Mainathlet Podcast — Start with the ‘Why?’ not with the ‘How?’ – Rethinking mega-events
Major sporting events as a catalyst for liveable cities – that's what this episode of the Mainathlet podcast is all about.
Stefan Klos addresses the question: Will we still need major sporting events in 2025? The answer is unusually clear – and at the same time highly inspiring: We don't ‘need’ them as a panacea, but when planned properly, the Olympic Games, World and European Championships can be powerful social levers.
In the podcast, you will hear how classic urban planning (trade fairs, airports, city districts) and the management of mega-events are becoming a common discipline: forward-looking, sustainable urban development. Stefan takes you through bidding processes spanning 15 years, explains why the question of ‘why’ must come before budget and technology, and how to bring stakeholders from politics, administration, business, science and civil society to the table. And we talk about Paris as a role model (bringing sport to the city instead of people travelling to the stadium), about inclusion at the Special Olympics and about formats that combine elite and popular sport – keyword ‘Marathon pour tous’.
Specific learnings:
- Sustainable urban development: instead of oversizing for peak loads, plan for everyday use and solve peaks temporarily/digitally.
- Multi-coding in public spaces (‘and instead of or’): traffic areas = also sports areas; parks and squares become spaces for movement.
- 15-minute city plus sport: think of sport as a public function – as relevant as transport, education or climate resilience.
- Living inclusion: visibility in public transport, barrier checks in everyday life, genuine participation instead of just event logic.
- Mindset: from ‘Can we do this?’ to ‘Why do we want to do this – and what impact will we have?’.
For athletes and sports fans, there are also transferable principles from top-level sport: well-defined goals (why before how), training efficiency (putting resources where they'll have the biggest impact), urban regeneration (temporary structures instead of constant stress) and team flow through well-moderated stakeholder processes. We talk about Frankfurt (running crews, Tuesday Night Skaters, outdoor community), international best practices (Zurich, Copenhagen, Sydney, Vancouver) and Stefan's vision of the ‘Alllympics’ – Games for everyone, where professionals, amateur athletes and people with and without disabilities perform together.