Prof Graeme Evans and Dr Ozlem Edizel at RSA Annual Conference 2015, Piacenza

The sessions brought together a selection of speakers/presenters on the topic of Mega-Events, drawn from the Mega-Events Research Network and local researchers and policy-makers engaged with the Milan Regional EXPO2015 (e.g. Milano-Bicocca, Polimi universities) and LABEXPO (http://www.expo2015.org/en/project/laboratorio-expo).

The presentations in two consecutive sessions represented a range of city-regions and types of mega-event including Olympics, EXPOs, Capitals of Culture where major regeneration, regional development and issues of impact, identity and governance provide a comparative framework.

Session 1: Chaired by Prof. Graeme Evans

Graeme Evans, Middlesex University, Mega-Events: Regeneration and Regional Development

Ozlem Edizel, University of Westminster, Is Public Participation in Event-led Regeneration a Myth?: The case of London 2012 Olympics

Rutendo Musikavanhu, Bournemouth University, A Comparison of the Main Event Impacts between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom

Debbie Sadd, Bournemouth University, The 3 R’S of Olympic Legacy, any room for ‘C’?

Session 2: Chaired by Dr Ozlem Edizel

Yi-De Liu, National Taiwan Normal University, Event-led Strategy for Cultural Tourism Development: The Case of Liverpool as the 2008 European Capital of Culture

Laura Galluzzo, Politecnico di Milano, Expo Village Milan 2015

Jérôme Massiani, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, The Economics of Expo 2015: Too Good to be True?