Workshop on Governing and financing sustainable Olympic Games - June 20

Governing and financing sustainable Olympic Games for a human scale development: some insights after the referendum for Sion 2026

On June 10th 2018, the local population of Valais Canton rejected by referendum the candidacy of Sion for the winter Olympic Games of 2026, with a majority of "no" at 53,98 %. This result shows how much candidacies at Olympic Games and great sport events have been becoming more and more criticized in recent years. This rising opposition drives public opinion but also the scientific community to question the legitimacy of important investments Olympic Games require, as well as the excessiveness of big sportive projects regarding the real needs of local territories.
After the referendum shock of Sion, it is now time to think about reasons why Olympic Games and candidacy processes face stronger and stronger opposition, especially in democracies. Sion is not an isolated case: Tokyo Olympic Games are also facing important issues concerning governance, planning, financings... and is now caught in political struggles.
In this context, the workshop co-organized by the University of Geneva, Keio University and Lyon 2 University aims to discuss two important elements at the core of public debates about Olympic Games: the governance of the candidacy and the event at different periods; the financings and the ratio cost/benefits of the Games for host territories at different scales.

Who, when, and where

The audience that this event aims at is a broad range of practitioners in the areas of sustainable development, infrastructure, and major (sports) events like the Olympic Games that are interested in being a member of the expert group or at least would like to be connected to it. This means that the event could be of interest to international organizations like the UN (UNEP) and OECD, International Sport Federations, the International Olympic Committee, NGOs, think tanks, governments, academics, and associations where businesses are represented.

This one-day workshop will take place on Wednesday June 20 in Room 408 at Uni-Dufour, Geneva.

For more info and registration, please contact Dr. Raphaël Languillon-Aussel, visiting scientist within the GEDT Hub.