Abstract
This paper starts from the assumption of a structural analogy between mega-events and large-scale disasters. Both imply forceful interruptions of everyday routines, and both involve imperatives for imminent action. Similar to the immovable deadline of an opening ceremony, a looming natural disaster triggers a complex set of precautions and preparations to cope with the inescapable forthcoming shock. In the case of mega-events, of course, this shock is self-induced. In fact, cities fiercely compete to host mega-events. In the face of the daunting challenges of hosting a mega-event—the immovable timeframe, the rigorous standards set by regulatory bodies, and the exceptional public visibility—the authorities and organizations in charge traditionally have resorted to strategies of a strict adaptation to the conditions imposed on them. Aligning all available resources and capabilities to match the foreseeable demands, however, undermines the adaptability to cope with unpredictable perturbations. This paper seeks to explore the strategies and practices to attain adaptability during the preparation, staging and implementation of legacy plans of a mega-event with an evidentially noteworthy record: the London Olympic Games 2012. The paper seeks to demonstrate that the project ecology in charge managed to enhance adaptability by implementing three key features of heterarchy: ambiguity, redundancy and loose coupling. By leveraging the principles of heterarchy, the project ecology was able to draw lessons from previous mega-events and both to anticipate and respond to unforeseen challenges.
Highlights
Mega-Events as Self-Induced Shocks?This paper seeks to explore the strategies and practices of the institutions and organizations in charge to attain adaptability during the preparation and staging of the London Olympic Games 2012 and the drafting and implementation of the plans for its legacies
This paper starts from the assumption of a structural analogy between mega-events and large-scale disasters
In a more conceptual reading, the success of London Games can be ascribed to a conscious attempt to augment the adaptability of the project ecology by implementing the three core features of heterarchy—ambiguity, redundancy and lose coupling—during the entire project cycle
Summary
This paper seeks to explore the strategies and practices of the institutions and organizations in charge to attain adaptability during the preparation and staging of the London Olympic Games 2012 and the drafting and implementation of the plans for its legacies. The majority of the interviews took place in the period directly before and after the event itself (April 2012 and September 2012) Questions explored both the specific features (e.g., structures, processes, tools, strategies) of the temporary dedicated project organizations that constituted the core of the project ecology as well as the longer term context of public institutions (e.g., local and national administrative authorities and sports associations), private organizations (e.g., construction and consultancy firms), personal networks and individual career trajectories that afforded key sources of legitimization, finance, expertise and control. Together with the thorough examination of the publicly available policy documents, the content analysis of the transcripts provides the main empirical basis for the following pages
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