Introduction
Although mega-events such as the Olympic Games have their own peculiarities, their importance should not be belittled. They are transitory and of great economic and cultural implication. They endorse values of local, national and global importance and throws light on the elites, institutions and societies who are involved with them. The nature of the stakeholder also has a strong impact on the mega-event to impact on a city or region. Due to this, the selection of the site to hold a mega-event must be selected with a lot of sheer care and keenness taking into account various factors that are crucial for the success of the mega-event.
There is a stiff competition on cities or countries that constantly want to be awarded the chance to hold mega-events. Those awarding the tender should first consider the condition of the infrastructure of a place before deciding on whether the place can effectively hold the event. For instance the road must have well developed roads to make it easy for participants to access the place. Other facilities such as fields and airports must be of world class to ensure that all those who will be willing and able to attend the event will not be deterred by poor infrastructure. This is fundamentally the reason why nations invest enormous sums in stadia and collateral infrastructure projects. This represents a good investment for various developing countries. The place must also be in a position to undergo infrastructural expansion as the need may arise during the event. Preferably, the entire city and its neighborhoods must have communication and transport facilities that are above average. The health facilities of the place must also be satisfactory enough before a place to be allowed to hold an event. Instances of illness or injuries are bound to occur during the event hence necessitating that a place should adequately cater for the health needs of all individuals that will attend the event. All this facilities must be well harmonized to enhance the quality of life and avoid instances that might compromise human life.
Peace, security and stability are essential for the success of any event. When selecting a place to hold a mega-event, the peacefulness and stability of the place must be given utter importance as individuals are not willing to risk their dear lives. No one will be willing to attend an event where peace is not paramount. The event must have enough scrutinizing facilities at various points and effective patrol. Lack of peace might also compromise the success of the event since the event is bound to be interrupted. Instability and insecurity might also result to a great economic loss which is definitely not what the event organizers envisioned to be. For a mega-event to be successful and maximum benefits be reaped out of it, peace, stability and security must be guaranteed.
Water, food and refreshments availability must also be considered before settling on a decision to award a place a chance to hold the mega-event. The place should have adequate hotels to offer foods and drinks, breakfast and lunch, to the fans and participants. The ability of the place to have food and water selling outlets must also be considered. The sanitary facilities must be good enough to facilitate the big population that will flock the place in the course of the event. The place must be spacious enough to effectively accommodate all people that will attend the event. This will avoid congestion and temporary relocation of the residents during an event as this might create more social problems than benefits.
The weather conditions and whether changes of a place must also be considered when making a selection of the place to hold an event. Factors such as the temperature of a place need to be favorable. A temperate temperature is generally preferred for most events. It should also be easy to ascertain whether the place will be raining during the duration of the event. Ascertaining the weather conditions of the place will enable the event organizers to effectively advise the event participants on the items to carry during the event as well as enable the event organizers to commendably prepare for the event.
The location of the place must also be considered. A place that is centrally located in relation to the participants is preferable. Choosing a place that is centrally located will make it easy for the participants to access the place as it will reduce the distances that each participant will have to travel in order to reach the site.
As elucidated above, the selection of a site to hold a mega-event call for keenness and a wide sense of wisdom and reasoning to ensure that the event succeeds. Infrastructure, Peace, security and stability, weather conditions, location of the place and availability of other auxiliary services should and must be considered when selecting a place to ensure that, in any way, the event does not fail but becomes of inordinate triumph.
