Sport Mega-Events in Emerging Economies by Gonzalo A. Bravo David J. Shonk Jorge Silva-Bórquez & Silvana González-Mesina

Author:Gonzalo A. Bravo, David J. Shonk, Jorge Silva-Bórquez & Silvana González-Mesina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK, London

Hosting Sport Mega-Events : A History of Unsuccessful Attempts

Until recently, Chile did not have any formal governmental policy designed to bring SMEs to the country . Chile’s previous bids, particularly for single-sport events, occurred as an initiative of a national governing body (NGB) or by the COCH . Considering that most property rights for major sporting events belong to the International Federations (e.g., FIFA ) and global and regional sport governing bodies (e.g., IOC , PASO, or ODESUR ), the process to bid for SMEs is only possible when it is channeled through the NGBs and/or the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of a given country. This process is in alignment with the principle that sport governing bodies, under the umbrella of the Olympic Movement, must act independently and separate from the state (Foster, 2003). However, in reality the livelihood of most NOCs and NGBs depends heavily on the funding and support they receive from their governments. Most countries across the world have a ministry or some form of public bureaucracy that governs sport, thus enabling them to influence what NGBs or NOCs can or cannot do.1 Therefore, governments exert great amount of power over sport governing bodies due to having greater capacity for supporting or not supporting a candidacy to host an SME. In the case of Chile, the bid for the 2014 South American Games had been already accepted in 2009. In 2013, the National Institute of Sport (IND) included the bidding and organization of SMEs as part of their strategic plan. One of the fundamental premises behind this idea is that an SME can serve as the catalyst for the broader sport development plan for the country. Black (2008) notes that this strategy is also common in ‘emerging countries and cities that hope to use such events to build their capacity and [make a] case for hosting other mega-events in the future’ (p. 468).

Chile’s history of deception and last-minute resignations from bidding on major regional games dates back to the mid-1970s. In the past, Chile successfully bid and won the right to organize several major games, including the 1975 Pan American Games , and later the 1987 edition of the same games. In addition, Chile resigned from organizing the first edition of the Pan American Winter Games in 1991 and the second edition of the Games of the Pacific Ocean in 1988, a multi-sport event that folded after Chile decided not to host it.2 More recently, Chile was given the right to organize the South American Games of 2002 and 2006 and on both occasions did not accept it. In each case, the Chilean government argued it was unable to commit large sums of money at the expense of other more urgent needs.

The reasons as to why Chile rescinded from hosting previous events are multiple and open to discussion, but one reason in particular stands out. It revolves around the focus different administrations had on achieving economic and social growth and taking Chile out of the developing world.

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