Resumo
The objective of this research is to identify different Olympic stakeholders’ perceptions of the potential role of temporary venues in fostering the philosophy of Olympism and the future of the Olympic Movement. The adoption of stakeholder theory as theoretical framework occurs under the presumption that the Olympic Games are a highly complex project led by OCOGs with the collaboration of other entities, which are needed regarding planning and delivering a project with multiple demands (Parent, 2013; Gargalianos, Toohey, & Stotlar, 2015). As result, solutions, such as temporary venues, need to be closely aligned with stakeholders’ interests if such solutions are to be further implemented in future Olympic Games. Therefore, the research question of this work is: Why and how can temporary venues at the Olympic Games foster the future of the Olympic Movement? The research is designed as a qualitative empirical project in which a questionnaire, sent to a quota sampling of 35 individuals who have been involved in the Olympic Games, was selected as the instrument for collecting sample data. Developed by the author, the tool is divided into three parts and is based on existing conceptual frameworks, such as the triple bottom line (Hede, 2007) and potential benefits of stadia (Preuss, 2015), to address both aspects of the research question. It can be concluded that, within the premises of sustainable development, there is a variety of ways in which this venue typology can be used to foster the philosophy of Olympism and the future of the Olympic Movement. The results indicate that even if Olympic stakeholder groups strongly link temporary venues to economic sustainability and technological innovation, they also acknowledge their potential role as sources of social and environmental changes to the Games’ host communities, cities, and countries.
