Olympic Games should be planned decades in advance to give more cities in the Global South the chance of hosting and reaping the cultural and infrastructural benefits, writes Christian Benimana as part of our Olympic Impact series.
Training an athlete to become an Olympian takes a minimum of eight to nine years. It involves thousands of hours of training, coaching and competitions, both individually and within a community, across various facilities.
Similarly, cities hosting the Olympics undergo a rigorous planning process, with the host cities now being awarded the games 10 years in advance. For instance, it was recently announced that Utah will host the Winter Olympics in 2034.
What if we instead selected cities decades in advance?
Typically, the Olympics are hosted in cities with extensive infrastructure and established pools of athletic talent. Paris, which hosted the Olympics in 1900 and 1924, has had more than 100 years to prepare to host the Summer Olympics again, utilising much of the existing infrastructure developed over time.
But what if we instead selected cities decades in advance, cities with untapped talent and infrastructure needs? What if we invested in locations with the potential to expand the Olympic spirit, nurturing the next generation of Olympians, much like Paris did over a century ago?
As a third-time host of the Summer Olympics, Paris has made exemplary use of its historical sporting and cultural spaces, with only one new major permanent venue constructed. Each time Paris has hosted the Olympics, a legacy of sports infrastructure and public amenities has been left behind. Over the years, continuous investment in public transport, including the development of an extensive metro system and improvements in airport capacity, has made Paris a prime candidate for hosting international events.
As the current Olympic host, Paris's model offers invaluable lessons in sustainability and cost management, but this model may only be viable for "legacy hosts" – nations that have previously held the games.
The Olympics and the infrastructure built for them can have a greater purpose than just celebrating sporting excellence. We could view the investment in Olympic infrastructure not as the end of an event, but as the start of the Olympic spirit in a place.
Investment in facilities should come first. Build the next generation of athletes through their use, and the capstone project of that investment should be hosting the Olympic Games.
Planning and support can transform hosting into a powerful catalyst for critical infrastructure
The modern Olympics were founded in 1896 to foster international understanding and cooperation through sport. Since then, 24 countries have hosted the games, predominantly in Europe and North America. While the substantial financial burden often favours legacy hosts, strategic planning and support can transform hosting into a powerful catalyst for critical infrastructure investments.
This approach can yield substantial long-term benefits for developing countries. Furthermore, extending the opportunity to regions like Africa, which have yet to host the games, not only adheres to the core principles of the Olympics but also promotes global inclusivity and equity.
Africa's population, which surged from 140 million in 1900 to over 1.4 billion in 2022, is projected to account for 40 percent of the world's population growth by the end of the century. This rapid growth is accompanied by an emerging pool of athletic talent.
African athletes have already demonstrated their prowess on the world stage, winning over 400 medals in Summer Olympic history, with countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Africa leading the way. Yet, the continent remains absent from the list of Olympic hosts.
The hosting of the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal, marks a hopeful beginning for this model. Senegal's successful bid in 2018 for this event reflects a commitment to investing in Africa's future infrastructure and nurturing emerging talent.
The human spirit is one to be invested in and marvelled at. Senegalese surfer Cherif Fall taught himself to surf as a child on broken surfboards left behind by tourists in his hometown of Dakar. At age 25, he dreamed of qualifying for the Paris Olympics. A national champion in surfing, without supported surfing facilities, coaching and support, Fall did not qualify this year. With focus and investment, we can only wonder at human potential.
The moment calls for a model of purposeful investment that includes early planning
Every aspiring Olympian in the Global South deserves the opportunity to compete at the highest level, and creating the right infrastructure is essential to making this vision a reality. Ultimately, the essence of the Olympics is the pursuit of excellence, with every athlete yearning to test their personal limits in support of human achievement in their sport.
We are in a challenging time in world history, experiencing the highest planetary temperatures recorded. As a result, we are acutely aware of the need to build responsibly and sustainably. At the same time, we must build and honour human potential and the needs of growing and developing populations.
The moment calls for a model of purposeful investment that includes early planning, community consultation and a focus on sustainable and multi-use infrastructure. This approach would provide potential host cities with the time and resources necessary to build facilities that serve both immediate and long-term needs, thereby maximising the impact of the investment.
The Paris Olympics are seen as environmentally successful for their adaptive reuse of current structures. Where that is possible, it's a recommended and viable solution. However, in many places across the globe, particularly in the Global South, investment in much-needed infrastructure does not have to be a threat to planetary boundaries. We can build smartly, responsibly, and sustainably to not increase human harm to the Earth.
From the net-zero operational Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle to London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which operates on 100 percent renewable energy, sustainable architecture is setting new benchmarks. We at MASS Design Group completed a 69-building campus projected to be the first climate-positive university in the world, utilising 96 percent local materials for building, a solar farm that produces its electricity and an on-site system for sourcing and treating water and wastewater.
It's the job of good architects to enable us to prioritise enhancing human achievement while minimising the threat to the environment. We don't have to give up building in order to protect the planet. We can do both. Design can meet the moment in athletics, climate change and population growth.
Christian Benimana leads MASS Design Group's Africa studio as a co-executive director and senior principal. In 2023, he curated an exhibition at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. He previously served as the East Africa Institute of Architects' secretary general and was a Dezeen Awards judge in 2019.
Olympic Impact
This article is part of Dezeen's Olympic Impact series examining the sustainability measures taken by the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and exploring whether major sporting events compatible with the climate challenge are possible.