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Expert View: Sporting Legacy I visited Leptis Magna the other day. I didn’t really know how many Roman sites there are in Libya! Apparently it is the largest Roman site outside of Italy. Anyway we had it to ourselves basically.....the potential for tourism in this country is massive. Sporting events, legacy and communities Dr Robert Rogerson, University of Strathclyde, and Legacy Research Co-ordinator for the 2014 Commonwealth Games Meadowbank Stadium as it was in 1970. © Edinburgh Evening News The newly re-opened Commonwealth Pool. © IFSA Butler “Unlike London 2012, sporting venues are being designed as much for community use as for the Games themselves...” Scotland will host the Commonwealth Games in 2014 for the third time; a mark of the esteem in which Scotland is viewed in world sport. Although sporting achievement and the performance of elite athletes will continue to be at the heart of the festival, the Glasgow 2014 Games will be very different to the first Games held in Scotland more than 40 years ago, leaving a different form of legacy. The 1970 Games in Edinburgh left their mark on the city, on sport, and on the organisation of such mega-events. The ten sports were held mainly in Meadowbank Stadium and in the purpose-built Commonwealth Pool; the latter bearing testimony to the foresight of the designers, for it continues to serve not only as a venue for international sporting events but also as a local community resource. In terms of sporting technology, the 1970 event was one of the first to use photo-finish technology, a resource which is so essential nowadays when success is measured in fractions of seconds in some events. And the Edinburgh 1970 Games marked the first time that a unique Games trademark logo was marketed, the Games emblem being intertwined with a St Andrew’s cross and a thistle. In the intervening decades, the nature and significance of multisporting and major international sporting events has changed considerably. In 1970, the emphasis was on success in the events, and on ensuring a warm welcome was received by athletes and spectators. More recently, events such as the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, to name but a few, have become much more than mere sporting endeavours. Barcelona in 1992 was the first city to recognise and capitalise on the wider significance of hosting such an event, using the Olympics to regenerate the city as it emerged from the dark years of the Franco regime. Sydney in 2000 utilised the ‘Millennium Olympics’ to help reposition it as a global city and showcase its cosmopolitan character, and the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup by South Africa was used to boost its international image. Sporting events have become a means of transforming – venues for sport, physical areas of cities, images and perceptions of places – and a commercial enterprise where the economic and social prizes are as important as sporting medals. Alongside such economic regeneration potential come risks, including the increasing politicisation of events. A number of countries declined to compete in the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. And the second time the Commonwealth Games returned to Scotland, in 1986, the Edinburgh Games were boycotted by 32 nations, in protest to the UK Government’s approach to sport in South Africa (that is, their not supporting the anti-Apartheid ban on sporting engagement), relegating the sporting achievements and casting a shadow of large financial losses despite the relatively limited investment in sporting infrastructure. Financial losses and underused venues have also become synonymous with some events. Increasing demands by international organising bodies such as the IOC and FIFA, keen to retain the commercial value of the ’brand’ of their event, have placed ever-increasing specifications for host cities, resulting in venues having to be designed to meet needs which are seldom required for post-event use. In the aftermath, stadia lie empty, have to be redesigned and revamped, or in some cases demolished. Large areas of public space remain underused or vacant. Generating legacy With increasing costs of hosting such mega-events, unsurprisingly politicians as well as local organising committees have had to find other ways to justify the large public investment required. Greater emphasis has rightly been placed on planning for the postevent use of space and facilities, transforming them from ‘white elephants’ to meaningful legacies. The London 2012 Olympics is one of the first mega-events to place legacy as a central part of its planning. As part of the bidding process, the London team viewed the sporting event as a catalyst for change and inspiration – in regenerating the Lea Valley and the creation of new communities, in encouraging young people into sport, and in increasing sport participation across the country. Through the Olympics, the intention is that after the event, new facilities, homes and inspired people will emerge, not just in East London but across the UK. However, such legacy will take time. The Olympic and Paralympic Village will be transformed into thousands of new homes, and new community facilities (including health centre, and educational campus) will be built after the event. Planning for this has only recently started. The transformation of the Olympic Park into a community park will result in the area being closed for at least 12 months, and the new homes will take longer. Glasgow 2014’s vision In contrast to previous major sporting events, Glasgow 2014 is helping to re-define the notion of legacy and legacy planning. Above all, those involved in Glasgow 2014 believe that legacy benefits for communities should start well before the Games arrive in Glasgow. Unlike London 2012, sporting venues are being designed as much for community use as for the Games themselves, and most will be in use in advance of the Games, loaned to the organising NATO blown-up tanks on the outskirts of committee. Misrata; Additionally, there are about many 50 of of them.
The Geographer 6-7 Summer 2012 the venues housing the 17 sports already exist and are in use. In contrast to London, where new organisations have been created to oversee the planning of the Olympic Games (both before and afterwards), management of the legacy planning process remains within the orbit of the City Council and Scottish Government. This is ensuring that learning and partnerships are able to be transferred to other areas of working, and that planning is aligned with longer-term economic and social strategies. This is particularly relevant in the area of health and wellbeing, for both Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government want the Commonwealth Games to help increase overall levels of physical activity and help reduce some of the health and lifestyle issues which have blighted communities. Legacy does include physical regeneration – especially in the East End communities around Dalmarnock and Bridgeton – but there is much less emphasis on large scale regeneration and more emphasis on creating sustainable and longer-term change. Even the athletes’ village is being designed and built so that, within a few weeks of the event finishing, the houses can be refitted to be available for rent and sale. And success will be…. Like all other major sporting events, Glasgow 2014 is an opportunity to get global coverage in the media, and to showcase Scottish and other national sporting talent. For those involved in shaping legacy the ambition is, however, much wider. For sportScotland and Glasgow Life (which delivers sport and culture in the city), legacy will be translating a successful sporting event with Scottish athletes triumphing, into sports clubs and organisations actively encouraging communities to engage with many sports, and citizens of Glasgow being more active in their local facilities. For the business community in Glasgow and Scotland, the Games will help them to compete on the international stage and encourage citizens who struggle to enter the labour market to feel encouraged and supported. And for East End communities, legacy is about a real sense of being part of transformation – in housing, in employment, in wellbeing and having a future in a positive Glasgow. Achieving legacy? The research evidence from previous major sporting events suggests that past approaches to legacy planning fail to inspire many to change their lifestyles and engage with physical and sporting activity. Studies also point to the poor use of sporting facilities after the Games festival of sport ‘leaves town’. Those involved with Glasgow 2014 are working hard to ensure the latter criticism cannot be levelled at Scotland, but bringing about a step change in health and wellbeing will ultimately lie with the citizens of Glasgow and Scotland. There will be many incentives to be more active and to change lifestyles, but will this be enough? The question is, if hosting Glasgow 2014 cannot instil change in underlying health and physical activity, what else can? Athletes village © RMJM “…past approaches to legacy planning fail to inspire many to change their lifestyles and engage with physical and sporting activity.” John Scott, Nicola Sturgeon and local school children at launch of new logo. © glasgow2014.com Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome under construction © glasgow2014.com Tollcross Aquatics Centre © glasgow2014.com
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