For the first time at the Athens War Museum, sports replaced war relics as the center of attention. The Sport Business Forum 2024 (SBF24) convened on December 4th, marking the beginning of an annual sports industry conference. The forum brought together leaders from the sports business industry, including professionals, academics, and representatives from national governing bodies, to address challenges in the sector, as well as emerging trends such as eSports.

Amid the luminaries and industry leaders assembled to chart the future of sports, Stella Leivadi, a fellow at the Center of Excellence in Food, Tourism & Leisure (CoEFTL), took the podium to deliver a presentation titled “Impact and Legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024” (translated from Greek). Professor Leivadi noted that both pre- and post-Games initiatives were ambitious as they were innovative, with Paris setting the bar higher than anyone dared to imagine.

The true measure of success lies in the long shadow of the post-Games era. With Los Angeles 2028 looming on the horizon, can the next host city match—or surpass—Paris’ ambition? For the casual observer, the Olympic Games might appear as fleeting moments of triumph and unity, but for Professor Leivadi—and perhaps for us all—they are much more. They are a promise, one that cities like Paris strive to fulfill and others, like Los Angeles, hope to uphold.