Bid brands and mega-event success

Some critics have recently suggested the English committee that is working on the country’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup is over-laden with politicians. The view is that England should utilise its distinctiveness rather than relying on elected officials. Hence, this would mean using Beckham, the Premier League, Wembley, etc. as the focus for a bid – but is this the approach to take? Should bids be viewed as brands and be developed and positioned accordingly? And what is the art and the science of a successful sporting mega-event bid?