the tennis players smashing yellow balls. Whether you admire the Games for their athleticism or national pride, they deliver a spectacular experience. People generally perceive winning the bid to host the Olympics as an honor. However, there is growing concern about the negative financial, environmental, and social impacts. The Olympics is a complex catalyst for urban redevelopment.
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Defining Mega Events
Mega events are “large-scale cultural (including commercial and sporting) events, which have a dramatic character, mass popular appeal and international significance.”1 The Olympics, World Cup, and Superbowl are considered mega-events due to the number of visitors they attract. These large-scale events have broad socio-economic impacts on their urban hosts, often highlighting urban blight, urban decay, and city clean-up initiatives.
This year, the Olympics have sold 6.8 million tickets, and the Paralympics have sold a record-breaking 1 million tickets. An estimated 15 million visitors will descend on Paris for the Games, and billions more will join virtually.
For a broader context, check out our earlier blog posts on urban renewal projects, high-profile political meetings, mega-events, and urban transformation.
Periods of Transformation
The planning and preparation for the Olympics can take over a decade. From aligning stakeholders to submitting a competitive bid to urban planning and infrastructure development, the process has many moving parts. The bids to host the Olympics are awarded up to 7 years in advance. While hosting a mega-event can spur significant urban transformations, the events themselves are, by their very nature, temporary. The short-term impacts on the urban landscape appear as new permanent and temporary structures are erected and cleanup initiatives sweep downtown streets. Additionally, people are relocated, traffic patterns are adjusted, and municipal services are rescheduled. The map below demonstrates these changes for Paris for the upcoming Olympic Games.
While widespread media coverage and public service announcements easily highlight short-term transformations, the long-term social and economic impacts are less obvious.
Researchers Harry Arne Solberg and Holger Preuss investigate the long-term effects on urban hosts. According to Solberg and Preuss, “long-term” begins with the announcement and continues to an undetermined future point, excluding the immediate period before, during, and immediately after the event.
Solberg and Preuss find three positive effects of hosting a mega sports event:
- They bring in money that would not have been spent in and on the city otherwise.
- They can create a positive image and attract industry to the city.
- They can bring together local actors, creating new networks of productivity.
Let’s review how several host cities have navigated and leveraged these periods of transformation.
History of the Olympics and Urban Development
Like most initiatives that involve many stakeholders, millions of dollars, and often systemic changes, the history of the Olympics has both positive and negative aspects. Calculations of direct and indirect, short and long-term, and social and economic benefits vary greatly, making this expensive balancing act difficult.
To demonstrate the order of magnitude of costs, Beijing spent $40 million to host the 2008 Summer Olympics and $3.9 billion U.S. dollars to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, some report the total expense of hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics was $38.5 billion, as shown below. This huge variation amplifies both the potential positive and negative aspects of hosting the Olympics.
The Olympics as a Signal of Modernization
The first city to leverage a mega event for urban redevelopment and permanent infrastructure improvements was Los Angeles for the 1932 Olympic Games. After the Second World War, people viewed the Olympic Games as an important social goal, generating governmental support and investment in public sports infrastructure. By the 1970s, public investment in sports as a force for urban transformation was solidified by urban planning policies of building sports infrastructure in city centers. Public and private sector investments increased through the 1980s and 1990s, and mega-events became central parts of many urban strategic plans. The quintessential example is the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona employed a strategy of modernizing infrastructure and reshaping the city’s image with innovative architecture. This strategy is now such a common practice that researcher Andrew Zimbalist “notes emerging economies like China, Brazil, and South Africa have increasingly perceived ‘mega-events as a sort of coming-out party signaling that [they are] now a modernized economy, ready to make [their] presence felt in world trade and politics.'”
Academic research on the positive impacts of the Olympics backs these perceptions. Research by Barrios, Russell, and Andrews argues that “[t]here is perhaps no larger sports policy decision than the decision to host or bid to host a mega-event like the FIFA World Cup or the Summer Olympics.”2 They cite a 2010 report by Ernst & Young estimating that the 2014 Summer Olympics in Brazil would add nearly 5% to the Brazilian GDP and over 3.6 million jobs annually.
So why did Coloradians pass on their opportunity to host the 1976 Winter Games?
Challenges and Criticisms of Hosting the Olympics
For a decade, Coloradan business leaders and governing officials worked tirelessly to develop a competitive bid to host the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. In 1970, the International Olympic Committee rewarded their efforts. Yet, there were several widespread concerns about hosting the Games. “Coloradans opposed the Olympics on various grounds, ranging from environmental to economic and even to concerns over the lack of minority participation in the [Denver Olympic Committee].” These concerns reflect a broader international skepticism about the impacts of hosting the Olympics, ultimately led to Colorado voters deciding against funding the event. This decision highlighted local apprehensions and aligned with global critiques regarding the significant infrastructure investments required for such mega-events.
