James Bulley OBE, CEO & Co-founder, Trivandi
Legacy used to be an afterthought in our industry. You delivered the event, took the photos, packed up and left. If anyone asked about long-term impact, you pointed at a new stadium or a shiny transport link and moved on. That approach simply doesn’t work anymore.
The scale of investment in major events today means governments, communities and sponsors rightly demand more than a few weeks of competition. They want lasting change. And the evidence speaks for itself. The events that deliver meaningful legacy are the ones that plan for it from day one - not as an add-on but as the driver and first consideration of every decision.
I’ve spent 25 years working on some of the world’s biggest events, from London 2012 to our current work at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, the Middle East’s mega event portfolio and beyond. These are the principles I’ve seen work, and the lessons from where they haven’t.
Start with the “Why”
Every successful legacy I’ve been part of started with one question: Why are we hosting this event? Not the political answer or the economic justification, but the real reason, the change you want to create for your city or your country.
For London 2012, the “why” was the regeneration of East London. That clarity shaped everything – venue locations, village placement, Olympic Park design, infrastructure priorities. It wasn’t a legacy strategy bolted on afterwards; it was the reason we bid. More than a decade on, the results speak for themselves. Over 100,000 jobs created around the Olympic Park, new cultural institutions and a thriving neighbourhood.
Paris 2024 had a different “why”: sustainability and sport participation embedded across every delivery partner. The result? A 54.6% carbon reduction against the London 2012 and Rio 2016 baseline, a masterplan using 95% existing or temporary venues and three public swimming sites on the Seine. The first legal bathing since 1923.
Without a clear “why” from the start, legacy becomes a wish list rather than a delivery plan.
Embed Legacy in Every Organisation
One of the biggest mistakes I see is treating legacy as a separate function. It has to be woven into the objectives of every organisation involved in delivery, from government and organising committees to transport agencies, venue operators and contractors, with clear, measurable legacy targets.
Paris showed how this works. The re-use of 6 million temporary assets was a delivery partner objective, not an aspiration. Sport participation wasn’t left to chance. The French government committed €300 million, the Impact 2024 Fund reached 4.5 million people through grassroots projects, and a daily physical activity initiative now runs across all 35,500 French primary schools.
LA 2028 is taking this further with zero new permanent venues for the first time in 80 years. Their Impact and Sustainability Plan commits to 100% renewable electricity and 90% reuse of temporary materials and their $160 million PlayLA programme has already signed up over one million young people.
Engage Communities Early and Often
Legacy designed in a boardroom rarely lands well in the community. The people who will live with the legacy long after the last medal is awarded need to be part of shaping it from the start.
Brisbane 2032 offers the most compelling recent example. Their Elevate 2042 strategy, a twenty-year legacy framework, was developed through consultation that generated over 14,000 community ideas. The A$250 million “Games On!” grassroots sports fund is already flowing to local clubs across Queensland, creating permanent sporting infrastructure far from the Olympic epicentre.
In Glasgow, where Trivandi is the Official Event Delivery Partner for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, we’re seeing this principle first hand. The Games legacy framework, branded the “Story of Change,” was co-created with over 170 stakeholders. The “All In” programme is engaging 70,000 young people, and community teams are running come-and-try sports activities across Glasgow’s east end.
When community engagement works, the social and cultural legacy can be transformative. Barcelona 1992 remains the best example. The Games didn’t just open up the city to the sea and create new infrastructure. They gave Barcelona a sense of identity and pride that reshaped how the city saw itself and how the world saw it. That cultural confidence has endured for over three decades and it started with communities being part of the vision from the beginning.
Governance is Everything
If there’s one lesson that keeps repeating itself across every mega-event I’ve studied, it’s this. Governance continuity matters more than governance ambition. You can write the most brilliant legacy strategy in the world, but without the institutional architecture to see it through, it will fail.
Rio 2016 remains a cautionary tale. Once the Legacy Governance Authority was dissolved in 2019, there was nobody left to protect the investment. Venues that had hosted the world's best athletes were left to deteriorate. It showed how quickly legacy can be lost when the governance isn't there to sustain it. There are signs of recovery, the BMX track at Deodoro was finally returned to public use in 2025, but it took nearly a decade to get there.
Compare that with Tokyo, where all 33 permanent venues remain in use and the Athletes’ Village has become Japan’s first hydrogen-powered residential district. The difference? Strong government coordination and a deliberate decision to limit purpose-built venues to eight of 43.
London understood this. The London Legacy Development Corporation ensured clear ownership of the Olympic Park, and that’s why the Park thrives today.
Brisbane 2032 also shows how challenging this can be. Costs on the original Gabba rebuild more than doubled, community opposition grew and the programme lost time. What happened next is what counts. Independent reviews were commissioned, a dedicated delivery authority was established, and a solid plan is now in place. Getting governance right doesn't always mean getting it right first time. What matters is that when it isn't right, you fix it.
Secure Long-Term Commitment and Funding
When the cameras turn off and political attention moves on, legacy projects can quietly stall. Long-term financial commitment is critical.
The Oxford Olympics Study 2024 found a 100% cost overrun rate across all Olympic editions, averaging 159% in real terms. If you don’t ring-fence legacy funding separately from event delivery, it will be the first thing that gets squeezed.
Glasgow 2026 offers a different model. Operating on approximately £150 million, funded largely through Commonwealth Sport resources and commercial revenue, it’s proving that meaningful legacy doesn’t require enormous budgets. The 2014 Games baked in the physical legacy – the Clyde Gateway regeneration has secured over £1.5 billion in investment, delivering 4,000 new homes and 8,300 jobs. Glasgow 2026 operates at a fraction of the cost because that earlier investment is already paying off.
