Sports mega-events and urban legacies: the 2014 FIFA world cup, Brazil

Book of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Spaces of Dialog for Places of Dignity, Lisbon, 11-14th July, 2017The idea of organising Sports Mega-Events had been defended by strategic urban planners as a way to attract considerable public and private resources to be invested in cities. In this respect, the city of Barcelona has been an outstanding example for the urban transformations as a result of the 1992 Olympic Games. The construction or renovation of ports, airports, public transportation and sports facilities, housing, hotels and tourism developments is regarded as the urban legacy of organising such mega-events. In October 2007, Brazil was chosen to organise the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Seemingly a natural vocation due to the country´s historic relationship with football, the competition to host this megaevent was related to the political project of its governors during a period of rapid economic growth and the emergence of the country on the world scenario. Between October 2007 and July 2014 a series of projects in infrastructure, mobility and stadia construction was carried out at a cost of ten billion dollars. The aim of this paper is to understand the main results of the World Cup interventions in Brazil, which were its main urban legacy and who were the winners and losers in this process.Published versio