Rio 2016: Between National and Olympic Challenges

Background: On a large scale, the Olympics are appreciated as a source of positive energy. Yet, questions are raised about the required investments, governance and legacy promises. Against this background a team of Dutch researchers and experts documented the scientific information on the proceedings and societal impact of the 2016 Games, both on Brazilian and Dutch society. This study resulted in a book publication which was placed in the Olympic World Library by the IOC.

Aims: This project intends to bring the scientific literature on the 2016 Games to the fore, help understand what is going on in the field of Olympics and raise the quality of the debate.

Methods: The following methods were applied: study of scientific literature, online data collection (national surveys of the Dutch population), secondary data analysis and semi-structured interviews.

Results: The investments in accommodations and infrastructure are estimated at 14.4 billion euro, financed with 62 per cent public means. The operational costs for the organization of the Games are estimated at 2.7 billion euro, solely privately financed. Rio 2016 disclosed that it was a challenge to use the investments for the Games for broader legacy planning (Barbassa, 2015; Zimbalist, 2015; Boykoff & Mascarenhas, 2016). Millions of Brazilians protested in hundreds of cities against the huge public costs of mega-sport events (Horne & Whannel, 2016). The aim was to use the momentum of the 2016 Games as a stimulus for creating a positive legacy in terms of accommodations, infrastructure, environment, sport participation and social cohesion. Not all of the legacy goals were realized. The Games and the created legacy served in particular the interests of the elite (Klarberg & Olsson, 2014; Segrave et al., 2016).

Discussion: The results disclosed that the 2016 Games appealed to millions of sport enthusiasts in Brazil and abroad and that a substantial sum of tax payers` money is involved which could have been spent on healthcare, education and crime prevention. Both event and legacy planning were highly influenced by economic and political developments in Brazil. The city of Rio de Janeiro won the right to hold the event in what was the best time for Brazil in 50 years having to deliver it in the most complicated time during the past 50 years (Financial Times, 2016).

Conclusion: The 2016 Games were relatively well organized. Planning and realization of the intended legacy turned out to be challenging to put in practice, especially given the economic and political circumstances. Possible future steps for the IOC are to further change the balance between requirements for the event and desirable investments for the development of the host city and to expand its task as a partner as regards event organization and legacy planning.