Perceptions of residents of hosting the “Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture”: An ex-ante approach

The European Capital of Culture is an annual mega-event, which can provide a good forum though which to challenge and engage local citizens, thus generating feelings of common citizenship. In addition, it presents an ideal opportunity to promote the restructuring of the hosting urban space. However, the success of both the organization and the city that hosts the cultural event depends on the residents’ commitment towards it, the consistency of the tourism attractions and activities supplied, and the capacity of anticipating and monitoring the evolution of tourists’ preferences. The present study aims to assess the intention to participate and the impacts perceived by residents of Guimarães from hosting one of the 2012 European Capitals of Culture (2012 ECOC) in the ex-ante period (2011). Through a convenience sample of 471 usable surveys applied to the local population, conducted between October and December 2011, we tried to identify some of these potential impacts. According to the results received, 40% of residents had a low or very low knowledge of the cultural program, although only 11% demonstrated no intention of attending any activity during the event. The comparison of the mean scores of the expected 2012 ECOC impacts by gender reveals that the most valued and least valued factors are common to female and male respondents. With regard to the differences between those that intended to attend the event and the ones that did not, expected participants rated positive and negative impact factors more than did the ones that did not intend to attend.

Perceptions of residents of hosting the “Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture”: an ex-ante approach

The European Capital of Culture is an annual mega-event, which can provide a good forum though which to challenge and engage local citizens, thus generating feelings of common citizenship. In addition, it presents an ideal opportunity to promote the restructuring of the hosting urban space. However, the success of both the organization and the city that hosts the cultural event depends on the residents’ commitment towards it, the consistency of the tourism attractions and activities supplied, and the capacity of anticipating and monitoring the evolution of tourists’ preferences. The present study aims to assess the intention to participate and the impacts perceived by residents of Guimarães from hosting one of the 2012 European Capitals of Culture (2012 ECOC) in the ex-ante period (2011). Through a convenience sample of 471 usable surveys applied to the local population, conducted between October and December 2011, we tried to identify some of these potential impacts. According to the results received, 40% of residents had a low or very low knowledge of the cultural program, although only 11% demonstrated no intention of attending any activity during the event. The comparison of the mean scores of the expected 2012 ECOC impacts by gender reveals that the most valued and least valued factors are common to female and male respondents. With regard to the differences between those that intended to attend the event and the ones that did not, expected participants rated positive and negative impact factors more than did the ones that did not intend to attend.

Residents’ perceptions on impacts of hosting the “Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture”: comparisons of the pre-and post-2012 ECOC

Residents tend to have high expectations about the benefits of hosting a mega‐event. So, it was not surprising that the nomination of Guimarães, Portugal, as the 2012 European Capital of Culture (2012 ECOC) had raised great expectations in the local community towards its socio‐economic and cultural benefits. The present research was designed to examine the Guimarães residents’ perceptions on the impacts of hosting the 2012 ECOC approached in two different time schedules, the pre‐ and the post‐event, trying to capture the evolution of the residents` evaluation of its impacts. For getting the data, two surveys were applied to Guimarães` residents, one in the pre‐event phase, in 2011, and another in the post‐event phase, in 2013. This approach is uncommonly applied to Portugal data and it is even the first time it was done to a Portuguese European Capital of Culture. After a factor analysis, the results of t‐tests indicate that there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the samples from the pre‐ and post‐2012 ECOC on two positive impact factors (Community’ benefits and Residents’ benefits) and one negative impact factor (Economic, social and environmental costs). Respondents also showed a negative perception of the impacts in all dimensions, except Changes in habits of Guimarães residents.

Ex-ante evaluation by the media of the Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture

The nomination of Guimarães to host the 2012 European Capital of Culture (ECC) has put on the agenda of the city the need of measuring the effects that the implementation of this mega event could have in it and in the municipality a whole. The balance of the benefits and costs and an extended community involvement tend to reduce negative impacts and enhance positive ones. This chapter analyzes the involvement of population and local associations in the planning and organization of the 2012 Guimarães European Capital of Culture, using the coverage made during 2011 by local and national press of the mega event. A content analysis of the news published covering the period between January and December 2011 and using three newspapers was conducted. From those, two were local and weekly newspapers and one was a national daily one. Looking to data results, it can be concluded that it was poor the community involvement and, also, the one of the cultural associations in the organizations of the 2012 ECC. A strong negative reaction to the model choose to plan the mega event conducted by official organizers was found, which has cast doubts on the desirable participation of the residents and, consequently, on the success of the mega event, especially in a perspective of a medium and long term effects.

