Mega sporting events as tools of urban redevelopment: lessons learned from Rio de Janeiro

In the 1990s, the municipality of Rio de Janeiro initiated a new policy that involved the use of mega sporting events as tools for urban redevelopment and regeneration of the city. This strategy culminated in the hosting of the 2014 Fédération Internationale de Football Association football World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympic Games. Through interviews with experts and bid book analysis, the paper aims to assess the impact of this strategy on Rio de Janeiro and its population, with a specific focus on the 2016 summer Olympic Games and two main Olympic clusters, Maracanã and Barra da Tijuca. Indeed, the 2016 Games were touted as a way to promote sustainable development in the city, and, also, social inclusion. However, the results show a very harmful impact of the Olympics on Rio de Janeiro. First, they increased the physical fragmentation and polarisation of the city; second, they aggravated social and economic inequalities among the local population.