Strategic planning before and after a mega-event

Abstract

This paper examines strategic planning in Sheffield, England around its hosting of the 1991 World Student Games, considering this before and after the mega-event. Aspects of strategic planning considered in this case study were identified from three theoretical perspectives on strategy: the classical, processual and systemic. The paper focuses on three aspects of Sheffield's strategic planning around the 1991 Games. The first aspect is the extent to which strategic planning was effective in linking the Games investment with the development of tourism for urban regeneration. The second is the degree to which there was a clear strategy around the Games investment both in advance of, and following, the Games. The third aspect is whether strategy emerged from formal analysis and decision-making or by learning, accident and political processes. The social and political circumstances affecting Sheffield's planning are also central to this assessment of strategy. The final part of the paper examines potential lessons from Sheffield's strategic planning.