Mega Events And The Legacy It Leaves Behind Tourism Essay

Mega Events And The bequest It Leaves Behind Tourism Essay metropolis computer programmeners whateverwhat the terra firma get an luck for rapid urban culture and vicissitude at a large scale through mega- military issue planning. The Barcelona Olympics of 1991 saw a paramount substitution in mega-event planning, where city planners foc apply on the legacy that the event leaves behind and its impact on the city. The sustainable urban development of the city of Barcelona catapulted it to one of the enlighten cities of Europe in a matter of year.Following the success of the Barcelona Games, mega-event organizations much(prenominal) as the IOC, Commonwealth Federation, FIFA etc. began focusing on the legacy plan of offer cities for determining winning invokes for such mega-events. An understanding of the effects of various legacy plans and its implementation in bid-winning cities is essential in sortingulating guild lines for evaluating the success of the legacy plans.T he City of Delhi derived much of its legacy plan from previous bid winners and developed its urban change plan for the city. The intention of this dissertation is to investigate the legacy plan for urban regeneration intended for the city of Delhi through the Commonwealth Games as well as the legacy that the event left behind. A comparison back end in that respectfore, be made to determine the extent to which the urban regeneration plan was implemented and how successful it was.The Macmillan Dictionary definesLegacysomethingsuchasatraditionorproblemthatexistsasaresultofsomethingthathappenedinthepast.somethingthatsomeonehasachievedthatcontinuestoexistsaftertheystop workingordie.The mega-event is by its nature large scale, organized by the social elite in the horde nation or city and projects secular values and principles through the creation of an official version of the city or nations history and contemporary identity. Performance mega-events are typified in the 20th century b y the Olympics and represent a populist cultural expression of the achievements of the host city or nation (Roche, 2000). Reinvention of a Mega-event as catalyst of urban development became prominent towards the late 1970s. Reasons for this were the growing awareness of the pervasiveness of deindustrialization led city planners to take feat to stimulate newborn credits of employment and in like manner that urban regeneration by traditional production based approaches became implausible. This lead to alternate strategies that relied on service industries and social occasion to supply growth.(R.Gold, M. Gold, 2007)Mega-events are used by city planners to fast forward the planning and execution process by overcoming problems of urbanism. The recent host cities of mega-events withstand used it to contain the social disruption arising from rapid urbanization and sparing expansion. Host cities use these events to achieve specific local and national goals. The 1992 Barcelona Olym pic Games represented an opportunity to redevelop the city using a mix of public and private sector funding that balanced the commercial and social aims. The Fantasy City mystify (aggressive commercialism and tourist orientation) of the Los Angeles Games were modified and the Barcelona approach emerged as an alternative to obtaining a stick out-Games regeneration legacy. Since 1992, Legacy has assumed a considerable signifi shadowce to the internationalist Olympic Committee (IOC) as its evaluation process has incorporated environmental and other social dimensions and is now firmly focused upon non-sport related outcomes as a source of legitimation for hosting the Games. The Barcelona inspired modification of the commercial approach to hosting the Games was replicated by London with the 2012 bid creating a combination of public and private funding and partnerships to deliver the event and an ambitious social, cultural and economic legacy. (Poynter, 2009). The Government of In dia also gave a comprehensive legacy plan to the Commonwealth Federation in order to win the bid of the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Delhi, India over Hamilton, Canada. The study of previous Mega-events particularly the Olympics of Barcelona 1992, battle of capital of Georgia 1996, Sydney 2000 and capital of Greece 2004, their legacy plan and implementation, are key to understanding and analyzing the legacy plan for Delhi post the Commonwealth Games of 2010.The key findings of the Greater London Authority on previous editions of the Olympic Games of Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 for assessing the Legacy of the London Olympics of 2012, are as follows sparingLegacy MomentumIn the economic sphere Legacy Momentum refers to the capacity of the city and regional economy to continue an upward growth cut following the immediate post-Games downturn in economic activity. The capacity to achieve momentum relates to several factors.The Games must complement an alread y existing regeneration plan that involves new phases