Evaluating the Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture: National and International Tourists’ Behaviors and Perceptions

In 2012, Guimarães hosted the European Capital of Culture (ECOC). An evaluation of this event was needed because public, private, and community funds were involved. This analysis considers tourists as external and independent stakeholders who assessed the cultural activities developed during the event as well as the attributes of the city. The main objectives of the research conducted were to assess the visitors` motivations during the hosting of the Guimarães ECOC 2012, their perceptions towards the city and if national and international visitors kept different perceptions of it. For two months, in the summer of 2012, a survey was applied to 390 visitors. The results revealed that hosting the 2012 ECOC was a major contribution towards attracting new visitors to the city (though many of the visitors stayed only for a short period of time). Based on tourists’ perceptions, the tangible heritage was clearly detached from the set of attributes associated to Guimarães, whereas the intangible heritage was less noted. The Portuguese tourists seem to be more prone to value the tangible heritage than the foreign tourists. Overall, Guimarães received a very positive evaluation relating to the city’s image and, as stated by tourists, visiting it was declared to be highly recommended. Following the obtained empirical results, the need for changing the city’s promoted image emerges, which has been too centered on its tangible heritage. In doing so, it is believed that there will be longer overnight stays by visitors.

Resident's perceptions on impacts of hosting the “Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture

. Residents tend to have high expectations about the benefits of hosting a mega‐event. So, it was not surprising that the nomination of Guimarães, Portugal, as the 2012 European Capital of Culture (2012 ECOC) had raised great expectations in the local community towards its socio‐economic and cultural benefits. The present research was designed to examine the Guimarães residents’ perceptions on the impacts of hosting the 2012 ECOC approached in two different time schedules, the pre‐ and the post‐event, trying to capture the evolution of the residents` evaluation of its impacts. For getting the data, two surveys were applied to Guimarães` residents, one in the pre‐event phase, in 2011, and another in the post‐event phase, in 2013. This approach is uncommonly applied to Portugal data and it is even the first time it was done to a Portuguese European Capital of Culture. After a factor analysis, the results of t‐tests indicate that there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the samples from the pre‐ and post‐2012 ECOC on two positive impact factors (Community’ benefits and Residents’ benefits) and one negative impact factor (Economic, social and environmental costs). Respondents also showed a negative perception of the impacts in all dimensions, except Changes in habits of Guimarães residents. 

Ex-ante evaluation by the media of the Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture

The nomination of Guimarães to host the 2012 European Capital of Culture (ECC) has put on the agenda of the city the need of measuring the effects that the implementation of this mega event could have in it and in the municipality a whole. The balance of the benefits and costs and an extended community involvement tend to reduce negative impacts and enhance positive ones. This chapter analyzes the involvement of population and local associations in the planning and organization of the 2012 Guimarães European Capital of Culture, using the coverage made during 2011 by local and national press of the mega event. A content analysis of the news published covering the period between January and December 2011 and using three newspapers was conducted. From those, two were local and weekly newspapers and one was a national daily one. Looking to data results, it can be concluded that it was poor the community involvement and, also, the one of the cultural associations in the organizations of the 2012 ECC. A strong negative reaction to the model choose to plan the mega event conducted by official organizers was found, which has cast doubts on the desirable participation of the residents and, consequently, on the success of the mega event, especially in a perspective of a medium and long term effects.

The Impacts of Temporary and Anticipated Tourism Spending.

