Olympic Cities: Lessons Learned from Mega-Event Politics.
Author(s)
Andranovich, Greg; Burbank, Matthew J.; Heying, Charles H.
Abstract
As cities compete for jobs and capital in the context of limited federal aid and increasing global economic competition, a new and potentially high-risk strategy for stimulating local economic growth has emerged. This strategy, called the mega-event strategy, entails the quest for a high-profile event to serve as a stimulus to, and justification for, local development. The authors examine how the mega-event strategy has played out in the three US cities with contemporary Olympic experience: Los Angeles (1984), Atlanta (1996), and Salt Lake City (2002). They also analyze the approaches taken by these three cities to bidding for and staging an Olympic mega-event. Our comparison focuses on the decade long period that cities use to prepare to host the games. Authors conclude with a discussion of lessons learned and the policy implications of the mega-event strategy on urban politics.
