From Macro to Mega

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernat López ◽  
Helle Kettner-Høeberg

The Vuelta a España is one of the three cycling Grand Tours, a long-established (first staged in 1935) and global sports mega event. Nonetheless, in the mid-noughties, it went through a financial and identity crisis, which culminated with the French company, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organizer of the Tour de France, taking over the Spanish race in 2008. This research, an in-depth case study based on semistructured interviews and analysis of all the relevant corporate documentation and online activity, aims at shedding light on how the new ASO management has refloated the race through a reinforcement of its globalization and mediatization, on the lines of the managerial policies already in place for the Tour de France since the early 80s. This article also proposes a small theoretical refinement of the “mega sporting event” concept, moving from a binary, yes–not typology, to a four-level scale including micro (local), meso (provincial/subnational), macro (national or regional), and mega (global) sporting events. In this sense, this article concludes that the communication strategies set up by the new ASO management have pushed the Vuelta beyond the macro and towards the mega level.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ann Smith

Numerous studies have considered the impact of hosting a mega sporting event on adults. Using the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympics as a case study, this thesis is the first to consider the impact of such an event on adolescents over a decade pre and post the event. It investigates the legacies of the 2010 Games on physical activity, employment, and community connectedness, and the environmental, psychological and social mechanisms through which any legacies may have occurred. A mixed-methods approach was used which combined analyses of cross-sectional data from the BC Adolescent Health Survey and Homeless and Street Involved Youth Survey, with sports club membership data and stakeholder consultations. Using selfreport data from over 60,000 adolescents—including three subpopulations typically excluded from mega events (adolescents with a disability, experiencing homelessness, and at risk of incarceration)—the study considered positive and negative, planned and unplanned, tangible and intangible legacies, and the time and space in which they occurred (Preuss, 2016). Results differed by age, gender and location. For example, the 2010 Games were more likely to have both a positive and negative impact on homeless youth in host communities compared to non-host communities. However, across British Columbia, a positive perception of the Games’ impact was associated with regular physical activity. Vulnerable subpopulations generally reported more negative impacts of the Games, but those who reported positive impacts experienced some reduction in health disparities with the general population. However, rather than serving as a catalyst to close the gap in organised sports participation between adolescents with a physical disability and their peers, the disparity increased following the Games. Stakeholder consultations provided context to these findings, and offered insight into how future mega sporting events might be leveraged to support healthy adolescent development at the population and subpopulation level.


Author(s):  
Alejandro Henao ◽  
Wesley E. Marshall

Millions of people in the United States travel by personal automobile to attend professional sports matches played at various stadiums. Engineering and planning publications lack information on parking provisions for major sporting events. The results from this paper on parking outcomes suggest that the current parking provisions are not efficient. This case study examines parking supply, parking utilization, event auto occupancy, and event auto modal share at four major professional sports venues in the Denver, Colorado, region. The percentage of parking supply per parking demand was calculated for several surveyed games in terms of the average attendance, and parking utilization was evaluated during nonevent periods. In general, the surveys of the games indicated that more parking was provided than was necessary, even when attendance was higher than typical. For an event with average attendance, parking utilization was as low as 65%, with 2.2 persons per vehicle. In contrast, when parking occupancy was high, auto occupancy increased to 3.0 persons per vehicle. With such different carpool rates, as well as evidence suggesting that spectators who travel to some facilities are willing to park and walk farther than a half-mile, the results suggest that parking supply and travel behavior are endogenous and should not be treated independently. This study also considered parking occupancy at nonevent times and found whole-scale underutilization, even in downtown locations with great opportunity costs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Dolles ◽  
Sten Söderman

AbstractFor the first time in the history of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the football (soccer) World Cup held in Germany 2006 specifically addressed environmental concerns. By doing so, the German Organizing Committee did not have the objective of creating a short-term vision, but rather of making a long-term and lasting contribution to the improvement of environmental protection in hosting a mega-sporting event. By taking the football world cup in Germany as a case study, we will provide insights into the so-called ‘Green Goal’ programme and its four main areas: water, waste, energy, and transportation. From a global point of view, climate protection was added by the Organizing Committee as the fifth area of action and was recognised as a cross-sectorial task. Finally, questions are addressed on how to apply those measurements in the planning and organisation of other mega (-sporting) events.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1295
Author(s):  
Khalifa Al-Dosari

This study sought to find how significant mega sporting events to a country are beneficial insofar as infrastructural development is concerned. The study used the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as the case study in reference. Various researches around the concept of infrastructure development due to mega sporting events were analysed in this study. The evidence of infrastructure development due to mega sporting events was also dissected and presented in the study. The research was conducted with the help of online survey questionnaires, and the data collected was analysed by using descriptive statistics as well as an OLS regression analysis. The variables measured were infrastructural developments in the country to find the significance of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It was found that the 2022 World cup significantly affects the development of infrastructure in the country. It was therefore concluded that major sporting events are significant in the development of infrastructure of a country. It’s recommended that the research should be used for future references in the analysis of infrastructural changes due to major sporting events.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Dolles ◽  
Sten Söderman

AbstractFor the first time in the history of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the football (soccer) World Cup held in Germany 2006 specifically addressed environmental concerns. By doing so, the German Organizing Committee did not have the objective of creating a short-term vision, but rather of making a long-term and lasting contribution to the improvement of environmental protection in hosting a mega-sporting event. By taking the football world cup in Germany as a case study, we will provide insights into the so-called ‘Green Goal’ programme and its four main areas: water, waste, energy, and transportation. From a global point of view, climate protection was added by the Organizing Committee as the fifth area of action and was recognised as a cross-sectorial task. Finally, questions are addressed on how to apply those measurements in the planning and organisation of other mega (-sporting) events.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1295
Author(s):  
Khalifa Al-Dosari

