Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the Paris 2024 Olympic bid to show how the spectacle of the urban mega-event conceals the crises of post-industrial society in Europe.

Paper long abstract:

Through a comparative analysis of the evolution of the Paris bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, this paper analyses how the spectacle of the urban mega-event conceals the crises of post-industrial society in Europe. The paper positions Paris as a post-industrial city, relative to other post-industrial cities in Europe, and shows how mega-events, which are premised on the absenting of industrial economic policy, provide the organisational infrastructure for the capital flows on which an idealised service economy depends.