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Popular perception of urban transformation through megaevents: understanding support for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Journal
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy
ISSN
0263-774X
ISSN-Digital
1472-3425
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2012-08-29
Author(s)
Mueller, Martin
DOI
Abstract
With the increasing number and impact of events hosted by cities, understanding the nature of popular support for them and the resulting urban transformations is a crucial task. This paper examines residents' perceptions of the preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, asking how support differs across social groups and what factors predict support. It finds that negative impacts from preparations dominate public opinion, but that there is nevertheless a solid support base for the event. Support tends to be strongest among non-Russians, the younger generation and residents who have good knowledge of the preparations. Perception of positive impacts, in particular expected image improvement, is the strongest predictor of support, while perception of negative impacts shows a much weaker association with support. The paper concludes that delivering on the positive aspects of events might be more important for administrations than minimizing the negative side-effects.
Language
English
Keywords
mega-events
Olympic Games
impacts
attitudes
perception
support
Russia
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Pion Publication
Publisher place
London UK
Volume
30
Number
4
Start page
693
End page
711
Pages
19
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
208405