This study sought to find how significant mega sporting events to a country are beneficial insofar as infrastructural development is concerned. The study used the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as the case study in reference. Various researches around the concept of infrastructure development due to mega sporting events were analysed in this study. The evidence of infrastructure development due to mega sporting events was also dissected and presented in the study. The research was conducted with the help of online survey questionnaires, and the data collected was analysed by using descriptive statistics as well as an OLS regression analysis. The variables measured were infrastructural developments in the country to find the significance of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It was found that the 2022 World cup significantly affects the development of infrastructure in the country. It was therefore concluded that major sporting events are significant in the development of infrastructure of a country. It’s recommended that the research should be used for future references in the analysis of infrastructural changes due to major sporting events.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Blumrodt ◽  
Philip J. Kitchen

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is show how sponsors in a major sponsored event may react when facing a potential doping affair. The Tour de France cycling competition is a premier global sporting event – broadcast worldwide – and thus attracts very significant sponsorship. Cycling teams are named after their team sponsors. Recent global news has, however, shown that there are doping scandals involved in this event which impact both teams and team sponsors. When a doping scandal occurs in a team, the sponsors have to react rapidly and expeditiously to protect their brand reputation. Design/methodology/approach – To ascertain potential reactions, team sponsors are interviewed in depth and their reactions to a doping affair assessed. The sponsors represent different brands and their commitment as team sponsors also varies. Findings – Research shows that sponsors react similarly when a doping scandal occurs in their team and adopt similar communication strategies in that situation. While best practice is apparent, doping policies put into place by sponsors nevertheless differ. These practices are more than just preventative in nature, i.e. they anticipate and try to prevent doping affairs. Practical implications – The teams and sponsors are engaged in a long-term relationship to build brand heritage. Undoubtedly, doping is taken very seriously, as consequences can be severe. In this sense, the sport, the teams and the sponsors share the same vision and objectives. Originality/value – Team sponsors reactions while facing a potential doping affair have not yet been assessed. Best practices become visible which might serve as guidelines in other global sporting events, also generating significant sponsorships.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 65-71
Author(s):  
Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko ◽  
Mateusz Rozmiarek

The purpose of this article is to examine tourist behaviour of participants of the European Junior Swimming Championships in Poznan and to examine the opinions of participants regarding this sporting event on its influence on the image of the city. Through the use of simple random sampling, a number of 210 swimmers participated in the study during the European Junior Swimming Championships held in 2013 in Poznan, Poland. Methods of the study included a diagnostic survey, a standardized interview technique and an interview questionnaire. All questions were closed-ended in nature and were analysed using the Likert-scale. Results show that more than 60% of respondents claimed that the European Junior Swimming Championships has positive impact on the image of the city of Poznan. More than 70% of them rated the impact of the event on the city to be 10.0 (on the Likert-scale). More than 70% of athletes participated in tourist activities such as sightseeing (70.7%). The average rating of satisfaction of the event was rated at 8.8 (Likert-scale) and 82.8% of athletes claimed they would return to Poznan in the future. The survey results additionally indicated gaps regarding the city’s cultural offers for tourists during the sporting event. A sample of 210 swimmers completed the questionnaire. The sample was selected in such a way as to ensure proper representation of the obtained results. Simple random sampling, which is a draw without return, was used. Information on the expected number of participants was used to determine the sample size. Calculations were used for the sample size, for the finite population. It was assumed that the maximum error of estimation (e) at a 95% confidence level did not exceed 4%. Results of this empirical case study provide a source of information for event organisers, and those responsible for the development of sport and tourism on the scale of impact of international sporting events. While most research participants in the current literature were sports fans, this study addressed the topic from the perspective of active participants of the event (e.g. athletes). The paper presents the results of empirical research, case study – European Junior Swimming Championships.


Author(s):  
Selena Aureli ◽  
Hermann Graziano

Based on the case study of ColleMarathon, this chapter aims to describe how local volunteers were able to transform a very small-scale sporting event into a successful occasion that merged sports with ethical values and generated positive outcomes for the local communities. Members of the local sports associations and volunteers are the inventors, managers and workers of the marathon that want to communicate the spirit of care and authentic values as its title suggests, “The Marathon of Values.” Ongoing growth (from 350 to more than 1000 athletes) and the participation of new businesses and entities has not changed the governance and the aim of the race: after 17 years, ColleMarathon is still managed by an organising committee made up of representatives of the sports associations and volunteers, who are set in motion by the values they want to disseminate with the event. Values are the glue that binds all actors and still attract participants that run through villages, hills, and old castles, meeting the local people and learning their cultural traditions.


Environments ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Bartoletti ◽  
Teresa Cristina Magro-Lindenkamp ◽  
Gabriel Adrián Sarriés

This case study used exploratory and descriptive research to look into how stakeholders involved in the organization and practice of adventure races in Brazil perceive impacts related to this outdoor activity. Additionally, questions were posed about whether such impacts have been taken into consideration when planning these sporting events. Finally, the research aimed to understand why racers and adventure race organizers choose a certain time of year and venue to partake and organize a race: whether for more logistical purposes or also considering conservation. Online surveys were set up to target adventure race organizers, racers, and national park managers. Overall, there seems to be very little knowledge among racers and race organizers about social and environmental impacts associated with adventure races. This has led to the organization of events with very few or no specific concerns to the environment. Moreover, racers and adventure race organizers seem to perceive certain ecological issues—i.e., erosion—as challenges to the sport and not a problem to be addressed or avoided. National park managers were the group surveyed with more knowledge about the negative impacts adventure races might have on the environment.


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