Keeping Distance? Adaptation Strategies to the Covid-19 Pandemic Among Sport Event Organizers in Sweden

Abstract

sport has often had an important role in times of crisis, but the covid-19 pandemic is another matter. sport was heavily affected world-wide on all levels. in sweden, gathering people for endurance events conflicted with the covid-19 restrictions. some events were cancelled, but many tried to adapt. What adaptation strategies to covid-19 have swedish event organizers used? What role have digital tools played in their adaptation? What economic impacts did these events experience? We argue that the challenges posed by covid-19 have accelerated the digitization of endurance events and highlighted the tensions between commercial and non-commercial actors in sports due to the differences in financial structure and eligibility for economic support. We thereby contribute to the growing research on how sport events in general have been impacted by the covid-19 pandemic, and specifically in the context of sweden's somewhat exceptional response to the pandemic.

COVID-19 and the digitization of business events: how the health crisis accelerated ethical issues

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has massively impacted the event industry because of the mandatory restrictions on social gatherings (Vogler, 2022) and general or specific lockdown orders to prevent contagion transmission (Dillette and Ponting, 2021). The COVID-19 abruptly stopped customary event-related solutions, establishing new rules for organizing meetings and events (Bukovska et al ., 2021), which forced industry managers and agencies to face new challenges (Svensson and Radmann, 2021). Nonetheless, the global health crisis has had a twofold effect.…”

The Impact of Global Economic Downturn on Sport Management

“…While virtually every aspect of sport has been impacted by COVID-19, the canceling and postponement of large-scale sport events has been one of the most complex. The articles by Rookwood and Adeosun (2021) and Svensson and Radmann (2021) in this special issue contribute to an embryonic literature on the management of large sport events in the midst of pandemic (Bond et al, 2021;Ludvigsen & Hayton, 2020;Ludvigsen & Parnell, 2021;Parnell et al, 2020;Sato et al, 2020, Davis, 2020. Rookwood and Adeosun offer a useful comparison of complexities and risks of organizing sport mega events, such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in the context of a global economic downturns and pandemic.…”

“…Rookwood and Adeosun offer a useful comparison of complexities and risks of organizing sport mega events, such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in the context of a global economic downturns and pandemic. Svensson and Radmann (2021) focus particularly on ways that endurance events in Sweden adapted to COVID-19 restrictions, examining the role that digital tools such as Strava played in event organization and noting there may be a market for digital events post-pandemic.…”

Two of a Kind? Similarities and Differences between Runners and Walkers in Sociodemographic Characteristics, Sports Related Characteristics and Wearable Usage

“…Some running event organisers transformed their events to virtual events. Therefore, event participants needed to have smart watches, GPS-tracking devices, or apps to track and share performances [ 53 ]. In addition, due to the disappearance of club organised sport because of COVID-19 measures, club organised sports participants tried to stay connected with teammates by (online) sharing their workouts.…”