Part of the local economic impact of a major sporting event comes from the associated temporary tourism expenditures. Typically demand-driven Input-Output (IO) methods are used to quantify the impacts of such expenditures. However, IO modelling has specific weaknesses when measuring temporary tourism impacts; particular problems lie in its treatment of factor supplies and its lack of dynamics. Recent work argues that Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) analysis is more appropriate and this has been widely applied. Neglected in this literature however is an understanding of the role that behavioural characteristics and factor supply assumptions play in determining the economic impact of tourist expenditures, particularly where expenditures are temporary (i.e. of limited duration) and anticipated (i.e. known in advance). This paper uses a CGE model for Scotland in which agents can have myopic- or forward-looking behaviours and shows how these alternative specifications affect the timing and scale of the economic impacts from anticipated and temporary tourism expenditure. The tourism shock analysed is of a scale expected for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow in 2014. The model shows how “pre-shock” and “legacy” effects – impacts before and after the shock – arise and their quantitative importance. Using the forward-looking model the paper calculates the optimal degree of pre-announcement.

Planification en contexte mégaévénementiel et reconversion urbaine : le cas du Green Point Urban Park à Cape Town en Afrique du Sud


Depuis les années 2000, nous observons de plus en plus de pays en développement (PED) hôtes de mégaévénements. En accueillant un mégaévénement en leur sol, les PED espèrent améliorer leur cadre urbain et attirer des investissements étrangers. Ceci étant dit, les retards en termes d’infrastructures et d’équipements que connaissent ces pays et les stricts cadres normatifs imposés par des organismes internationaux comme la FIFA, nous amènent à questionner la possibilité d’intégrer les aménagements mégaévénementiels, à leur contexte local. En ce sens, le processus de planification, dans lequel les cadres normatifs externes et locaux sont négociés, peut être vu comme un moment charnière ayant une incidence sur le potentiel de reconversion. Dans le cadre de ce mémoire, nous avons entamé une réflexion à ce sujet en examinant le processus de planification d’un aménagement mégaévénementiel, le Green Point Urban Park (GPUP) à Cape Town, et son incidence sur son potentiel de reconversion. Plus précisément, nous allons, en premier lieu, décrire le processus de planification du site, nous allons par la suite évaluer son potentiel de reconversion, puis nous allons faire ressortir des liens entre le processus de planification et le potentiel de reconversion des aménagements mégaévénementiels. En somme, notre travail met en évidence une relation entre, d’une part, la prépondérance du cadre normatif imposé par l’organisme international et la dynamique du système d’acteurs au moment de la planification du GPUP et, d’autre part, la difficile reconversion de ce dernier après la Coupe du monde de 2010.

Méga-événements et nouveaux médias : le journalisme liquide dans le contexte de la Coupe du monde de 2014 et des Jeux olympiques de 2016

Ce mémoire porte sur les représentations qui ont circulé sur Internet avant et durant le mouvement historique et inattendu de révolte sociale au Brésil, pendant la Coupe des confédérations de 2013. La vague de manifestations a provoqué un débat passionné sur Internet à propos des méga-événements, mais des études sur ce phénomène récent sont encore absents de la littérature. La présente recherche est un effort de combler cette lacune en examinant le cas de la ville de Rio de Janeiro, qui accueillera la finale de la Coupe du monde de soccer de 2014 et sera la ville hôte des Jeux olympiques de 2016. Le but du travail est de comprendre quelles sont les représentations qui émergent des nouvelles en réseau au sujet des transformations et des conflits urbains dans le cadre des méga-événements. À partir d'une analyse logico-naturelle des documents publiés entre 2009 et 2013 sur des sites Web avec quatre profils communicationnels distincts, la recherche met en évidence dans quelle mesure les représentations sociales reproduisent (1) la stratégie de branding urbain de la part du gouvernement et (2) les stratégies de résistance civile de la part des populations affectées par les transformations urbaines. Du point de vue théorique et méthodologique, l'étude mobilise la notion de journalisme liquide, inspiré des travaux du sociologue Zygmunt Bauman, qui s’est concentré sur les conséquences culturelles, économiques et politiques de la mondialisation. Les résultats de l'analyse documentaire ont permis d'exposer les représentations sociales construites autour de trois thématiques centrales : les favelas, les expulsions forcées dans la ville de Rio de Janeiro et les manifestations de juin 2013. En plus d'une discussion théorique critique à propos des résultats, l'étude les confronte avec la littérature scientifique repérée dans la recension des écrits.

