When well-planned and implemented, global sports, business, and cultural events can generate both immediate and long-term benefits for local development. Beyond short-term economic gains through infrastructure investment, job creation, and contracts for local businesses, these events provide a platform for addressing broader social and environmental challenges. They can facilitate employment pathways for underrepresented groups, people outside the labour market, and young people by integrating tailored training, apprenticeships, and volunteering opportunities, enhancing long-term employability. Major events can strengthen the capacity of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including circular, social, and solidarity economy enterprises, by improving access to procurement opportunities, fostering skills development, and opening new markets. Major events can serve as catalysts for promoting inclusion and equity. By prioritising accessibility, they help ensure that persons with disabilities can participate fully and benefit from the event’s legacy. Associated sports and physical activity programmes can also contribute to public health by encouraging active lifestyles and expanding access to facilities, particularly in underserved communities. With a strategic approach, such events can leave a lasting legacy of inclusion, economic resilience, and environmental sustainability, contributing to long-term local development.
The landscape of global events has evolved significantly over the past few decades. There is greater scrutiny over the use of public funds and the actual return on investment for host communities. Investment in new venue construction has declined, with a stronger focus on repurposing existing infrastructure and enhancing public transport links. There is also increasing emphasis on maximising the social impact of global events. Efforts to ensure the benefits are more widely distributed have intensified, with targeted initiatives to include disadvantaged neighbourhoods in economic and cultural opportunities. Public safety concerns have also grown, shaped by recent health crises and security challenges, while digital technologies continue to transform audience engagement, making events more accessible to diverse populations. Finally, governments and event organisers face increasing pressure to demonstrate tangible economic and social benefits, reinforcing the need for robust impact assessment and legacy planning.
The purpose of this report is to highlight good practices and innovations from the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games that can inspire future global event hosts and be integrated into broader policy areas, such as employment, social inclusion, SMEs and the social and solidarity economy, public procurement and infrastructure, sports and physical activity, the environment, and culture. The report highlights the practical “whats” and “hows” of different programmes across four areas:
Committed Games: creating jobs, harnessing the social and solidarity economy, and generating opportunities for SMEs
Responsible Games: enhancing sustainability through infrastructure and public procurement
Inclusive Games: using sport to improve health, education and social inclusion
Iconic Games: opening the city to greater engagement in culture and sport
The report can be read in conjunction with impact and evaluation reports undertaken by the French Government and the Paris 2024 Organising Committee to quantify the impacts of the Games in different fields.
This work is guided by the OECD Recommendation on Global Events and Local Development, spearheaded by France (Ministry of Sport) in 2018, following joint work with the OECD on the local development benefits of hosting UEFA Euro 2016 in ten French cities. It also draws on the OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Infrastructure and the OECD Recommendation on Public Procurement.