On June 10th 2018, the local population of Valais Canton rejected by referendum the candidacy of Sion for the winter Olympic Games of 2026, with a majority of "no" at 53,98 %. This result shows how much candidacies at Olympic Games and great sport events have been becoming more and more criticized in recent years. This rising opposition drives public opinion but also the scientific community to question the legitimacy of important investments Olympic Games require, as well as the excessiveness of big sportive projects regarding the real needs of local territories.

After the referendum shock of Sion, it is now time to think about reasons why Olympic Games and candidacy processes face stronger and stronger opposition, especially in democracies. Sion is not an isolated case: Tokyo Olympic Games are also facing important issues concerning governance, planning, financings... and is now caught in political struggles.

In this context, the workshop co-organized by the University of Geneva, Keio University and Lyon 2 University aims to discuss two important elements at the core of public debates about Olympic Games: the governance of the candidacy and the event at different periods; the financings and the ratio cost/benefits of the Games for host territories at different scales.