Legacy
In the context of a wider discussion on multisports events, it was the Olympic Games and their legacy that became key elements during the panel’s discussions – four out of the five panellists mentioned a previous edition of the Games as being their best memory of a well run event that brought a true legacy to either the host country, sport or the participating National Olympic Committees. Several of the speakers used the example of Seoul and Sydney as host cities that had been able to create lasting legacies following the Games, be it in terms of infrastructure, knowledge or sport. Looking to the future, Debbie Jevans from the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXX Olympiad – London 2012 (LOCOG) spoke about how London’s project was “all about what we will leave behind”, with London aiming to use the Games to leave not only sports facilities that will be in use for many years to come, but also to provide a legacy by making sport more accessible for all, and particularly to young people, by giving each sport the opportunity to develop through programmes in schools, for example. In the case of Beijing, the legacy will also be wide-ranging, with legacy benefits expected in areas such as improved infrastructure and a better environmental situation.
Planning
All of the speakers noted that planning, and particularly early planning, was of the utmost importance to be able to stage a successful sports event. This has been something that the IOC has been aware of for a long time now and has been developing through its Games management processes. The success of this work, principally carried out by the IOC’s Olympic Games Department, and in addition to the IOC’s transfer of knowledge programme, is allowing the current organising committees (OCOGs) to benefit from the planning experiences of previous OCOGs and to have much better understanding of what planning will need to be carried out during the OCOG’s lifecycle. It is important to note that this knowledge is passed on to the cities from the very beginning of the bid phase and is continually refined right up until the Games begin.
