Running head: AUDIENCE PERCEPTIONS OF MEGA-EVENTS

Audience Perceptions of Mega-Events

Mallory Rosenbarger
Ball State University

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Introduction
According to the FIFA World Cup, an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final
match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany. Without a doubt, this is the largest singleevent sporting competition in the world. It is no surprise when countries bid to host the World
Cup or the Olympics Games. Granting all this, there are hefty financial costs for the host country.
These events are known to create astounding nationalism amongst the residents. That alone is
enough for certain governments to want to host these mega-events, considering it is known to
decrease racism within a country. Little research is done to critically examine the positive as well
as negative impacts of mega-events. In fact, most research only focuses on the financial and
economic impacts of hosting these mega-events. The following authors believe the social
impacts are just as important. Especially to successfully advertise a host country, it is important
for these countries bidding to take these social impacts into consideration.

I.

The Power of Sport to Unite a Nation: The Social Value of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in
South Africa by Bob Heere, Matthew Walker, Heather Gibson, Brijesh Thapa, Sue
Geldenhuys, and Willie Coetzee
Bob Heere, Matthew Walker, Heather Gibson, Brijesh Thapa, Sue Geldenhuys, and Willie

Coetzee wrote The power of sport to unite a nation: the social value of the 2010 FIFA World
Cup, to determine whether or not the 2010 World Cup positively influenced South African
residents. They applied the social identity and social capital theories to arbitrate their research.
These authors claim governments make strong claims regarding the social impacts of hosting
mega sport events. Commonly, they examine the capacity of sport to enhance social identity at
the community-level. They wanted to provide empirical support for the idea that sports can

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influence how individuals identify with specific communities. Social identity begins with certain
values and emotional belongingness associated with being part of a group. South African
President Jacob Zuma was even quoted a few days before the World Cup of 2010, the
explosion of national pride is a priceless benefit of the World Cup tournament. Its clear that
millions of our people look upon this tournament with hope, pride and sense of belonging. The
authors believe President Zuma alluded to this as part of national identity and as a source for
social identity indicated by his sense of belonging statement. It is clear these statements provide
evidence the political importance of mega sport events as instruments to enhance national
identity.
Unfortunately, the authors argue that social identity quickly subsides after the event has
concluded. There is little evidence that this sense of national identity provides lasting positive
outcomes for a nation. The researchers used the social capital theory, measuring the relationship
between an individual and a community, to empirically evaluate the long-term social benefits of
the FIFA World Cup. The authors used the South African example because of the many racial,
ethnic, and tribal groupings that make up this population. In addition, sport teams and events are
an excellent way to provide that sense of belongingness to the nation. Sports are symbolic and
seem to connect individuals in non-threatening ways.
Based on their results, this specific World Cup had little contribution in creating national
identity in South Africa. In fact, their findings show that South Africans feel more intrigued by
other nations looking upon them than feeling a sense of national pride. Also, immediately
following the mega event, there was a period of political unrest. There were several public
demonstrations and worker strikes. The researchers believe they provide empirical evidence to
fuel the growing skepticism of the ability of mega sporting events to generate long-term social

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benefits. They even consider the opportunity costs associated with such an event. In fact, South
Africa could have built 476,180 reconstruction and development houses for 2.4 million South
Africans (considering 69% live in poverty).

II.

The Role of Patriotism in Explaining the TV Audience of National Team Games

Evidence From Four International Tournaments by Stephan Nesch and Egon Franck
This article uses empirical evidence while incorporating data from four major soccer
tournaments including: the European Football Championships in 2000 and 2004 and the FIFA
World Cups in 2002 and 2006. In order to understand the magnitude of this event, it is important
to understand the amount of coverage this event receives. During the 2006 World Cup, 73,072
hours of programming was broadcasted to 214 different countries. There was a stunning 26.29
billion estimated TV viewers enthralled with this event. A feeling of patriotism and national pride
is profound during these events.
The hypotheses are tested using Swiss TV ratings to determine the demand for televised
national games. They believe Switzerland offers a good quasi-experimental design to test the
influence of patriotism. First of all, Switzerland has one of the highest foreign resident rates
(over 20%) worldwide, coming from over 200 different countries. Their results show that both
playing strength and patriotism strongly predict TV figures. Soccer is the most widely played
team sport worldwide; the chance to form patriotism is greater than any other sport. Additionally,
playing each teams national anthem before each game intensifies patriotism.
From their research, they conclude that patriotism is the most conceivable explanation for
the powerful link between TV audience and the size of the corresponding nationalities. In fact,
the market is not geographically but nationally segmented. Nonetheless, nationalism plays a
compelling role in shaping viewing habits.