beyond the Olympic event.The knowledge-base derived from the preparation and staging of the event is not dispersed when the Games end but is utilized to promote further innovation with the city and region.3. The negative consequences and omissions from the Olympic-relatedregeneration phase are totressed in subsequent urban development projects. Barcelona (1992) is the best example of a host city achieving LegacyMomentum.The Mega Event and the City EconomyThe impact of the Games on a city economy is both tangible and intangible. The intangible re-branding of a city may pay off subsequent tangible effects, specially through inward investment and the enhancement of entrepreneurial confidence and expertise (Barcelona 1992). The Games provides a significant catalyst for renewal accelerating the climax of home projects (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004 and more(prenominal) modestly Sydney 2000) but the host city populati on emerges with a balance sheet of positives and negatives from a process of regeneration that happens to it rather than is shaped by it.Social, Cultural and LifestyleOlympic Philosophy RegenerationThe IOC commits to ensure that the host cities and their residents are left with the close to positive legacy of venues, infrastructure, expertise and experienceUrban RenewalAll Cities pursue hard legacy gains infrastructure, the reorientation of city spaces,improved amenity, new types of land use and economic activity. Barcelona is theacknowledged success story here.Planned-in legacy offsets white elephant syndrome in some cases The post-Games use of infrastructure is an important guide to the success of the Games, and in all cases legacy ask to be built into initial conception, design and delivery of Olympic facilities ( expressions, but also IT, governance, city brand management, and post Games primary(prenominal)tenance contracts). Barcelona Olympic village, Atlanta business tourism , Sydney and Australian tourism and Athens transport systems provide indicative evidence.The Green LegacyThe first Green Games, and its Environmental Audit Legacy- Sydney was the first Games to be audited passim by Greenpeace, who issued a detailed and fairly positive report. Any future day Games environmental impact will be judged according to the Sydney benchmark, and therefore cooperation with NGOs (in cultivation sharing, planning and execution as well as in establishing the principles for grammatical construction, raw materials procurement, etc) is vital.Sustainability and poverty reductionEnvironmental sensitivity and sustainable development together form the thirdpillar of Olympism, as is fully explained in the Olympic Agenda 21 document of1999. Sustainable development federal agency engaging with the whole worlds needs forclean air and water, and creating opportunities for personal and social developmentworldwide.Hard infrastructure and urban renewal Housing, Olympic Vi llage development (Cashman 2006) Transport connectivity and enhancement greener, cleanser and more efficient (Cashman 2006 Essex and Chalkey 1998) Economic success (Preuss 2004 Cashman 2006) Telecommunications infrastructure Sporting facilities permitting increased sports and other community activities/participation. The outward fabric of the city cleaning and greening Hotel and other tourist and leisure venues including night timeEconomyDefinition of a Good LegacyWhile each of the past cities can be seen to have pursued many of these aims,typically each city can be shown to have emphasized in particular instances anarrower range of ambitions. It is the case that typically cities aim to integrate Olympic-based renewal alongside wider urban development agendas.( Preuss 2004).Notable differences in cities starting pointsAdapted from McKay and Plumb (2001)The Barcelona Games (1992) are often cited as a model for London. These Games represented the regeneration of an entire city of t hree million people, rather than a narrower geographical area within a larger city. It is also worth noting that the Barcelona Games were the most expensive of the recent Olympiads, as a consequence of the large-scale regeneration program.The Atlanta Games (1996) were not particularly focused on regeneration. consumption was confined largely to sporting facilities (no Olympic Village was built, for instance), and the private funding of the Games left a very limited legacy.The Sydney Games (2000) were less focused on regeneration than the London Olympics are the Homebush area was regenerated by the Games, but the residential areas were in fact already wealthier than Sydney overall. Athens Some major regeneration projects (2004) included the Athens metro and road systems. Revivification of Athens as a world class tourist city and assertion of relationships with Europe were key aims.Other LegaciesTypically, apart from sporting venues, there are four areas of development Transportat ion road, rail, tram, air and various interconnections, as well as policy and planning on parking, pedestrianisation and modal auxiliary verb