World Events and their Host Cities - The Good, the Bad, and the Undecided

In the aftermath of the Austin City Limits Festival blogs and articles have been popping up everywhere discussing the benefits and the downfalls to hosting the 3 day music festival. This got me thinking on a larger scale about the countries that host world events like the Olympics and the pros and cons they receive.

Research proves that nobody is really sure. Some host cities like Barcelona, Atlanta, and Beijing have experienced super success from their time as a host. Others like Montreal and Athens have suffered from the aftermath of the events.

The Chicago Tribune did an article on the impact of the Olympic Games on Atlanta. According to the Tribune, the city had virtually no debt after the games and brought in millions to the city over the next decade. The games launched a rebuilding of the downtown center revitalizing the city for years to come. The Olympic complexes were able to be reused the stadium going to the Atlanta Braves and other Olympic villages and buildings going to Georgia Tech.

A Google Earth View of the Olympic Complexes in Atlanta

The Montreal Olympics on the other hand showed the negative side of hosting the games. The city was left with a billion dollar debt that took city taxpayers 30 years to repay. In a New York Times blog Professor of Economics Andrew Zimbalist talks about the long term costs of the Olympics on their host cities. He explained while Athens broke mostly even from the games the long term upkeep of the structures are costing the city. The venues weren't able to be easily reused like they were in Atlanta and for the most part sit neglected.

However, most cities report positive effects from the games. Beijing benefitted tremendously from the games as they allowed for the push needed to revitalize the city and the infrastructure. A CNN travel article I read yesterday talked about the hot new nightlife in Beijing. Having visited Beijing in 2007 and not seeing anything, nightlife wise, to write home about I read further. Above a long list of hot new bars, restaurants and hotels was the claim that the Olympics pushed Beijing into a new world light.

Certainly they gave Beijing the push to give their infrastructure a much needed makeover but they went further than that. The 2008 Olympics opened up China to the world and made it more accessible to foreigners and natives alike.

Even South Africa is experiencing growing infrastructure after hosting the World Cup this past summer. Delta has added flights to it’s Africa route citing growing economic expansion as its reason.

While some of the games can be the downfall of the host city, most have had pleasant experiences. Despite the hard fate of Athens and Montreal cities continue to fight for the right to host the games, and that’s not something I see changing any time soon.