Sports Mega-Events and Urban Regeneration:Crossings between Brazil and Portugal

Supervisor/s: Nuno Grande

Doctoral Programme: Coimbrastudio

In contemporary times, the debate surrounding the cost-benefit relationship in organizing mega sporting events has gained prominence, mainly due to the disparity between the promises of improvements made by promoters and the interventions actually delivered. The justification for considerable investments is often based on urban regeneration and other collateral effects. However, urban and architectural design, although intended to "requalify and invigorate" areas, often faces challenges beyond its scope. This study aims to assess the effective influence of Architecture and Urban Planning on the success or failure of mega-events as drivers of urban regeneration through a comparative analysis of interventions in the cases of Euro 2004 and the 2014 World Cup, held respectively in Portugal and Brazil. In doing so, it seeks to fill gaps in the existing knowledge about the urban and architectural impacts of these phenomena, particularly at a time when both countries are once again attempting to organize such events.