How hosting global events makes cities smarter

Cities around the world are being forced to become smarter due to the pressures of hosting large events. This summer alone has seen cities all across Germany host the 2024 European Football Championships (colloquially referred to henceforth as Euro 24); Paris welcoming the world’s top athletes for the summer Olympics (space restrictions prevent us from using its full official title) and several dozen cities all over the planet, from Warsaw to Buenos Aires feeling the full force of the logistical challenges of pop star Taylor Swift's extraordinarily popular Eras tour.

In order to maximise the positive effects of staging these global events, the smartest cities have used these major events to push and indeed accelerate their smart initiatives, integrating advanced technologies to enhance infrastructure, public transport services and the overall ‘urban experience’. The likes of Simone Biles, Lamine Yamal and in particular the almost omnipotent Swift are driving the transformation of cities into undoubtedly smarter urban environments.

The likes of Simone Biles, Lamine Yamal and the almost omnipotent Taylor Swift are driving the transformation of cities into undoubtedly smarter urban environments.

Paris has (and still is) implementing extensive smart city technologies, including autonomous shuttles, smart grids and energy-efficient buildings, all aimed and primed to make the summer Olympics environmentally friendly and technologically advanced. Construction of energy-efficient and connected buildings with advanced monitoring systems helped the Olympic authorities to achieve optimal performance and sustainability. A fleet of electric vehicles are being used to transport athletes from the Olympic Village to the various competition venues around Paris.

Lamine Yamal stars for Spain against Croatia at Euro 24 in Berlin (pic: Oleksandr Prykhodko/Dreamstime)

Berlin, venue for the Euro 24 final between Spain and England, upgraded its transport infrastructure, deploying even smarter traffic management systems using real-time data analytics to manage congestion and ensure smooth traffic flow, and enhancing security through the use of AI-powered surveillance systems and IoT sensors.

Berlin, venue for the Euro 24 final between Spain and England, upgraded its transport infrastructure, deploying even smarter traffic management systems using real-time data analytics to manage congestion and ensure smooth traffic flow

These cities, of course, are used to quite used to staging large-scale sporting and entertainment events, and this has helped to drive the adoption of mobile connectivity solutions, real-time crowd management (using data analytics and crowd simulation models) and enhanced public transport services to handle the influx of temporary visitors with minimal negative impact on the city’s permanent residents.

However, it’s Taylor Swift's Eras Tour that serves as a perfect example of how cities have had to become smarter. In order to host one of the most anticipated and large-scale music events in recent history (some would argue that it’s the biggest tour in many respects), attracting tens of thousands of fans to each of the 152 dates across five continents, cities had to adapt and think outside of that somewhat clichéd box.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour hit Singapore (pic Puti Aurina/Dreamstime)

The logistical demands of the Eras tour are immense, not just in terms of moving Swift herself, her band, crew and equipment, but also managing the influx of fans that descend on the host cities. This has required cities to significantly adapt their traffic management practices to accommodate the record-breaking crowds – 96,000 at Melbourne Cricket Ground, and 220,000 over three nights at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium are just two examples.

The Eras Tour involves transporting a vast amount of equipment, including staging, lighting and sound systems, requiring a fleet of trucks. These vehicles need to arrive at venues well in advance to allow for setup, and they often take up vast swathes of parking spaces, something that can seriously disrupt normal city operations.

Simone Biles performs at the 2024 Paris Olympics (pic: Andre Ricardo Paes/Dreamstime)

The enormous crowds, naturally enough, lead to traffic congestion around the venues, particularly in urban areas where space is already limited. Cities have responded by implementing special traffic management strategies. For instance, some cities (Dublin as a recent case) closed streets around the venue, re-routed buses and increased rideshare drop-off and pick-up points.

To host the Eras tour some cities such as Dublin closed streets around the venue, re-routed buses and increased rideshare drop-off and pick-up points.

That these cities are able to adapt with minimum disruption is crucial to ensuring that the influx of fans does not overwhelm the local infrastructure. For the 54 cities hosting the Eras Tour, meticulous planning and coordination are essential to maintain safety while delivering an unforgettable experience for the audience – particularly with three-figure ticket prices common in many of them.

In terms of long-term benefits for the host cities, the infrastructure and technological advancements created and deployed for large events should leave a lasting legacy (as has most certainly been the case in London after the 2012 Olympics, quite the opposite experience of some of Brazil’s 2014 FIFA World Cup venues, one of which is now used primarily as a coach park). Staging these global events should continue to bring benefits to the city long after the event has finished, the lights have been turned off and the spectators have gone home.