Candidature Legacies

LOS ANGELES 2028

The Los Angeles 2028 candidature was founded on the premise of creating a better LA for all Angelenos through the unifying power of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the positive values of sport.

With the full support of the city and community, LA 2028 is already impacting the LA region with creative new programmes that embrace the city’s passion for sport, wellness and community engagement.

In February 2017, LA 2028 launched its innovative Volunteer Programme, which provides local community service opportunities for those who want to volunteer at the LA 2028 Games. Since February, more than 13,000 people from across LA’s diverse communities have joined the LA 2028 Volunteer Programme. LA 2028 volunteers are already making a tangible impact on improving the city with members participating in various local sport and community events, including the Angel City Games, CicLAvia, Friends of the LA River, Heal the Bay, LA Marathon, Special Olympics Southern California, LA Regional Food Bank, United Way of Greater LA and the 2017 Los Angeles World Police & Fire Games.

LA 2028 has also opened up a dialogue around some of the current challenges facing LA and the world, including climate control. This conversation has led to new community-driven solutions, including LA 2028’s “Energy Positive Games” programme that aims to generate more energy than the amount needed to power the Games through renewable sources and energy efficiency initiatives. This programme is being implemented in coordination with LA’s venue operators, regional utility partners, tech innovators and the region’s 18 million residents.

Almaty 2022

Following the new, more flexible approach of Olympic Agenda 2020, Almaty worked closely with the IOC to produce a candidature closely aligned with the long-term development goals of the city and country. Its aim was to change perceptions of Kazakhstan and turn the region into a winter sports hub.

The candidature was the centrepiece of an ambitious strategy to raise the country’s profile by hosting major events and develop an expanded winter sports industry in addition to its traditional energy-based economy.

Aydar Makhmetov, a spokesman for the country’s sovereign wealth fund who was involved in the candidature, claimed that the bid “would forever fix Almaty on the world map and be a powerful impulse for the development not just of the city, but of all Kazakhstan. This is a goal that can unite the entire nation in a single patriotic impulse”.

While the bid ultimately lost out to Beijing as host city for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, it was successful in bringing new profile to the city and delivering regional and national strategic aims. By placing the city at the forefront of the global sport conversation, the candidature has set up Almaty to be a regular host of winter sports events in the future.

International University Sports Federation (FISU) President Oleg Matytsin commented: “I believe that in future, Almaty will be among those [cities] which organises multi-sport events at international level”, demonstrating how bidding for the Games has continued to help develop the country’s long-term goals.

Chicago's Sporting Legacy

The various legacies enjoyed by Olympic host cities such as Barcelona, Vancouver and London are well documented, but the process of bidding to host the Games can also lead to numerous long- and short-term benefits for the cities involved, and in Chicago’s case, an excellent youth-engagement programme.

Chicago, for example, was one of the candidate cities for the 2016 Olympic Games, which were eventually awarded to Rio de Janeiro. Although the American city missed out on the chance to host the Games, it was able to use the candidature process to create a youth sports organisation that encourages children in Chicago to participate in sport, while also using sport to address wider social issues and teach positive values and leadership.

“They [Chicago’s Candidature leaders] decided very early on that there would be a legacy of the candidature, win or lose, that got more kids in Chicago involved in more Olympic sports,” explains Patrick Sandusky, Chief Communications Officer of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and a member of the Chicago 2016 bid committee.

The result was the World Sport Chicago (WSC) organisation, which was created in 2006, when Chicago was vying with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Houston to be chosen by USOC as the United States’ applicant city for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Six years after its formation – and despite Chicago missing out on the race to host the 2016 Games – WSC is still going from strength-to-strength and has so far worked with more than 30,000 local youth by introducing them to new sports such as archery, athletics and wrestling, providing coaching and training opportunities and launching a scholarship programme to reward young people who demonstrate a commitment to Olympic values.

WSC has also created a highly innovative programme called B.A.M. (Becoming a Man) Sports Edition – a project that tackles the issue of youth violence and seeks to provide a safe and engaging environment for at-risk male students in some of Chicago’s most challenged neighbourhoods.

New York 2012

New York’s candidature for the Olympic Games 2012 led the city to rally around a series of sustainable development projects.

Mitchell Moss, a Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at NYU Wagner, has emphasised the importance of the candidature in bringing together major stakeholders and encouraging action on the city’s key development goals.

The famous High Line development turned a section of unused rail track into a new pedestrian park which is now the tenth most Instagrammed place on earth. The bid also accelerated the renovation of Hudson Yards, Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfront, opening them up to sustainable development.

Hudson Boulevard and Park have been renovated and expanded, and a major convention centre built. In addition, the Hunter’s Point South district, the proposed location of the Olympic Village, continues to thrive as an affordable housing development for New Yorkers.

Read the full study here

Sustainable Bidding

Over the last 30 years, sustainability has become an increasingly important consideration when staging the Olympic Games. With that in mind, Olympic host cities must consider the environmental impact of the Games during their planning.

The same is true of cities that are bidding to stage the Games and many have been able to use unsuccessful Olympic candidatures to drive a series of sustainability initiatives and create environmental legacies that have outlasted their initial bids and created long-term benefits for their local regions.

Sion, for example, submitted candidatures for both the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Winter Games, which were awarded to Salt Lake City and Torino respectively. The small city, which is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais, decided to make the environment a central focus of its bids for both the 2002 and 2006 Winter Games.

“In our 2002 bid, we had included the four mandatory pages concerning the environment in our candidature document but we also provided a much longer document that we called the ‘Sion 2002 Green Book’ about our efforts to implement environment initiatives in the canton,” explains Professor Jean-Loup Chappelet, the Technical Director of Sion’s 2002 and 2006 bids. “The IOC had appreciated this ‘Green Book’, and so when we decided to bid again for 2006, we decided to go full steam [ahead] with sustainability.”

