I submitted my Ambizione project to the Swiss National Science Foundation. Definitely a massive effort! My earlier investigation of submission and acceptance data means that I’m under no illusions about my odds, but I admit that I have hope and am excited about the potential here.

Overall, the project is designed to take my existing experience in mega-events and investigate some important under-researched areas. At the same time, I’ve designed it to support and expand my knowledge and competencies in new areas. So that, ideally, at the end of the four years, I would be enrolled in new networks around the globe, and working competently in three different domains.

Empirically, the project is designed to deconstruct the fuzzy and contested term “legacy”. I want to explore the tangible and less tangible aftereffects on former host cities and societies after the global spotlight moves on. Within this frame, the project seeks to achieve two goals. First, to trace the aftereffects of two of the major forces behind mega-events: (1) sustainable urban development discourses and (2) geopolitical strategizing. Second, following this orientation, I want to establish typologies of material and immaterial aftereffects that are cognizant of the interplay between local specificities and global patterns.

To do this, I will collect historical and present-day data on ten former host cities, all of which are understudied in the aftermath of their events. This material will be compiled into an aftereffects database in order to explore potential patterns across diverse cases and, ultimately, to draw general conclusions about the long-term effects of hosting. A second work package will pursue detailed investigations of four case study cities drawn from second-tier mega-events, which remain understudied in favor of the more famous top-tier mega-events.

The project is built on interdisciplinary collaboration and research stays with experts at both Swiss and international institutions, including Basel, Melbourne, New York City, Syracuse, Oslo, Glasgow, and London. This is incredibly exciting for me and I would love to be able to visit and work with these people and institutions and cities. There, I would investigate former host cities, of course, but also organize workshops with students and start collaborating with these amazing scholars whom I really admire. What an opportunity!

Anyway, the project is too long to go into much detail here, but take a look at the diagram below for some more details. My hope is that – aside from the career development and professional collaboration aspects – the project would be relevant for citizens, policymakers, event organizers, and scholars who want to maximize mega-event benefits and avoid deleterious outcomes.

It will be many months before I hear back whether or not I even make the first cut, but in either case, I will keep you posted!