From 'event-led' to 'event-themed' regeneration: The 2002 Commonwealth Games legacy programme

Hosting large events has long been associated with the physical regeneration of cities. To supplement these 'hard' impacts, cities are now attempting to use events to stimulate ` softer' social and economic regeneration. This paper evaluates the impacts of the Legacy Programme adopted in conjunction with the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in Manchester, UK. Alongside its emphasis on social and economic regeneration, this programme was unusual in that the projects were games-themed, rather than being directly linked to the event. Despite some concerns about the organisational structures employed and the sustainability of impacts, target beneficiaries have received valuable assistance from the programme. Thus it appears that there are valuable lessons that other cities can learn from this example of event-themed regeneration.