Securing Mega Events: A Strategic Opportunity for Host Countries

Securing Mega Events: A Strategic Opportunity for Host Countries

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By Meidata

Brazil has been busy celebrating a number of big wins on the international stage in the last couple of years. The emerging economy is set to host the World Cup next year, followed by the Olympics in 2016. However, many flaws in security have surfaced during the Pope’s recent visit to the country. These flaws, coupled with a wave of street protests throughout July, have many wondering whether Brazil is up to the task of securing the upcoming events.

Doubts and questions regarding a country’s ability to safeguard a multinational mega-event are not new. South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 World Cup was often burdened by doubts regarding the African country’s ability to secure fans and participants. The fact that we remember that World Cup more for the vuvuzela noises than for any security events demonstrate that the host country was up to the task. Yet, the amount of resources and planning that went into the security task is not to be forgotten as well.

According to the market research firm Meidata, securing mega-events requires maximal cooperation between national security agencies and often between national entities and international agencies. For example, during preparations for the 2012 London Olympics, the organizing committee established a 25-agency coalition entitled the ‘Olympics Security Directorate’ responsible for the strategic planning of all matters related to security. The entire budget for the event’s security was originally allocated to be £600 million, whereas some experts have indicated that the final allocation was over £1 billion. A hefty price tag, indeed. So what happens when the host country does not have experience in mega-event security and their security infrastructure is often not up-to-date?

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Brazil’s preparations may teach us on how one World Cup is able to re-configure the national security landscape. Not only has the country been busy re-structuring police and intelligence forces, it has expedited spending to update their security strategy and infrastructure. The government is expected to invest around $900 million in public security, which may be even higher by the time all the fans have gone home.

The government created a specialized agency (SESGE) under the Ministry of Justice in charge of overall security planning, coordination and purchasing. The agency operates in full transparency, periodically publishing its plans and tenders. SESGE differentiated between 3 main areas of security for the games:

1) External threats

2) Protection of ports, airports and borders

3) Internal threats.

These areas have been manifested in the country’s investment in improving border surveillance, implementation of UAV surveillance, establishing Command and Control centers across host cities and investment in IT to interconnect the state databases.

The groundwork laid out to secure the upcoming events will not only serve the fans and visitors, but will hopefully provide personal security to citizens of a country that faces ongoing challenges related to street violence, drug trafficking and organized crime.

Meidata, the leading Market Research & Competitive Intelligence firm, helps companies make correct business decisions using data analysis, diverse information sources, advanced social media analysis tools, and expertise in international markets.

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