shift. Telecommunications infrastructure primarily to service the worlds media,but in the future perhaps also developing Olympic area for WiFi and/or otherconnectivity for visitors Housing, particularly the Olympic village urban realm and culturalinfrastructure night time economy, Cultural activities as well as ecologicaland parkland projects. at that place is typically some initial disruption locally, and related concerns about the longand short term impact of such development on various costs, especially on theinflationary impact on rents and prices, not only in the short term period of theGames, when congested transport systems and the prospect of inflated eateryprices can jar with local communities, but in the medium and longer term, whereinfrastructure investment, especially improved transport links (as well asreputational benefits for the city) can drive up property and rental prices either citywide or, as is more significant, in certain privileged areas.The Games are welcomed as a stimulus to and accelerator of such investment anddevelopmental change in the city, however transformations leading to gentrificationand rear price/rental inflation can rapidly produce divisions. As with any kind ofregeneration project, the Games can contribute to an amplification of socioeconomicdifferences, producing new spatial distributions of wealth and well-being and gentrification effects which sometimes polarise local populations in regenerating areas. For instance, Barcelona is understood to be amongst the most successful cities in terms of legacy. As part of its successful development of its public figure and infrastructure towards becoming a key European hub and a renewed centre for global tourism and culture, the city has also seen (as a consequence) massive house price and rental inflation (131% between 1987-1992), an d the emergence of a large population of wealthy international resident/visitors and property investors benefiting from long term infrastructure investments more directly than some local populations, whose access to housing and jobs may not have significantly improved.Legacy of Sports InfrastructureIt is achievable to identify a range of subsequent legacy uses for sports infrastructure.The afterlife of the venue is an inaccurate designation, since the short, 16 dayOlympic phase (not including the test and training events that may proceed theGames proper) part determining many of the features and fabric of the structure,ideally ought not, exclusively and definitively pre- or pro- scribe subsequent usage.Preuss (2004) suggests four main follow up uses of Olympic facilities, to which wemight add a further use, drawing on Cashmans (2006) account of the importanceof memory and retrospection in informing the subsequent symbolic and softlegacies of the GamesFollow up usage of Olympic Inf rastructure (Table below)Source adapted from Preuss, 2004 and Cashman 2005The RequirementsThere is no direct correlation between such increases and the wide variations in the cost of lay Games on, however such variance is a function of decisions about how and which sporting and other infrastructure will and must be developed, revitalized or replaced in the particular host city.What the Cities Built Outlining New and Existing FacilitiesClearly hard legacy, as well as costs, are linked to the proportion of new construction take in chargen for the Games. This work, extensive as it is, represents less investmentthan the large capital projects such as roads, rail links and land reclamation leadingto fundamental legacy gains (as well as massive cost including cost overruns).However, it is the specifically Olympic buildings and in particular large stadiums thatinvite most speculation about future usage.The degree of new infrastructure development undertaken by different cites varies(Pre uss 2004 Baim 2007 Essex and Chalkey 2003). In part this is a matter ofculture, where specific sports and facilities (such as baseball in the UK) are notroutinely apart of the host nations sporting habits. Existing development andintended investment planning largely shape this aspect of hard legacy. ordinary Facilities Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens (Table below)Source Adapted from Preuss (2004)As Carbonnell (2005) suggests, drawing primarily on the Barcelona experience,For any city, hosting the Olympic Games is both an honour and a challenge.Much of the infrastructure necessary is temporary in nature it only serves apurpose for the duration of the Games themselves. Barcelona took a veryclear-cut approach on this issue the aim was to undertake ambitiousprojects which would benefit the city as a whole, convinced that what wasgood for the citys residents would also be good for the Olympic family(Carbonell 2005).Accommodating the required numbers of visitors to the host city, and ensuring a game quality and secure experience for all, over 16 days, is no small task. However,the scale of host cities Olympic projects, especially when thinking in terms oflegacy, must also, and primarily, include consideration of