The Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro 2007: Consequences of a sport mega-event on a BRIC country

Abstract

Sport mega-events were very important for Brazil in 2007. The 15th Pan American Games took place in Rio de Janeiro. It was the largest international tournament held in Brazil since the 1950 World Cup and the 1963 Pan American Games. The latter were held in São Paulo. In 2007, 5000 athletes and 60,000 tourists were expected from the 42 participating countries. Despite being a developing country, Brazil does have a sizable middle class, but in Rio de Janeiro there are also lots of favelas (slums), where millions of poor people live. Despite vast differences in wealth, power and social status, these socially and culturally distinct groups nonetheless utilize common public spaces. We see this social confrontation as a major question for the analyses of sport mega-events and we would like to demonstrate its consequences on a local level . This social tension was such that the Organizing Committee actually constructed a ‘big wall’ around the stadiums which turned them into islands of excellence to be shown on television, thus hiding the unsightly parts of the city, that is, poor neighborhoods and favelas. This wall could be seen as the BRIC-way of organizing mega-events.

Stakeholder mobilisation and sports stadium regeneration: antecedent factors underpinning the formation of the our Tottenham community network

“…American Games in Rio de Janeiro (Curi et al, 2011), there is limited theoretical understanding of the factors that lead stakeholders to mobilise together with a lack of empirical research on how stakeholder networks initially come together, why they come together, and the extent to which these networks are able to influence a firm.…”

“…In part, it can be argued that this was linked to the cuts faced by Haringey Council as a result of austerity that was allowing private development companies to move into the space once occupied by the public sector (Deas and Doyle, 2013). However, the use of sport mega-events to implement economic projects that interfere with public space for private advantage has been noted elsewhere (Curi et al, 2011). Expressions such as 'it's a completely fraudulent consultation', related to the High Road West plans, evidence the strong emotions that were undoubtedly drivers towards mobilisation for some in Tottenham.…”

Do experiential events create city brand?

“…Indirect benefits are more connected to perceptions generated among participants, from the recognition of the image of the city to greater attention from the media (Ritchie and Yangzhou, 1987;Atkinson et al 2008;Curi et al 2011). Combining both effects, we highlight that the organization of a megaevent is a clear example of how to contribute to the economic development of the place in which it is performed, allowing to generate a positive image to that place, partly thanks to the coverage the media attach the event in situation and in partly thanks to the development of pleasurable experiences through tourism occur between residents and nonresidents (Curi et al 2011). Roche (2003) suggests that mega-events (including cultural, recreational, commercial and sports) have a dramatic feature, attractive and popular mass character and international significance.…”

“…That is why the role of mega-events in consolidating brand images is a topic that is gaining interest, especially the sports mega-events. However, so far it has been studied only the impact exerted by this type of sports events (Curi et al 2011) but not others (for example cultural).…”

Social leveraging of the 2010 Olympic Games: ‘sustainability’ in a City of Vancouver initiative

“…What we demonstrate and elaborate on in this article is a process called social leveraging. That is, convinced that hosting the mega-event will generate international recognition Surborg et al, 2008) and unique opportunities for place promotion (Hall, 2006;Hiller, 2000), which in turn will entice corporate investment (Curi, Knijnik, & Mascarenhas, 2011;Gold & Gold, 2008;Shoval, 2002), various levels of government are leveraging the city's moment on the global stage to achieve their own public policy objectives. We argue that this process is called social leveraging, an existing term in the sport management and other literature, but one never before applied to levels of government.…”