Academic and International Reevaluations
With growing awareness of mega-events mixed outcomes, cities like Denver, CO, have reevaluated their willingness to host the Games. Research by Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist indicates a rising skepticism about the promised long-term economic benefits. Additionally, researchers Maennig and Richter challenge prior research into the benefits of hosting the Olympics on exports by signaling openness to trade. In a closer look at more accurately matched country comparisons, Maennig and Richter find that there is no significant long-term “Olympic effect.” This skepticism of the purported long-term macroeconomic impact and concerns about short-term financial risks have decreased cities’ interest in hosting such events. Boston, Budapest, Hamburg, and Rome all withdrew their bids to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
A UN report notes that hosting mega-events “can be an opportunity to potentially enhance the right to adequate housing…Numerous past experiences have shown that redevelopment projects adopted in preparation for the Games often result in extensive human rights violations, particularly of the right to adequate housing. Allegations of mass forced evictions and displacement for infrastructural development and city renewal, reduced affordability of housing as a result of gentrification, sweeping operations against the homeless, and criminalization and discrimination of marginalized groups are frequent features in cities staging the events.”
Let’s examine the three levels of infrastructure investment necessary to support the Olympics as a complex catalyst of urban redevelopment and the challenges these investments entail.
Olympic Levels of Investment in Urban Development
Hosting mega-events can spur infrastructure investments by bringing local stakeholders together and increasing public, private, and public-private investment in infrastructure. We see the French efforts to prepare for the Games in real-time. Solberg and Preuss categorize the structural demands into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Primary
Primary structural demands are related to the infrastructure required for sports & leisure activities, such as stadiums, arenas, and specialized sporting facilities. These primary structures are often built solely for the mega sporting event. There is a real danger of this infrastructure serving as a disposable, one-time-use. A brief search for abandoned Olympic sites reveals one possible trajectory, amplifying the complex emotions involved in these massive primary structural investments. The large sports arenas built in the 1950s are largely obsolete; “many of them are in deplorable conditions
compared to modern arenas.”3 To avoid the urban scars of blighted Olympic stadiums, Paris has intentionally and proactively taken steps to reduce the one-time-use venues permanently constructed for the 2024 Summer Games, opting instead for temporary structures.
Secondary
The secondary structural focus is on athletes’ housing and recreational requirements and supporting visitors like the press. These structures include athletic and press villages, training facilities, and parklands. This year’s Olympic Games organizers incorporate a transition plan for the Olympic Village to host the athletes during the Games. After the Games, Paris will use the Olympic Village for residential and business purposes.
“The Olympic Village will be transformed after the Games into a new residential and business district, providing workplaces for 6,000 people and apartments for an additional 6,000. A quarter of these residences will be reserved for public housing, catering to 40 per cent of the current residents in Saint-Denis who rely on it. Another third will be rented out as affordable housing, managed by government-affiliated agencies and offered to students and low-income workers.”
Less, better and for longer: Five ways Paris 2024 is delivering more sustainable Games
Tertiary
The general infrastructure required to support the 15 million visitors expected in Paris for the Games constitutes tertiary structural demands. These infrastructure investments include roads, utilities, waste management, hotels, attractions, airports, and transportation. The table below shows that the Paris trash collection will be adjusted around the Games schedule.
The Olympics & City Clean-Up Initiatives
Municipal clean-up efforts focus on all aspects of the urban landscape: solid waste, air and water quality, as well as social and physical infrastructure. These massive undertakings have both positive and negative effects on residents.
Air and Water Clean-Up Initiatives
Global attention focused on air quality issues leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. In advance of the 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing instituted a series of interventions to clear the skies. The interventions included
- Plant relocations
- Plant closures
- Traffic controls
- Reduction of industrial use of coal in and around Beijing and co-host cities
While these interventions significantly improved air quality, the temporary measures had a temporary effect on the air quality. Within a year of the 2008 Games, the air quality had reverted to unhealthy pollution levels. By 2013, Beijing had record levels of air pollution. The international gaze focused on Beijing again leading up to the 2022 Olympic bid. Beijing reinstituted the pollution countermeasures, which significantly impacted air quality. Air pollution was reduced by nearly 53% between 2021 and the 2022 Winter Olympics.
In preparation for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and in compliance with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) sustainability goals, Paris has invested $1.5 billion in cleaning up the Seine River. This investment aligns with Paris’ broader goal. By 2025, Paris hopes to make the Seine more accessible to the general public, according to the deputy mayor in charge of sports.