the scale, extent andquality (in terms of delivery and planning for subsequent use) of the wholerefurbished fabric of the host city, in and around the main Olympic sites, but alsobeyond, up and down transport routes and down and through hi-tech telecom andIT infrastructure. apocalyptical changes in get to rehearse Associated with Olympic Construction (Table below)Source Adapted from Preuss 2004BarcelonaThe Olympics were an accelerant to and focus for a number of projects, some longplanned, others specific to circumstances pre-1992. The Games emerged withintransformations involving extensive urban development of old fish markets, armybarracks, a womens prison and polluted water bowel movement areas3. The 1936-built stadium in Montjuc Park was refurb ished and many newvenues were built. The Olympic Village necessitated a new placement of two rail lines thatseparated downtown Barcelona from the coastline formerly an industrialarea. The industrial section was replaced with beaches, which after the redirectionof the metro line re-connected the city to the sea. The sewage system was also modernised Four museums and a botanical garden were renovated in preparation of theGames. In 2004 Barcelona was the number one tourist destination in Europe.Observers of host cities in the aftermath of the Olympiad are well used to noting the white elephants, the most common characterisation of infrastructure One kilometre of beaches in front of the Olympic Village, with a series of piers protecting the sand from the dominant stream that flows in East-West direction. The Olympic harbour with a capacity for 700 boats in the water and three hundred ashore, with 75% of public space (bars, restaurants, commercial space etc). Seaport promenade. 30 met ers wide pedestrian seafront promenade with cafes, restaurant and other facilities. Two towers 100 metres high for hotels and offices and other minor buildings. Highway. Part of the city system of ring roads, with high traffic intensity (120,000 vehicles a day). Urban nucleus. The basic idea was to link the new residential area with thetraditional morphology of the city. Some 2,000 housing units were built to host 15,000 athletes and 17,000 inhabitants. There was finally an integrated system of parks both for the use of the communities living around and in the nearby neighbourhood. developments which fail, in the medium or long term to find suitable subsequent usage.The study of Olympic Villages throughout this century is the study of thehistory of ideas about how to develop the city, how to plan it and how tomanage it (Munoz 1998).It is probably unwise to generalise from either extreme however, Barcelona is aninstructive instance of a largely progressive and positively received red evelopmentand of imaginative and sustained legacy momentum in the post Games periods.As noted above in term of infrastructure, the Games certainly offer someimprovements. Truno (1995) tracked both access and facilities in Barcelona preandpost- Games. If the number of installations available in Barcelona in 1982 is compared with those available after 1992, it can be seen that the Olympic and non-Olympic investment effort resulted in an increase of 75.8% as far as installations were concerned, and of 126.4% in the case of sports venues. Altogether, a total climb up area of nearly 300,000 square metres was involved (Truno 1995)The figures for use of new sports centres created after the Games in all theinstallations which accept subscribers or members, there has been anincrease of 46,000 new users. (Truno, 1995)P.T.OIndicative positive legacy developments from Olympic village development Barcelona(Table below)AtlantaEssex and Chalkey (1998) provide a useful summary of the Atlanta infr astructure. The centrepiece of the Games was the Olympic Stadium (capacity of85,000) constructed especially for the event with private finance. afterward theGames, it was converted to a 48,000 seat baseball park for use by theAtlanta Braves baseball team. Other new facilities, such as the Aquatic Center, basketball gym, hockeystadium and equestrian venue, were given to educational establishments orlocal authorities. The main Olympic Village (133 ha) was located on thecampus of Georgia Technical College. The other main infrastructural legacy to the city was the Centennial OlympicPark in central Atlanta, which was intended to be a conference place forvisitors during the Games and later to enhance the quality of life for localresidents.The Atlanta legacy is largely understood to have been committed to business and commercial aims building the reputation of the city.Nevertheless as McKay and Plumb (2001) observe,Atlanta largely used existing facilities to house athletes and as such d id notexperience the mass residential construction around its Olympic precinct.The Olympics did, however, have a considerable influence on the location ofdemand by helping to create a more attractive inner city residentialenvironment through improvements to transport facilities, retail amenitiesand public areas, such as parks and