If a programme ends when the Games end, is that legacy truly “baked in”? It’s a question every host city should ask.
Sustainability as Standard, Not a Checkbox
When I started in this industry, sustainability meant recycling bins and a page in the bid document. London 2012 took this to a new level, helping establish ISO 20121 and creating a “no white elephants” masterplan. The IOC now requires Games from 2030 onwards to be climate positive. The results from Paris show this is achievable.
When millions of people experience sustainable practices at a high-profile event, it normalises those approaches and accelerates adoption elsewhere.
Glasgow 2026 is implementing a circular economy approach where all temporary installations are designed for reuse. It’s a principle we apply across all our projects at Trivandi. Sustainability embedded from day one of planning, not retrofitted at the end.
Build People, Not Just Venues
The most valuable legacy isn’t made of concrete and steel. Knowledge transfer programmes seed entire industries with skilled professionals.
At Ashgabat 2017, we trained local staff with no prior event experience for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Today, 470 of those Turkmen nationals work on major events worldwide. Not a building that might sit idle, but 470 careers that continue to create value decades later.
Japan’s sequential hosting strategy, the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Tokyo Olympics and Expo 2025 in Osaka, shows how each event can build on capabilities developed from the last.
This is exactly why we established the Trivandi Academy, creating professional standards in an industry that has historically relied too heavily on experience alone. The skills developed for a World Cup or Olympics transfer to sectors like healthcare, tourism and emergency management, creating value far beyond the event itself.
This people-first approach also drives broader economic development. Expo 2020 in Dubai was designed to attract investment and diversify the economy, and the skills and supply chains built for it continue to serve the region. When you align legacy goals with a country’s economic strategy, major events become a catalyst for lasting employment, enterprise and inward investment that far outlasts the event itself.
Evaluate Honestly, Adapt Continuously
Legacy requires continuous evaluation and honest assessment. Too often, organisers mark their own homework.
The OECD’s September 2025 assessment of Paris 2024 found that while environmental targets were largely met, the GDP impact was “almost negligible” at +0.07 percentage points. Tourism was displaced during the Games, and a comprehensive evaluation of sport participation impact won’t be available until around 2029.
A 2025 study in European Planning Studies found “slight and short-lived” property value gains around the Olympic Park, with local communities not necessarily the main beneficiaries. Uncomfortable findings, but essential for improving future legacy planning.
The lesson is clear. Independent, long-term evaluation, not just organiser self-reporting, is essential. And we need to be prepared to adapt our plans when the evidence tells us something isn’t working.
The IOC Has Changed the Rules
Much of what I’ve described as best practice is now mandated. The IOC’s reform frameworks, Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the New Norm and the Legacy Strategic Approach, require legacy to be embedded into host city planning from the outset.
An October 2025 IOC report found that 94% of permanent venues from 21st-century Games remain in use, a significant improvement reflecting the shift toward reuse that Paris, LA and Brisbane are championing.
The practical effect is visible in LA’s zero-build strategy, Brisbane’s Elevate 2042 framework and Glasgow’s proof that existing infrastructure can support a major multi-sport event at a fraction of traditional costs.
Looking Ahead to Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the Legacy Test
The next generation of mega-events will test legacy credibility at the extremes. Morocco’s co-hosting of the 2030 FIFA World Cup involves an estimated $5–6 billion investment, with all venues designed for post-tournament community use and a “no white elephants” commitment. They used AFCON 2025 as a full-scale operational rehearsal. Smart legacy thinking.
Saudi Arabia 2034 operates at an entirely different scale. Fifteen stadiums across five cities, investment exceeding $20 billion, integrated with the Vision 2030 economic diversification agenda. The ambition is extraordinary.
What both hosts understand is that legacy isn’t only about infrastructure and communities. It’s about how the world sees you afterwards. Germany 2006 showed how a well-delivered World Cup can reshape a nation’s global reputation overnight. For Morocco and Saudi Arabia, the legacy they are really investing in is long-term credibility on the world stage, the soft power that attracts tourism, trade and future events for decades to come.
Creating Events that Last
When I think back to London 2012, what I remember most is the clarity of purpose. East London’s transformation wasn’t a happy accident. It was the reason for every decision we made.
The true measure of a major event isn’t ticket sales or medal tallies. It’s what you leave behind for the communities, cities and nations that hosted you.
If I had to distil everything I’ve learned, it would come down to this.
- Define your “why” before your masterplan
- Embed a unified legacy in every delivery organisation
- Engage communities early
- Establish legacy governance that outlasts the event
- Ring-fence long-term funding
- Make sustainability non-negotiable
- Invest in people alongside infrastructure
- Evaluate honestly, so you can adapt and learn
Paris showed that front-loaded planning delivers measurable environmental results. Brisbane has extended the legacy horizon to twenty years. Glasgow is proving that meaningful legacy doesn’t require massive budgets. LA is testing whether a zero-build model can deliver at scale.
And we must not shy away from the cautionary tales. Abandoned venues represent broken promises to communities who were told that hosting would change their lives.
The good news is that our industry is learning. The IOC now mandates what pioneers once chose voluntarily, and a new generation of host cities are developing new viable delivery models for more sustainable legacy outcomes.
The challenge for our industry is no longer whether to bake in legacy. That debate is settled. The challenge is how to do it better, more honestly, more equitably, more sustainably, so that major events deliver not just weeks of world-class competition, but decades of sustained impact for the people and places that make it all possible.