Faster, Higher, “Softly” Stronger: The Impact of Soft Power on the Choice of Olympic Host Cities*

This article statistically estimates the impact of different countries’ soft power on the results of Olympic Games bidding in the post-Cold War era. All bid results for the Olympic Summer and Winter Games between 1990 and 2011 are analyzed by panel regression methods. The empirical results reveal that sporting success, higher transparency, lower CO₂ and particle emissions, and faster economic growth are likely to increase the probability of a bidding country winning an Olympic bid. These results have several implications regarding the impact of soft power on choice of Olympic host site. First, if a country has a high number of Olympic gold medalists, this could attract International Olympic Committee (IOC) members and influence their decisions. Second, a country’s ethical reputation is likely to persuade the IOC to choose it as the rightful host country. Third, the environmental record of a country may also be regarded as a desirable value by IOC members, who prefer a ‘Green Games’ ecological legacy.