pedestrian walkways. The Atlantaoffice market has continued to grow strongly since 1996, with more than520,000 m.2 of office space absorbed across the metro area in 1998.INDICATIVE baptismal font STUDY Negative Impacts Atlanta adapted fromNewman (1999) Economically deprived African-American areas of Atlanta were affectedmost by the preparations for the Games. Residents were relocated from at least vi public housing projects For these individuals the preparations for the Olympics were disruptivecosting many the use value of their homes and neighbourhoods. CODAs neighbourhood revitalisation plans failed, and only those areasclosest to Olympic venues recei ved substantial hold for revitalisation.Newman makes a useful point about tendencies relevant in particular to megaevent driven regeneration. He suggests that events such as the Olympics are part of a process of reshaping land use in the city to make room for urban spectacle and display at the expense of the routine aspects of daily life for urban residents. In public housing projects and in low-income neighbourhoods, many families were moved to make way for the spectacle.Newman concludes thatThe legacy of newly constructed sports venues and the enhanced image ofAtlanta as a world city must be tempered by the continuation of a pattern ofmoving low-income residents to make way for growth.The study suggests thatOnly the most dedicated efforts by business leaders and city government towork with low-income citizens after the Games will change the legacy ofdistrust the Olympics have helped to perpetuate.AthensThe main features of the Athens projects included an attempt at revitalising m ajortracts of the city precinct. Remediation of almost 300 ha. of disused wasteland/quarries, and 250 ha.of polluted rubbish dumps, as well as 600 ha. of former army camps deindustrialization and de-militarisation of land use Developing park, recreation and environmental education areas covering250 ha. of urban space (landscaping of 60 ironical and seasonal river beds intolandscaped parks) The unification and enhancement of major tourist/archaeological sites Enhancement of residential districts in the centre and outskirts of the city Transport Athens International Airport Regeneration Athens ring road and designed to take traffic from notoriously congested city Athens Metro, with an intention towards encouraging legacy modal shift necessary in a city well known for congestion problemsSydneyThe main features of the Sydney Olympic regeneration were New sports facilities (inc. Olympic Stadium), Telecommunications enhancements, Land remediation in Homebush Bay, Olympic Village built a s new suburb (Newington) with housing the worldslargest solar powered settlement, Green redevelopment international benchmarking on waste reduction,water re-use, use of recyclable materials, Further sports, retail, commercial and transport facilities widening offootpaths and new street furniture, aimed at smartening up central Sydney Transport the major policy and planning aims of the Sydney Games were toensure public access. This would have also contributed to the greencredentials of the Games. This was achieved practically by Public transport being the only means by which spectators coulddirectly access events at major Olympic sites Satellite car parking venues established in park and ride typeschemes. (see Cashman 2005 200-1) In addition the Games served as catalysts for catalyst for expansion ofSydney airport including new rail link and Eastern Distributor road linking theairport to the CBDCashman, noting in particular that there was a post-Games slump in enthusiasm for all thi ngs Olympic. He identifies a range of factors that should continue to be tracked, suggesting that (as with Athens) the legacy needs to mature before some key assessments can be made.These include Media tracking and analysis of cultural issues city branding, nationalreputation, attitudes to multicultural issues within Australia, attitudes todisability and sport Business and economic outcomes Impacts on Sport elite performance and everyday participation Ecological issuesThe Olympic Village, SydneyThe aim in building the Village was to provide the best possible housing and residential facilities for all athletesand team officials to apply the highest possible environmental standards to provide a new suburb for post-Games useThe site had previously been an abattoir.After the Games The Village was made into a residential area, a suburb of Newington Medium density housing 850 three- and four-bedroom architect designed houses and 350 two- tothree-bedroom apartments in 94 hectares.Cashman offers some run of participation. These figures are insome sense more clear, however they do not reveal too much detail about sportsparticipation, rather heavy(a) emphasis to generalised Post Games legacy uses civic amenity as much as sporting venue nonetheless valuable social assets.Attendances at the Aquatic Centre in recent years in Sydney (Table below)Source Cashman (2006)Overall AssessmentSource Greater London Authority ( 2007)