In order to develop its sustainability activities, the Sion 2006 Candidature Committee created a “Department for Sustainable Development”, which oversaw the adoption of the canton’s own Agenda 21 – following similar environmental action plans adopted by the United Nations and the IOC.

The department also put forward plans for the creation of the Fondation pour le Développement Durable des regions de Montagne (FDDM) – a non-profit organisation in charge of coordinating the inception and execution of sustainable development projects across the region.

Since its formation on the back of Sion’s Olympic bid in 1999, some of the projects that have been successfully implemented by the FDDM include the organisation of ‘slowUp Valais’ – an annual mass participation sport event for families – and the development of Ecostation, a toolkit for local resorts that aim to attain standards for sustainable tourism. As recognition for its work, the FDDM has also received ISO 9000 and 14001 certifications for its activities and is also a member of the Network of European Regions committed to the issue of Sustainable Tourism (NECSTouR).

Boosting A City’s Image

Many Olympic host cities have been able to use the Games as a chance to improve their image and increase their profile on the world stage. Turin, for example, used the 2006 Winter Games to shed its industrial image and promote itself as a new tourist and business destination by showcasing its rich history, culture and high-tech industry to the world.

Some cities have also been able to use the Olympic Games Candidature Process in the same way. The French city of Lille, for example, enjoyed a considerable boost to its global profile after bidding for the 2004 Olympic Games, which were eventually awarded to Athens.

While Lille did not make it on to the final list of five candidate cities, it had demonstrated its desire and ability to host major international events.

According to Nathan Starkman, General Director of Lille’s Development and Urbanisation agency, the most significant impact of the city’s Olympic Candidature was its contribution to the change of perception of Lille, both in France and overseas.

This improved image and heightened profile encouraged Lille’s successful bid to become to the 2004 European Capital of Culture – an event that brought a sizeable economic boost for the city, with a 30 per cent increase in tourist visitors during 2004.

Today, the annual number of tourists in Lille remains much higher than 10 years ago, with the city attracting visitors through numerous events organised as part of the Lille 3000 initiative, which was launched as a follow-up to the European Capital of Culture.

In 2011, the city hosted three art and scientific exhibitions, including a collection of works from the Saatchi Gallery in London, while it also staged the IAAF World Youth Athletics Championships, the FIH Men’s Champions Challenge II in field hockey and the 5th European Universities Rugby Sevens Championships.

Building on a Candidature

Some of the most visible legacies in an Olympic host city are the sporting venues that are built or redeveloped to stage the Games, but some cities have also been able to use unsuccessful Olympic candidatures to create new facilities for their residents, providing numerous long-term benefits.

Manchester, for example, submitted candidatures for both the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, which were awarded to Atlanta and Sydney respectively. As part of its candidature commitments, the city had already started construction on a new National Cycling Centre and the Victoria Arena. Although it missed out on the chance to host the Olympic Games, both venues were completed and have since become world-class facilities that have hosted major international events – such as the 2002 Commonwealth Games – and contributed to both the local economy and the long-term regeneration of Manchester.

“We would not have accomplished what we have in Manchester today without the two Olympic bids,” explains Eamonn O’Rourke, Head of Community and Cultural Services at Manchester City Council (MCC). “It certainly would not have been possible within a certain pre-defined period of time and without the same focus.”

The first venue to open was the National Cycling Centre – a 3,500-seat indoor track cycling arena that was completed in 1994. In addition to the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the venue has also hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Championships three times, as well as numerous UCI Track Cycling World Cup events.

Members of the public are also able to use the facility on a daily basis, while it has also become the permanent home of the British cycling team, which has gone from strength to strength since the opening of the National Cycling Centre, winning 53 track cycling medals at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

“The presence of the track helped our organisation to centralise its operations both at elite and at grassroots level from Manchester,” explains Ian Drake, CEO of British Cycling. “The track at the NCC and the availability of funding have transformed the success of British riders in major championships and the Olympic Games.”

Manchester’s Victoria Arena, meanwhile, was originally planned as the gymnastics venue if the 2000 Olympic Candidature was successful. Now known as the MEN Arena, the 21,000-capacity facility opened in 1995 and has since become one of the busiest concert arenas in the world, playing host to the likes of U2 and Beyoncé. In total, the venue stages between 100 and 150 events per year, including heavyweight boxing contests and elite ice hockey and basketball matches.

PARIS 2024

For Paris 2024, legacy initiatives are already underway and the programmes developed during the candidature are contributing to driving positive change in people’s lives.

First, in the field of education, the programmes launched in 2016 to engage youth will last until 2024 with the "Olympic and Paralympic Week", which is now part of the French educational curriculum. The week provides an opportunity to highlight sport and the Olympic values every year in January, through participation in Olympic and Paralympic sports, with athletes coming to meet young people, and classes using sport as an educational tool across the spectrum of subjects.

In partnership with the French National Olympic Committee (NOC), Paris 2024 has also created an innovative programme, "Playdagogy, Olympic Values", using Olympism as a tool for active education. This kit has already been tested in cooperation with five other NOCs.

Paris 2024 has also provided a great impetus for sports participation in France by investing EUR €20 million to support local associations, federations and authorities in their initiatives to develop sport. Meanwhile, Paris’ candidature placed the emphasis on social inclusion through sport by launching social programmes with sports federations to promote sport among refugees, and a start-up incubator in partnership with the Yunus Centre to support former athletes, from France and abroad, in becoming social entrepreneurs.

These examples offer a taste of the powerful impact of the Games on individuals and communities. Hosting the Games will enable Paris 2024 to go much further.