Les impacts urbains des évènements sportifs internationaux : les cas du parc municipal Américo Renné Giannetti à Belo Horizonte (Brésil) et la Coupe du monde de 2014

Cette étude a eu l’objectif d’analyser et d’identifier les différentes visions de la revitalisation du Parc Municipal Américo Renné Giannetti, à Belo Horizonte (Brésil), dans le contexte de transformations spatiales de la ville pour la Coupe du monde arrivée en 2014. Pour le développement de cette recherche, on a utilisé des démarches distinctes. La première a consisté à faire un abordage sur les projets de restructurations urbaines pour les évènements internationaux qui en transformant certains espaces (comme les parcs urbains et certaines aires historiques) tentent à dynamiser l’entrepreneuriat urbain en transformant ces espaces, les villes et les pays hôtes en « produits » consommés par un public très spécifique. Les autres étapes ont consisté à démontrer le rôle social du Parc Municipal ainsi qu’à présenter les observations de terrain et les entrevues avec les différents acteurs engagés dans la revitalisation du parc central de Belo Horizonte. L’analyse des différentes visions du projet nous a conduits à conclure que la revitalisation du parc pour la Coupe du monde a eu des enjeux politiques, touristiques, en répondant aussi les intérêts du secteur privé. Dans ce contexte les répercutions sociales sont inévitables vu qu’en répondant le besoin de certains citoyens, la transformation de l’espace entraine des exclusions et réaffirme la ségrégation dans le milieu.

Constraining the active tectonic deformation of Andaman-Nicobar Arc in the background of December 26,2004 Great Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake

The Andaman-Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal lies in a zone where the Indian plate subducts beneath the Burmese microplate, and therefore forms a belt of frequent earthquakes. Few efforts, not withstanding the available historical and instrumental data were not effectively used before the Mw 9.3 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake to draw any inference on the spatial and temporal distribution of large subduction zone earthquakes in this region. An attempt to constrain the active crustal deformation of the Andaman-Nicobar arc in the background of the December 26, 2004 Great Sumatra-Andaman megathrust earthquake is made here, thereby presenting a unique data set representing the pre-seismic convergence and co-seismic displacement.Understanding the mechanisms of the subduction zone earthquakes is both challenging sCientifically and important for assessing the related earthquake hazards. In many subduction zones, thrust earthquakes may have characteristic patterns in space and time. However, the mechanism of mega events still remains largely unresolved.Large subduction zone earthquakes are usually associated with high amplitude co-seismic deformation above the plate boundary megathrust and the elastic relaxation of the fore-arc. These are expressed as vertical changes in land level with the up-dip part of the rupture surface uplifted and the areas above the down-dip edge subsided. One of the most characteristic pattern associated with the inter-seismic era is that the deformation is in an opposite sense that of co-seismic period.This work was started in 2002 to understand the tectonic deformation along the Andaman-Nicobar arc using seismological, geological and geodetic data. The occurrence of the 2004 megathrust earthquake gave a new dimension to this study, by providing an opportunity to examine the co-seismic deformation associated with the greatest earthquake to have occurred since the advent of Global Positioning System (GPS) and broadband seismometry. The major objectives of this study are to assess the pre-seismic stress regimes, to determine the pre-seismic convergence rate, to analyze and interpret the pattern of co-seismic displacement and slip on various segments and to look out for any possible recurrence interval for megathrust event occurrence for Andaman-Nicobar subduction zone. This thesis is arranged in six chapters with further subdivisions dealing all the above aspects.

La pelota no se mancha: Un estudio histórico sobre el desarrollo y la política en FIFA

Esta investigación se centra en la Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) como organización política. Intenta responder dos interrogantes primordiales: 1) ¿cómo la FIFA ha constituido el poder que tiene actualmente y, así, hacerse del monopolio indiscutido del fútbol? Y 2) ¿cómo ha cambiado en el tiempo la política interna de FIFA y su vínculo con la política internacional? Para lograr esto, se realiza un estudio histórico, basado principalmente en documentos, que intenta caracterizar y analizar los cambios de la organización en el tiempo. Se enfatizan las últimas dos presidencias de FIFA, de João Havelange y Joseph Blatter, como casos de estudio.

