An Analysis of the Political Economy for Bidding for the Summer Olympic Games: Lessons from the Chicago 2016 Bid

Abstract

Chicago bid for, and was ultimately selected by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), the right to become an applicant city to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) subsequently approved Chicago as one of four candidate cities. This paper examines Chicago’s ultimately failed bid in light of the multi-dimensional intersecting political and economic considerations on the part of the IOC, USOC, the Chicago2016 committee and the city as each pursued separate agendas shaped by their political economies. Disputes between the IOC and USOC relating to the appropriation of broadcast and sponsorship revenues and the character of Chicago’s bid in light of the commercial emphasis and character of the Games by previous host U.S. host cities played prominent roles in explaining Chicago’s failure. Other cities can learn from the Chicago experience, and this article is a primer on strategies applicant cities should avoid in the pursuit of Olympic gold.