Mega-events as a Response to Poverty Reduction: The 2010 FIFA World Cup and its Urban Development Implications

Abstract

This paper reflects on the trajectory that urban development associated with the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup has taken in South Africa. The argument suggests that a unique moment has been lost regarding the ability of the World Cup to serve as a catalyst for urban development. This notion is supported by a digest of the international literature which takes a cautious stance in its assessment of the benefits of mega-events. Hence, this paper posits that it is unlikely that poverty alleviation, as a result of fasttracking South Africa's urban development impetus, will constitute a significant outcome of the World Cup. Rather, development benefits in cities are likely to be fairly circumscribed. Legacy, the paper argues, should therefore advance beyond an exclusively pro-poor language. In this regard, vigorous public debate is required to arrive at a national consensus of what kind of legacy the 2010 FIFA World Cup is realistically able to achieve.

How mega-events capture their hosts: event seizure and the World Cup 2018 in Russia

“…Consulting companies have issued reports extolling the multiple benefits of hosting mega-events (Ernst & Young, 2011;PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2011). Thus, the World Cup 2010 in South Africa aimed to reduce poverty (Pillay & Bass, 2008), the Olympic Games in London were a vehicle to revitalise boroughs in East London (Poynter & MacRury, 2009), the Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi were meant to turn the destination into a world-class winter sports resort (Müller, 2014) and the World Cup 2014 in Brazil and the 2016 Summer Games were to advance urban transport and upgrade neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (Gaffney, 2010).…”

Parcerias público-privadas (PPP) em megaeventos esportivos: um estudo comparativo da provisão de arenas esportivas para a Copa do Mundo Fifa Brasil 2014

“…Yet, the idea of a legacy is generally thought of as consistently positive, something that may be misleading. This is due to the fact that, depending on the circumstances of holding the mega-event, adverse legacies can also be generated (Pillay and Bass, 2008). Examples of unfavourable legacies are highlighted in the literature: the elevated costs for constructing sports equipment, investments in unnecessary structures and the debt within the public sector (Roche, 2000;Malfas, Theodoraki and Houlihan, 2004;Gursoy and Kendall, 2006).…”

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: an assessment of the 2012 London Games Legacies

“…Other studies have also investigated other types of legacy, such the environmental issues (i.e., Chappelet 2008;Levett 2004;Collins et al 2009), or the impact on urban development (i.e., Pillay et al 2009;Pillay and Bass 2008;Liao and Pitts 2006). Frey et al (2008) focused their research on the impacts on local development, while Essex and Chalkley (2015) explored how to leverage sports events for urban regeneration and renewal purposes.…”