Abstract
Given the growing need for hosts of sports mega-events to provide concrete plans for a sustainable sports mega-event at the bidding stage, it is perhaps surprising that there has not been more research on the actual implementation of the legacy plan in terms of sustainability. The main aim of this paper is to do just that: to analyse an empirical example of the implementation of the sustainability legacy plan for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Through an empirical analysis, the research methods used to collect the data are document analysis and semi-structured interviews with stakeholder sampling (16 documents and 10 interviewees). The paper uncovers the difficulties the PyeongChang Games encountered in achieving the sustainable legacy planned in the bid files through an evaluation of the implementation of PyeongChang’s legacy strategy in the context of South Korea. Part of the findings reveal that Gangwon Province and South Korea achieved their strategic goals set out in advance of the PyeongChang Olympics as an effective tool for promoting regional development. One of the main obstacles to the sustainability of the PyeongChang Olympics was the lack of a clear plan for the post-Games use of Olympics venues and conflicts of interest among stakeholders of the PyeongChang Winter Games.
Highlights
On the economic front, the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics sought to be a catalyst for reviving the depressed economic situation in Gangwon Province [71]
As many past sports mega-events show, hosting international mega-sporting events has justified the use of taxpayers’ money in social capital and infrastructure construction [73]. In line with this perspective, the PyeongChang bid hoped that the construction of winter sport facilities and infrastructure for the Winter Games would provide the opportunity for PyeongChang and Gangwon Province to develop into a winter sports hub in Asia
Gangwon Province, which has lagged behind the balanced development of South Korea, sought comprehensive development of Gangwon Province with the hosting of the PyeongChang Olympics
Summary
Academic Editor: Seong Ok Lyu. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Sports mega-events are at the very core of the sports industry, creating value that is closely connected with many industries. They are thought to have a wide range of impacts on the hosting venue, city and country [1,2]. Notwithstanding the wide range of benefits said to derive from hosting sports mega-events, competition among states to host sports mega-events has become less intense and has recently slowed
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