The urban and economic impacts of mega-events: mechanisms of change in global games

Abstract

Mega-events are global affairs with profound effects across a variety of scales, and are the focus of a large and growing body of academic inquiry. This special section in Sports in Society centers on the urban and economic impacts of mega-events on the societies that host them, offering an examination of individual cases and emerging patterns. The authors explore different dimensions of the recent mega-event experience from around the world, proposing novel ways of theorizing these outsized expressions of transnational sport, politics, commerce, and culture. Combined, these contributions unpack how socio-economic and cultural contexts shape the organization of events and impact hosts in variegated and contingent ways in the Global North, South, and East. This introduction offers a brief overview of the landscape of the existing research before summarizing each contribution and placing them in context within the broader literature. All told, the articles in this special section explore how the Olympics, the FIFA Men's World Cup and the Commonwealth Games deploy different mechanisms to transform urban space, and offer innovative means of understanding what megaevents can do to the people and places that host them. Introduction: from mega-events to giga-eventsWith great fanfare, a man pulls a card from an envelope and reveals the name of a host: 'The winner is…' . Some people in the audience -and around the world -leap from their seats, cheering in triumph. Others applaud politely or are crestfallen. Transnational business plans worth billions of dollars in construction, broadcast media, and sponsorships start heating up. Elsewhere, the newly christened host begins preparations through costly, sometimes controversial, and transformative urban development plans. And within that host city, in a growing hailstorm of media attention, residents pursue their daily lives in the context of these changes. Some of them anticipate the celebrations, catching the waves of increasing excitement. Others ignore it or profess not to care, while still others plan acts of protest and resistance. Nonetheless, excited or not, all these people will be affected to a certain extent. These are patterns seen worldwide when conducting the Olympics, the

Nexus between FDI, Infrastructure Investment, Tourism Revenues, and Economic Growth: Mega Event Evidence

“…The study of Breus (2007) also showed the positive impact of the 2006 World Cup on economic growth in Germany and Munich in particular. We also find the study of Wolfe et al (2021) and Do et al (2021) study, which also show the positive impact of hosting mega sporting events such as the Olympics games and the FIFA World Cup on urban development in the host cities.…”

“…The study of Wolfe et al (2021) [13] illustrates the role and importance of mega-events, particularly the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games, in spreading urban space and their positive impact on the urban development of the cities hosting these sporting events, as well as their impact on politics, trade, and culture. What distinguishes this study is that it provides modern and innovative ways to understand the effect of mega-events on individuals, communities, and host cities.…”

The Mediating Role of Major Sport Events in Visitors’ Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Intention to Revisit a Destination

“…Future studies should include researching sporting event visitors' characteristics as this is a starting point for decisions regarding promotion of the event as well as preparation of the city (destination) since events are an integral part of a city's offer and are inevitably linked to it [60], whether they are mega or major.…”

“…Since events are inextricably linked to the cities that host them [60], of interest for this paper are spectators and their satisfaction and intentions to return to the destination where the event was held. Customer satisfaction in the case of sporting event spectators has been defined as a "pleasurable, fulfilment response to the entertainment of a sport competition and/or ancillary services provided during a game" [35] (p. 340).…”

Understanding COVID-19: A Hybrid Threat and Its Impact on Sport Mega-Events. A Focus on Japan and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

“…However, we will not know the impact of hosting a closed mega-event like the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for several years. Finally, the perceived economic value is often the main reason for hosting sport mega-events (Wolfe et al, 2021 ). It was projected that hosting the Tokyo Olympics without spectators would result in a financial loss of up to 2.4 trillion yen in Japan (Blair, 2021 ).…”