Cleaning Up Urban Blight
The IOC’s sustainability goals go beyond cleaning up the Parisian waterways. In fact, 95% of the Olympic venues will be existing or temporary structures. Many of the existing structures will be modernized or refurbished. The refurbishment and modernization are helping the city to tackle blight. For example, the newly developed Porte de La Chapelle Arena is in what used to be an open-air drug market. The northeast Parisian neighborhood was largely considered blighted. Civic leaders hope the Porte de La Chapelle Arena will become a new cultural center of northeast Paris. Some, however, are concerned that moving drug treatment centers has merely displaced the root of the urban decay problems.4 Similarly, in preparation for the 2008 and 2022 Beijing Olympics, plant relocation and closures caused corresponding and longer-term unemployment or relocation of workers.
Check out this article by Le Parisien for before-and-after pictures of the Porte de La Chapelle neighborhood.
Litter, Debris, and Solid Waste Clean Up
The Paris government is embarking on a public information campaign on the logistics of street closures, trash pickup, and other operational aspects impacted by the mega-event. While assurances are being made to residents that “[t]he Paris Cleanliness teams will be fully mobilized to ensure the maintenance of the streets of the Capital,” a cloud of doubt shadows the trust in these words. Residents vividly remember the most recent strike by waste collectors.
In 2023, the waste collectors union strike lasted three weeks. The strike caused a pile-up of over 10,000 tons of trash on the streets of Paris. Earlier this year, the waste collectors union threatened a strike over equitable compensation to meet the expected increase in waste.
The Olympic organizers also focus on managing waste from construction, transportation, and general operations. Construction, transportation, and general operations-related waste proved to be one of the largest opportunities for reducing the total carbon footprint of Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup host.
An estimated 70%-80% of total solid waste from the tournament was attributable to construction. However, significant improvements were made. “On average, 79% of construction waste was diverted from landfill. During tournament time, 77% of the waste from stadium operations was recycled or composted, and 55% of waste from other tournament sites, such as the FIFA Fan Festival™ in Qatar, Tournament Headquarters and the Main Media Centre was recycled.”
Paris, taking a page out of Qatar’s playbook, has taken significant steps to reduce waste from each source. They focus heavily on reducing construction-related waste by using temporary structures and modernizing existing infrastructure instead of building new ones.
Conclusion
Beyond the gleam of medals and the roar of crowds lies a complex narrative of urban redevelopment. The Olympics can catalyze short- and long-term urban transformations. Systemic changes are affected by improving air and water quality, creating and modernizing infrastructure, and bringing diverse stakeholders together. However, the rising awareness of negative aspects has caused many to question whether the investment is worth the risk. Threats of trash collectors protesting and coordinated “mass pooping events” offset the magnificent revitalization efforts. The transformation of formerly blighted neighborhoods into a new cultural center is undoubtedly a net positive for the neighborhood. Additionally, the intentional and massive recycling efforts are yielding tangible results.
Yet, beneath the surface of these grand transformations lies the practical reality. Maintaining and managing the infrastructure required to support such a massive event is impressive. As the engineering manager overseeing City Detect’s equipment, I appreciate the intricacies and details that make complex systems function. At City Detect, managing projects from the design to manufacturing phases and fulfilling clients’ expectations are crucial in ensuring smooth operations. The interdisciplinary, decades-long planning and implementation phases for Olympic host cities involve thousands of moving parts and players. Hosting the Olympics places a city’s dynamic social and physical infrastructure under intense scrutiny and pressure.
The Olympics shine a bright, hot light not just on the athletes but also on the host city. Beyond the glamour and excitement, meticulous planning and maintenance truly support these monumental events. As an engineer, I am intrigued by the intricate balance between ambition and practicality in urban redevelopment.
Contact us today to learn how City Detect’s advanced technology can support your urban renewal projects.
Works Cited
- Roche, Maurice. (2006). Mega-events and modernity revisited: Globalization and the case of the Olympics. Sociological Review. 54. 27-40. ↩︎
- Barrios, Douglas; Russell, Stuart; Andrews, Matt. “Bringing Home the Gold? A Review of the Economic Impact of Hosting Mega-Events.” Center for International Development at Harvard. 2016. https://growthlab.hks.harvard.edu/files/growthlab/files/cid_wp320_megaevents.pdf ↩︎
- Solberg, Preuss. “The Long-Term Impacts from Major Sporting Events – Myths and Facts.” The Economics and Management of Mega Athletic Events: Olympic Games, Professional Sports, and Other Essays, edited by Gregory T. Papanikos, Athens Institute for Education and Research, pp. 11-26. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harry-Solberg/publication/24131305_Long-term_Impacts_of_Major_Sporting_Events_-_Myths_and_Facts/links/00b7d537eeb66a928d000000/Long-term-Impacts-of-Major-Sporting-Events-Myths-and-Facts.pdf#page=25 ↩︎
- Next year’s Olympics are pushing Paris to confront crack cocaine use on city streets https://apnews.com/article/paris-olympics-crack-cocaine-police-00e3e8f279c489415abff04742567193 and PORTE DE LA CHAPELLE ARENA https://www.paris2024.org/en/venue/porte-chapelle-arena/ ↩︎