The Olympics Legacy, debt crisis and exceptional strategic planning: the case of Athens

There have been two events in the planning at Athens over the last twenty years: the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Greek debt crisis (2008–2018). We analyse here whether any form of planning other than classic strategic planning was used for these events. The Olympics are a mega event and are often seen as the Holy Grail, an ideal way to boost a city's appeal. A debt crisis implies a policy of austerity. The article’s objective is to explore whether an exceptional strategic planning was implemented for these two exceptional events, side-by-side to the classic strategic planning. This planning method and the way it was rolled out bear the marks of intense private sector involvement, a top-down decision-making process, together with urgency, derogations from the usual project rules, and a focus on a return on investment and limited risk-taking. Planning like this can lead to a contradiction with the spatial priorities of traditional planning, or to a legacy turned more towards the qualitative improvement of the city, by a concern for developing its international attractiveness, rather than to giving priority to adaptation to local needs.