Dublin Chosen as European City of Science 2012

Dublin has won in its bid to be chosen as the European City of Science 2012. Ireland has been increasing its efforts to become an internationally recognised centre for science and research. This effort has been recognised an Ireland is now ranked in the top 20 for both the quantity and quality of research papers produced. As noted by Ahlstrom, Ireland is also ranked among the Top 10 producers of papers in other fields such as Immunology and Materials Science for example. Being chosen as the host city, it is hoped, will bring many benefits to Ireland and increase its reputation internationally. According to O’Carroll of The Irish Times, the event will attract approximately 5000 scientists, business leaders, policy makers, and international scientific media. The aim of the gathering, which is to take place from July 12^th to 15^th, is to discuss European science as well as to address global scientific issues such as energy policy for example.

It is hoped that this event will be highly beneficial to Ireland. But what benefits can this event bring that will outweigh the costs of hosting an event of this calibre? As Clark writes, hosting such events can bring more negative results than positive. It is extremely risky for the host country and holding such an event should be considered thoroughly. The benefits also take a much longer time to materialise than the costs. These events are expensive and unless they are well organised and managed benefits are unlikely to materialise afterwards. Whether or not hosting this event is a wise use of the country's resources is a matter of opinion.

The main benefit envisioned is an increase in Ireland's reputation as a core for scientific research and produce in Europe. Increasing Ireland reputation may attract outside investment and encourage science based multinationals to locate in Ireland over other countries. This is only one of the potential benefits. As Clark puts it in his OECD publication, when international events are hosted well, they become a catalyst for local development and global reach. It is how Ireland handles the organisation of this event that will decide its level of success.