Food & Health Alliance

Games Legacy:

In 2012 the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games will take place in London, and in 2014 the Commonwealth Games will be hosted by Glasgow. A major consideration in bidding to host the events in London and Glasgow was the potential for the games to generate a wide range of benefits for the population of the host city.

The study reviewed fifty four studies that had investigated the impact on the host population of any “one off,” international, multi-sport event focused on a single city or area that took place between January 1978 and January 2008.

Conclusions:

It concluded that the cost of hosting a major multi-sport event such as the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games has increased over the past two decades, to the extent that it has become difficult to justify the expenditure on the basis of entertainment or national showcasing alone.

Cities competing to host events are now judged on the prospect of a long term positive legacy being generated for the host population, among other factors.

The review found insufficient evidence to confirm or refute expectations about the health or socioeconomic benefits for the host population of previous major multi-sport events. Benefits from future events—such as the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in London or the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow— cannot be expected to occur automatically.

There is a lack of evidence on the impacts of major multi-sport events on the host population, and until decision makers include robust, long term evaluations as part of their design and implementation of events, it is unclear how the costs can be justified in terms of host population benefits.