DID WE WIN WHILE WE LOST? EXAMINING OUTCOMES OF ISTANBUL’S UNSUCCESSFUL OLYMPIC BIDS

Abstract

The Olympic Games Bid is one of the critical issues that has recently occupied sport societies in many countries and cities considering becoming candidates to host the games. Istanbul is one of the cities that has been regularly nominated to host the games since the 1990s. Our research aims to examine and identify the positive and negative outcomes of the summer Olympic Games Bids in Istanbul between 1993 and 2013. Whereas current research in the literature focuses on the legacies of hosting sporting events, this study concentrates mainly on the outcomes of the biddings. The increase in the number of cities withdrawing their candidacy while the process continues and the decrease in the number of candidate cities make this research relevant. Within the scope of the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine senior officials in charge of past Istanbul's Olympic candidacies, and written reports and bidding documents were examined. Findings from the study indicate the existence of many tangible and intangible outputs as a result of Istanbul's Olympic candidacies. However, many of these outcomes have remained "impacts", only a limited part of which could be transformed into legacies. The study concludes that a variety of outcomes such as contribution to the promotion of the city and the country, acceleration of transportation and infrastructure development, an increase in capacity to host sporting events, the formation of inter-organizational cooperation, and the development of sports networks have been determined. On the other hand, negative outputs have also been identified, such as increased frustration in society and a decreased public trust in the evaluation process. Findings from the research are predicted to contribute to possible future bidding in Istanbul and the process of legacy-planning of sports organizations preparing to bid for large-scale sports events. 

Keywords

• Bidding Legacy,Impact,Mega Sport Events

KAYBEDERKEN KAZANABİLDİK Mİ? İSTANBUL’UN BAŞARISIZLIKLA SONUÇLANAN OLİMPİYAT ADAYLIKLARININ ÇIKTILARININ İNCELENMESİ

Öz

Olimpiyat Oyunları adaylığı, son dönemde birçok ülkede spor kamuoyunu ve de oyunlara aday olmayı düşünen şehirlerdeki yerel halkı meşgul eden önemli konulardan biridir. İstanbul da 1990’lı yıllardan bu yana düzenli olarak oyunlara ev sahipliği yapmak için aday olan şehirlerarasında yer almıştır. Bu araştırmanın amacı İstanbul’un 1993-2013 yılları arasında gerçekleşen Olimpiyat Oyunları adaylıkları neticesinde ortaya çıkan olumlu ve olumsuz çıktıların incelenmesi ve tanımlanmasıdır. Literatürde yer alan güncel bilimsel araştırmalar, ağırlıklı olarak, spor etkinliklerine ev sahipliği yapılması neticesinde ortaya çıkan mirasa odaklanırken, bu araştırmada adaylık neticesinde ortaya çıkan etkilere odaklanılmıştır. Son dönemde Olimpiyat Oyunları adaylığı süreci devam ederken adaylıktan çekilen şehirlerin sayısının artması ve aday olan ülke sayısının düşmesi bu araştırmayı önemli kılmaktadır. Araştırma kapsamında İstanbul’un Olimpiyat Oyunları adaylıkları sürecinde görev almış dokuz üst düzey yetkili ile yarı yapılandırılmış mülakatlar gerçekleştirilmiş, bu konuda hazırlanmış yazılı raporlar ve başvuru dokümanları incelenmiştir. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulgular, İstanbul’un Olimpiyat Oyunları adaylıkları neticesinde birçok somut ve soyut çıktının varlığına işaret etmektedir. Ancak bu çıktıların birçoğu “etki” olarak kalmış, yalnızca kısıtlı bir kısmı ise mirasa dönüşebilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda şehrin ve ülkenin tanıtımına katkı sağlanması, ulaşım ve altyapı gelişiminin ivme kazanması, spor etkinliklerine ev sahipliği yapma kapasitesinin artması, örgütler arası iş birliklerinin oluşması, spor şebekelerinin gelişmesi gibi birtakım çıktılar tespit edilmiştir. Öte yandan, toplumda yaşanan hayal kırıklığı, halkın değerlendirme sürecine olan inancının azalması gibi olumsuz çıktılar da mevcuttur. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulguların İstanbul’un gelecekte gerçekleşmesi muhtemel yeni bir adaylık sürecine ve büyük boyutlu spor etkinliklerine aday olmayı planlayan Türk spor örgütlerinin miras planlama sürecine katkısı olacağı öngörülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Adaylık Mirası,Etki,Devasa Spor Etkinlikleri

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