Olympic Games Impact Study – A Backgrounder
The Olympic Games Impact (OGI) Study was developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to objectively measure and assign attribution to the potential effects of the Olympic and Paralympic Games on the host city, region and country, their environment and their citizens.
The purposes of OGI are to advance the sustainability of the Games, to promote positive Games legacies, and to create a knowledge base for future hosts. Standardized data for 126 environmental, socio-cultural and economic indicators are to be collected. The IOC’s Technical Manual on OGI describes the purpose and scope of each indicator as well as its recommended calculation methods and measurement procedures. These 126 sustainability indicators comprise of 80 indicators that assess the context within which the Games are being held, and 46 indicators geared to provide assessment of the Olympic event itself. Depending on the indicators’ characteristics, data are requested for different geographic scales, ranging from the municipal level to the national level.
The OGI study covers a period of twelve years and involves a series of four reports. The first is a Baseline Report which provides contextual data to serve as a baseline for the subsequent reports, and it is focused on the indicators data for the reference year (i.e., two years prior to the host city election; 2001 for VANOC, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games ). The Baseline Report is followed by a Pre-Games Report, which analyzes updated contextual data. Next, a Games-Time Report (to examine Olympic-event data) and a Post-Games Report (to assess updated data, summarize findings from previous reports, and provide final conclusion about the impact of the Olympic Games) conclude the OGI Study.
Dr. Rob VanWynsberghe is leading a team of University of British Columbia researchers conducting this study on behalf of VANOC, the COC and the IOC.