The world of major sporting events continues to evolve at a very fast pace. One of the most significant changes witnessed over recent months has been the recognition by many cities around the world that major events can be a new and important ‘route to market’. In other words, they see the global appeal that major events offer as an important part of a city’s strategy to raise its profile on the world stage.

‘Place branding’ is key for any city looking to increase its share in a number of markets – tourism; centres of commerce and finance; and in changing perceptions of what the city stands for and what it offers.

This recognition has become more widely recognised via a number of well proven case studies. Rarely does a debate take place on the impact that major events can have without Barcelona being highlighted as a case in point. More recently one can add in Manchester, Singapore and of course, Copenhagen.

These cities recognise that it is not just about winning the first event you bid for. Yes, securing the event first time around is the aspirational ‘gold medal’ but they understand that there are tangible and demonstrable benefits in being on the world stage and raising profile as part of a biding process itself.

That’s why Madrid bid a second consecutive time for the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s why PyeongChang in South Korea is bidding a third time for the Winter Games. And why developing countries are now keen to use the benefits of bidding as a tool for positive change. We will see more cities like Abuja in Nigeria maintain the momentum gained from their first major event bidding experience (2014 Commonwealth Games).

So, just what are the potential benefits created from the bidding process?

They start with the now proven fact that events can and should be catalysts for change. This change process transcends sporting, social, economic, educational, environmental and cultural impact. It can be the ‘touch paper’ for urban and social regeneration; for empowering communities and of course for that over used and misunderstood term sustainability. Sustainability, in major event terms, wears three complementary hats – social progress, additional/new economic activity and of course, environmental responsibility.

All of these agents for change represent a powerful cocktail for cities aiming to differentiate their offer, to ‘stand out from the crowd’ and to successfully penetrate the ever expanding consumer thirst for new places to visit and new experiences to share.

This all sounds very positive but there is a health warning! To maximise the ‘benefits of bidding for major events, cities need to understand and ‘buy in’ to certain ground rules. For example:

• Be clear about the rationale for bidding and what sustainable long term impact you are aiming for
• Ensure the event you are targeting is a good fit with what your city/region and country can offer
• Establish clear and achievable objectives very early on in the process
• Carry out the necessary feasibility in a robust and professional way with cost benefit analysis and impact studies– prioritise what the event and the bidding process needs to deliver for you – be it sporting, social, cultural, economic or regeneration drivers.
• Understand the legacy concept of major events – quantifiable benefits delivered well before, during and long after the event and throughout the bidding process. Develop a discrete legacy plan as part of your bid.
• More evaluation – less emotion. Don’t enter a bidding process without ensuring that, whatever the outcome, there will be demonstrable benefits emerging from day one of the process
• Be patient! Build up slowly. Bid for smaller more manageable events that demonstrate the city’s integrity and ability to deliver. Rio, Singapore and Copenhagen are excellent examples of this. Rio would not have won the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games had they not ‘cut their teeth’ with the Pan Am Games. Singapore would not have secured the inaugural Youth Olympics without first staging the Olympic Congress in 2005 and the recent Asian Youth Games.
• Twin the impact feasibility work with the creation of an events strategy. The latter should provide an objective assessment of a city’s strengths and weaknesses across a myriad of areas – current perception, brand, infrastructure, climate, location, venues, sports development and more.
• And finally, the golden rule of all. Engage early with all your key stakeholders to help ensure the all important financial, corporate and political support is there from day one.

The above is just a taster of what a city needs to consider before ‘throwing its hat’ into the exciting but demanding major events arena.

Peter Mann