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【Abstract】A mega-event which attracts attention from all over the world might have both positive and negative effect on the hosting city （Syme et al.1989）.The aim of this paper is to evaluate the costs and benefits of bidding for the hosting of mega-events.It identified legacies of bidding for the hosting of mega-events from following four aspects，which are economics，public life，infrastructure，and image of the hosting city，with the methods of literature review，logic analysis，examples，and contrast analysis.The result of this study unveiled that when a city bids for hosting a mega-event for the purpose of stimulating its local economic，improving civic pride，developing basic public infrastructures，and enhance its city image to the worldwide，it also needs to pay attention to potential drawbacks of hosting the event，such as debt crisis，interfering the daily life of the public.
【Key words】mega-events； costs； benefits； government
Introduction
The definition of mega-event differs from different researchers （Jafari，1988），it is considered that mega-events are large-scale and internationally-known events，like the Olympic Games and World Fairs （Bramwell，1997）.According to Roche （1994，1） ‘Mega-events （large scale leisure and tourism events such as Olympic Games and World Fairs） are short-term events with long-term consequences for the cities that stage them’.
Different commentators hold different understandings on the impacts of bidding for the hosting of a mega-event.Gratton and Preuss （2008） identified the impacts in three dimensions： planned and unplanned，positive and negative，tangible and intangible.Similarly，the International Olympic Committee （2012） categorised the effects of Olympics in five parts： sporting，social，environmental，urban and economic.This essay，it identifies and evaluates the impacts of bidding for hosting mega-event，from the perspective of the hosting city and citizens，and classifies the effects of bidding for hosting mega-event in the following four fields： economics，public life，infrastructure，and image.
Economics
It is known that one of the factors that cities would consider before bidding to host the mega-event is the economic benefit.First，tourism industry might be the most obvious aspects in terms of economic benefits from mega-events.Preuss （2002） has pointed out that the mega-events might impact on tourist industry in the city.Bramwelll （1997） also claimed that mega-events not only attracts events participation directly，but also encourage general visitors indirectly.During the events，athletes，coaches，officers，media，and tourists come to the host city from all around the world，which is conducive to stimulating the financial profitability of the transport，hotel and catering industries，as well as the tourist industry.As a result，the authority of the hosting city can get more revenue from these industries.As for the citizens，because of the raised prosperity in these industries，there might be more job opportunities available to the metropolitan workers.In addition to this，investment for hosting mega-events might also boost the GDP.For example，China’s annual GDP increase by 0.3% ，owing to the direct investment in infrastructure and activities related to preparing for Olympic Games. However，what might be also noticed is that there is no permanent peak time.Agha，Fairley，and Gibson （2012） have mentioned that the attention on the hosting city might disappear suddenly with the conclusion of the Olympic Games.The visiting passion to the hosting city might decrease with the diminished attention.That is to say，the flourishing of these industries may not be long-term and could fluctuate.Besides，the willingness to travel to the hosting city is linked to the degree of success of the mega-events.Furthermore，Agha，Fairley，and Gibson （2012） have also point out that hosting the Olympic Games is expensive than expected.The hosting city needs to take the huge budget into consideration before deciding to bid to host the Olympics.Montreal 1976 Olympics，which was known for staging the Olympic Games that almost bankrupted a city，was a typical example for this （Preuss，2007）.Due to improper management，Montreal Olympics faced a debt crisis，and it spent 30 years on paying it off by the local taxpayers
Public life
The hosting of the mega-event could bring a series of advantages to the public.To begin with，it is an effective approach to increasing the awareness of taking exercise among the public.Citizens might be more interest in sport and tend to take part in exercise （Burgan
【Key words】mega-events； costs； benefits； government
Introduction
The definition of mega-event differs from different researchers （Jafari，1988），it is considered that mega-events are large-scale and internationally-known events，like the Olympic Games and World Fairs （Bramwell，1997）.According to Roche （1994，1） ‘Mega-events （large scale leisure and tourism events such as Olympic Games and World Fairs） are short-term events with long-term consequences for the cities that stage them’.
Different commentators hold different understandings on the impacts of bidding for the hosting of a mega-event.Gratton and Preuss （2008） identified the impacts in three dimensions： planned and unplanned，positive and negative，tangible and intangible.Similarly，the International Olympic Committee （2012） categorised the effects of Olympics in five parts： sporting，social，environmental，urban and economic.This essay，it identifies and evaluates the impacts of bidding for hosting mega-event，from the perspective of the hosting city and citizens，and classifies the effects of bidding for hosting mega-event in the following four fields： economics，public life，infrastructure，and image.
Economics
It is known that one of the factors that cities would consider before bidding to host the mega-event is the economic benefit.First，tourism industry might be the most obvious aspects in terms of economic benefits from mega-events.Preuss （2002） has pointed out that the mega-events might impact on tourist industry in the city.Bramwelll （1997） also claimed that mega-events not only attracts events participation directly，but also encourage general visitors indirectly.During the events，athletes，coaches，officers，media，and tourists come to the host city from all around the world，which is conducive to stimulating the financial profitability of the transport，hotel and catering industries，as well as the tourist industry.As a result，the authority of the hosting city can get more revenue from these industries.As for the citizens，because of the raised prosperity in these industries，there might be more job opportunities available to the metropolitan workers.In addition to this，investment for hosting mega-events might also boost the GDP.For example，China’s annual GDP increase by 0.3% ，owing to the direct investment in infrastructure and activities related to preparing for Olympic Games. However，what might be also noticed is that there is no permanent peak time.Agha，Fairley，and Gibson （2012） have mentioned that the attention on the hosting city might disappear suddenly with the conclusion of the Olympic Games.The visiting passion to the hosting city might decrease with the diminished attention.That is to say，the flourishing of these industries may not be long-term and could fluctuate.Besides，the willingness to travel to the hosting city is linked to the degree of success of the mega-events.Furthermore，Agha，Fairley，and Gibson （2012） have also point out that hosting the Olympic Games is expensive than expected.The hosting city needs to take the huge budget into consideration before deciding to bid to host the Olympics.Montreal 1976 Olympics，which was known for staging the Olympic Games that almost bankrupted a city，was a typical example for this （Preuss，2007）.Due to improper management，Montreal Olympics faced a debt crisis，and it spent 30 years on paying it off by the local taxpayers
Public life
The hosting of the mega-event could bring a series of advantages to the public.To begin with，it is an effective approach to increasing the awareness of taking exercise among the public.Citizens might be more interest in sport and tend to take part in exercise （Burgan