Canada

The 1988 Winter Olympics created a culture of sporting and volunteering excellence in Calgary. It’s a culture the city would look to tap should it come forward with a bid for the 2026 Games.

With the entry of Los Angeles FC and Nashville imminent, two new cities to be announced in spring, and two more by the end of 2018, Major League Soccer is in growth mode. Bob Williams investigates what makes a host city work for the league, and how LA FC and Nashville will seek to harness the culture of their respective homes.

Events – the USA's World Cup qualification debacle, the football federation's presidential election and two lower-league clubs bringing a case against Fifa to CAS – have conspired to put promotion and relegation back on the MLS agenda. Frank Dunne reports.  

Elisha Chauhan asks whether opening and closing ceremonies for major sports events should be held outside the walls of a stadium in order to truly showcase host regions and their iconic landmarks.

In the fourth in a series of five mini reports on sports event hosting, in association with the Ultimate Sports Cities rankings, we take a look at tourism and public interest. There is a discussion of the latest thinking around tourism and public interest, and case studies looking at the top five cities in the category of tourism and public interest in this year's rankings - London, Melbourne, Sochi, Copenhagen and Calgary.

Calgary was ranked fourth in the 2014 Ultimate Sports Cities rankings in the category of Event Strategy. The Calgary Sport Tourism Authority (CSTA) is responsible for bidding for sports events for the city and is reflective of the city’s pervasive sporting culture. The CSTA is a collaboration of leaders in sport, business, government and tourism who are mandated to provide advice, due diligence and strategic direction in evaluating and attracting sports events.

Calgary was ranked fourth in the 2014 Ultimate Sports Cities rankings in the category of Legacy. The 1988 Olympic Winter Games provide the best illustration of Calgary’s commitment to lasting legacy. Following 1988, and benefiting from endowment funds left for the Games’ legacy, the Calgary Olympic Development Association, now called WinSport, has evolved into a new vision for Canadian winter sport.

The Buffalo Bills have stopped playing their annual regular season game in Canada, representing a rare mis-step for the National Football League (NFL). Barry Wilner explains why.