Talk: Game On

THE DESIGN & LEGACY OF MEGA-EVENTS

What can Olympic, Commonwealth & other major events do for a city?

How do we harness this once in a lifetime investment in infrastructure to transform neglected areas of cities, create opportunities for people as well as place?

From cultural, social, political & economic development, major games are tools for cities to display their unique qualities on the world stage.

Long after the closing ceremony, what are the lasting effects?

Join us for an evening exploring the urban legacies of mega-events.

Hosted in partnership with Arup.

Our Speakers

Kathryn Firth
Kathryn is an architect and urban designer whose passion for creating thriving urban places spans some 30 years, working in cities around the world with diverse spatial, social & economic contexts. Prior to joining Arup, Kathryn was Urban Design Director at several practices in the UK & US. She was Chief of Design at the London Legacy Development Corporation, where she directed teams of architects, landscape architects, planners, & engineers to realise the Olympic Legacy.

Michelle May
Michelle May has led the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) Socio Economic Regeneration work since its inception in 2012. She is a proud east Londoner who is passionate about the place & its people. Michelle has focussed her efforts on ensuring that the physical development of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park delivers real & lasting benefits for local people, including the design & delivery of a highly innovative education & skills programme, built on Good Growth principles with diverse, local talent at its heart.

Becky Farr
Becky Farr, Development Planning Manager at Birmingham City Council, has seventeen years’ experience in planning and development in the public sector.  She has led a broad range of activity including preparing policy and statutory plans, masterplanning for residential and commercial growth, bidding for funding, site assembly, and implementation of regeneration projects.  Becky was part of the Council team which successfully bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, led the site assembly activity to support the Games, and worked with a cross-partner team including Arup to develop the Perry Barr 2040: A Vision for Legacy masterplan which sets an exciting direction for the area post-Games.

Chair: James Durie
Widely recognised as one of the most influential people in Bristol and the SW region, James is passionate about making Bristol, Bath and the West of England the very best place to live and work for all of its citizens both now and long term into the future. He leads Business West’s activity across this area and promotes the views of its 22,000 members to key decision makers locally and nationally. Now a B Corp, Business West which operates the Chambers of Commerce, has at its heart of the business, a leadership team, The Initiative, which has a track record of making things happen for over three decades. The Initiative is focused on improving the business environment to make it attractive, healthy and truly inclusive. James serves on several boards including as Co-Chair of the Bristol One City Economy Board.

The rare trick that London pulled off was to overcome the flaw at the heart of the Olympic project, and make many of the promises of legacy come true.

Rowan Moore, The Guardian

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