Host City Legacy

THE athletes and spectators at Sochi have packed up. But for the host cities, the real challenge begins with the end of the Olympics.

"The nation needs healing right now. I believe (the Olympics) really heals the people."

Almost every Olympic host ends up in debt after the Games, but some cities overspend so much that their financial troubles take years to fix

CALGARY _ The founding fathers of the 1988 Winter Olympics had financial foresight. While Olympic host cities of today build temporary sports venues or convert permanent ones to other types of facilit...

From Sarajevo to London, a look at what some past Summer and Winter Games sites around the world look like post-Olympics

After Budapest became the latest city to withdraw their bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, Adam Addicott asks whether staging the global showpiece is too much of a burden for some countries

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“Parking, orbital roads, aquaducts, sewers: the road system is incomparably better now and the citizens are glad to save time and money,” explains Valter Marin, who in 2006 was the mayor of Pragelato, one of the ski stations for the Games.

The six high-level recommendations [link here} and 32 action items address the following aspects of the Olympic Winter Games: • Venue concept • Candidature process • Games organisation  • The positioning of the Olympic Winter Games • Benefits & Legacy   The changes place an even stronger emphasis on the use of existing, temporary and demountable venues; offer more flexibility for venues outside the host city/region and country; and pledge more support from the IOC and the International Federations earlier in the candidature process. Another recommendation will lead to the appointment of an independent working group composed of winter sport experts to recommend ways to simplify and reduce Games operational and technical requirements, as well as service levels., The final objective  reduce costs and complexity for candidate cities and hosts. The changes, developed by the 26-member Olympic Winter Games Strategic Review Working Group with input from a wide range of other Winter Games stakeholders, also highlight and celebrate the special attributes of the Olympic Winter Games, and their links to the natural environment and youth-focused events.

Here’s what Toronto, considering a 2024 bid, can take away from the experiences of cities from Atlanta to Sochi.

(2008). Olympic Environmental Concerns as a Legacy of the Winter Games. The International Journal of the History of Sport: Vol. 25, Olympic Legacies: Intended and Unintended – Political, Cultural, Economic, Educational, pp. 1884-1902. doi: 10.1080/09523360802438991

Gorby's Birthmark

The Rio Games are two months away, but the crises facing Brazil will last much longer.

Most Vancouverites remain grumpy about the Winter Olympics, but the Games are likely to improve the city in many ways, from better public transportation options to new public art.