Sustainability of Mega Event

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There arises a question of whether the sustainability of mega-events is really a myth or not. there is no definite answer to this. Big events like the Football World Cup, Olympics, etc. and other comes in every four years. The related committee or international agencies decide which country will host it. for this, they ask countries to bid for it. this is a very long process to select the best host country because the success of the event highly depends on it. the main aim of hosting events is to generate growth in the economy (Taks, Chalip and Green, 2015). but in past years there have been many controversies involved in hosting an event worldwide.

When a country hosts an event it creates a great impact on its entire economy. the impact can be either positive or negative. So, this has been a major concern for countries to bid for it. moreover, it has become difficult for cities to make mega events sustainable. This is because such types of events are one time. the city has to deal with critical consequences before and after happening of event. For example – while hosting the FIFA World Cup 2014, there were many protests occurred within Brazil. The people were against mega-events. The reason was country was underdeveloped and poor people had to suffer a lot. The government were not providing necessary things for poor people. Instead, they were highly focused on making the event successful. In addition to this, poverty was also a main reason. This negatively impacted on economic situation of the country as the government invested a large amount of funds in building infrastructure within the country. this protest became a headline worldwide. It forced agencies to focus on organizing events in developed countries.

Another example can be taken of India when in 2010 they hosted the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. This preparation was done at a large level (Schofield, Rhind and Blair, 2018). the government spent huge funds on building infrastructure. But after some time it was found that the expenses were much more than expected. In an investigation done by CAG, serious corruption by officials of the Games Organising Committee, delays in the construction of main Games' venues, and infrastructural compromise. It was found that the Sports minister was involved in a case of corruption. The overall cost was triple than estimated. There was no legal action taken. Also, a committee was formed to investigate this matter. But nothing was done to recover the cost. Despite the fact that almost one-third population lives below the poverty line, India hosted it. there was also a negative impact on the environment as 400000 people were relocated from their place.

There are both positive and negative impacts of hosting mega-events. This depends on the nature and type of event (Advantages and disadvantages of hosting mega-events. 2015). Also, the level of impact depends on the country's overall condition. Hence, it is necessary to analyze the impact so that effective decisions can be made on whether to host an event or not. The impacts are described as below:-

Positive impact

1. Hosting of mega-events is a big opportunity for the city as it helps contribute to GDP in many ways. Through this, the profitability of the city rises. Thus, the profits raised from it can be used to give economic benefits to people. For example, cities like Beijing, Sydney, etc. hosted the Olympics and saw a high rise in their GDP.
2. First, it helps in building infrastructure is a long-term investment for the city. As mega event requires infra and transport to catering facilities. It can be used to attract a large number of tourists (Marin-Aguilar and Vila-López, 2014.). For instance, there has been a wide connectivity in public transport in London. This has improved its transportation system.
3. Hosting of event brings in huge investment and creates a large number of jobs. It helps in reducing unemployment within the city. Furthermore, it results in short term economic investment.
4. Another impact large number of people visiting the country. this helps in promoting tourism as well. This leads to high growth in the tourism sector. moreover, people get to know about the culture and ecosystem of the country.
5. It also attracts many businesses and companies to sponsor events. in this way, they invest in the country by collaborating with local firms. Thus, in this way, FDI is increased. Hence, it is an effective way of attracting foreign companies to help in contributing growth of the city.

Negative impact

1. The major impact is on the economic condition of the country. The government have to invest huge capital in organizing events. This increases the burden on the country's financial situation. Due to this basic needs of people are not fulfilled.
2. The biodiversity is also highly impacted as construction has to be done. It creates an imbalance in the ecosystem. In this large area of land is cleaned for infra.
3. The government is not able to focus on areas where a high level of improvement is required. in this poor people are highly impacted. They have to sacrifice their property and social life (Grix, Brannagan and Houlihan, 2015). Also, they are not given proper facilities by the government. This results in a rise in poverty.
4. Construction and other activities related to the preparation of mega-events, result in a rise in pollution levels. this leads to an increase in the level of pollution. Moreover, no control measures are taken by the government to control it as it results in affecting events.
5. There is a high risk of security threats. It means that an increase in the number of visitors can result in security threats. It can lead to violence, terrorist activities, etc. or any other unethical activities.

Aftermath of event

As discussed above the mega events are one-time events. So, the aftermath of such an event can be drastic for the city. It is not beneficial for the city to host mega-events. First of all the infrastructure built such as stadiums, practice areas, etc. is of no use. Also, after incurring huge capital there is high pressure on the government to focus on other areas of growth and development. After the mega event, there is a downfall in economic growth. Many other areas have to be taken into consideration (Grix and Houlihan, 2014). Usually, tax rates are increased by the government to overcome expenditure. Sometimes, the cost of estimation is more so the government have to invest from some other sources. In addition to this, it is not possible for city to maintain the ecosystem after the event. it is highly affected leading to a rise in disease and impacting on physical health of people. the venue which is occupied for hosting an event can not be used for providing some other public facilities. They remain unused for a long time and become debt to the government. For instance, stadiums made in Brazil are still not used for the welfare of people. It can be evaluated that if costs are incurred more than expected, it fluctuates the entire economy. this might lead to an increase in the inflation rate as well.

Another aftermath of the mega event is after short-term employment people become unemployed again. They need to find new jobs (Vanwynsberghe, 2015). Moreover, poor people are not reallocated to places. If there occurs in any mis happening like terrorist attacks, it can result in the failure of the event. this will create a huge burden on the economy of the city. Apart from that, reputation will be damaged worldwide as well. The city will not be able to retain its image again. Henceforth, it can be stated that hosting any mega-event can lead to critical aftermath.

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Conclusion

From the essay, it can be summarized that the sustainability of mega-events is really a myth. This is because hosting an event involves a high risk. It can create either a positive or negative impact on the city. The positives are a rise in profits, long-term investment creates jobs, etc. and the negative impact is short-term use, cost of security, and high taxes, etc. the aftermath of mega-events is an infrastructure built becomes debt for government, the ecosystem highly affected leading to rise in disease and impacting on physical health of people.

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