Jogos Pan-Americanos de 2007: uma avaliação social

O presente estudo objetivou verificar até que ponto os impactos e o legado da implementação dos Jogos Pan-americanos de 2007 alteraram as condições sociais e a forma de utilização do espaço urbano na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Considerou-se que a competição das Américas esteja inserida na aplicação dos conceitos da cidade global, uma vez que os festivais esportivos internacionais se transformaram em megaeventos na esteira da consolidação do pensamento do planejamento urbano competitivo. Para contextualizar essa análise foi necessária uma pesquisa sobre a trajetória urbana da cidade-sede na interseção dos dois movimentos: cidade global e megaeventos. Tendo em vista que a decisão da realização do megaevento carioca foi tomada pela esfera pública, assim como o seu financiamento, foram analisados os gastos estatais e reclassificados, segundo a metodologia de O‟Connor (1977), e divididos nas funções de acumulação e de legitimação com o intuito de identificar os favorecidos e os desfavorecidos pela política pública efetivada. Os resultados da investigação sinalizam um aprofundamento da desigualdade social e urbana, via transferências de recursos públicos para o domínio do capital privado

Megaeventos esportivos: impactos no turismo das cidades sedes.

O presente trabalho visa ilustrar a importância de se analisar os impactos de um megaevento esportivo, como a Copa do Mundo, no turismo do destino sede. A escolha do tema se dá pelo fato de iniciativas como essas terem se tornadas estratégicas nos últimos anos e muito disputadas por governos em todo o mundo. O motivo da escolha do tema se dá especialmente pelo fato do Brasil sediar, em curto espaço de tempo, dois dos principais megaeventos esportivos internacionais: a Copa do Mundo, em 2014, e os Jogos Olímpicos, em 2016. O trabalho, composto por 8 capítulos procura, com base no referencial teórico, identificar os principais impactos dos megaeventos no segmento de turismo do destino sede. Para se atingir este objetivo, utilizou-se o modelo de avaliação proposto por Allen et al (2003), cientista internacional referencia nessa área de estudo. Dentre os possíveis impactos positivos engloba-se a promoção do destino e incremento do turismo, o aumento do tempo de permanência do turista, a lucratividade para o setor, o aumento da renda de impostos, a oportunidade de negócios, investimento em infra-estrutura no destino, a atividade comercial e a geração de empregos pela realização do evento. Por outro lado, dentre os impactos negativos, destacam-se a resistência da comunidade ao turismo, a perda de autenticidade e danos à reputação do destino, exploração, preços inflacionados, custos de oportunidade, má gestão financeira, perda financeira, dentre outros. O método de pesquisa, baseado em Yin (2005), foi o estudo de caso baseado nos dois eventos mais recentes de Copa do Mundo: Alemanha (2006) e África do Sul (2010). O estudo teve um viés qualitativo e os instrumentos de coleta de dados foram diferenciados em cada uma das etapas da pesquisa, englobando pesquisa a dados primários e secundários, consulta à relatórios oficiais e principalmente a consulta a artigos acadêmicos de renomados autores internacionais especialistas em eventos. Foram também consultadas pesquisas de renomadas instituições, tais como Organização Mundial do Turismo OMT (2006), Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV, 2009), FIPE (2005), EMBRATUR e Ministério do Turismo (MTUR), entre outras. Os resultados demonstram que os megaeventos geram oportunidades para o destino sede - de curto, médio e longo prazo - para os diferentes segmentos, em especial para o turismo de eventos e esportivo, seja no âmbito nacional ou internacional. Também observa-se a importância das ações de melhoria não serem pontuais, para que justifiquem o próprio legado do evento em pauta. Por outro lado, verifica-se a importância de se realizar ações que visem mitigar os impactos negativos inerentes a megaeventos, a fim de não se comprometer o turismo do destino ou pais sede, sua reputação, seus cofres públicos e sua comunidade.