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III.

Pan-Africanism and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa by Sabelo J NdlovuGatsheni
Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni argues that South Africa has embraced the ideology of the

sport-media-tourism complex and is seeking to promote an event-driven economy. He

believes South Africa had five significant motives to host mega-events. First, mega-events aid
the governments nation-building and reconciliation project. Second, mega-events are motives
for economic development. Third, mega-events are used to reveal South Africas presence in
global governance. Fourth, mega-events were used to influence a paradigm shift in Western
perceptions of Africa and this was also part of the African Renaissance agenda. Finally, hosting
mega-events conveniently showcases an African culture of hospitality, solidarity, and Ubuntu
(human-ness).
Banal nationalism, nationalism that takes the form of a daily spectacle and is ingrained
in peoples contemporary consciousness and manifested in daily life was used to determine the
symbolic meaning of the World Cup. Its focus is on understanding the impact of ideological and
symbolic processes on the formation of political discourses, identities and communities.
President Jacob Zuma, a nationalist, worked endlessly to strengthen national spirit across races,
ethnicities, genders, and generations. The World Cup contributed crucial use of national symbols
to routinize this spirit. During the tournament itself, South African nationalists tried to deepen
and consolidate patriotism through symbolic means. Blowing vuvuzelas was common and they
created Football Friday where people could wear sports attire even at workplaces. Bafana
Bafana t-shirts even became a form of national dress.
In conclusion, this article went into great detail regarding the significance of the World
Cup. Pan-Africanist and nationalist sentiments were diluted by intensified xenophobia in South

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Africa. He theorized that perhaps mega-events could fuel negative nationalism and positive
patriotism simultaneously. It is clear that this World Cup had symbolic significance for a country
emerging from years of isolation. Lastly, the benefits South Africa had from hosting the World
Cup outweighed the negatives for this author; it brought in material, which is important for any
developing nation.

IV.

Resident Perceptions of Mega-Sporting Events: A Non-Host City Perspective of the 2012

London Olympic Games by Brent W. Ritchie, Richard Shipway, and Bethany Cleeve
The goal of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of social dimensions of Olympic

tourism. They explore resident perceptions of the London 2012 Olympic games. For the most
part, residents were very supportive of hosting the games. The main concerns were traffic
congestion, lack of an appropriate amount of parking, and increases in the cost of living. It is
common for these host cities to ignore the negative impacts and magnify the expected benefits,
which sometimes never even occur. These authors believe that resident perception studies are
crucial for future mega-events to be successful.
There can be monumental positive benefits by hosting mega-events. The economic
impacts range from tax revenues, employment, and sources of income before, during, and after
the event occur. Commonly, new infrastructure and facilities often are built and locals AND
tourists both benefit from it. Locals agreed upon increased community pride, quality of life,
strengthening of cultural values. It helps these host countries build their national identity.
Many studies do not take the time to discuss the negative impacts of such events. More
often than not hosting mega-events can cause increases in the price of goods, services and
property. Taxes are also increased to fund the cost accompanied by hosting these massive events.

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This increase in taxes can even increase over time because of mismanagement. A prominent
example of this was the 1976 Montreal Olympics; it took several decades for them to repay the
high costs of hosting this sport event.
Again, traffic congestion and parking issues often are prevalent leading up and during the
event. However, the improved infrastructure often outweighs the annoying congestion for most
residents. Crime sometimes increases due to the influx of people and migrant workers. In
addition to this, security concerns pose a major stress on law enforcement.
In conclusion, this article provides an unbiased grasp on host cities of mega-events. It
lays out the negatives and positives associated with hosting events. It provides an enhanced
explanation of many social impacts regarding mega-events.

V.

Social Impacts of the Sydney Olympics by Gordon Waitt

Gordon Waitt used the social exchange theory in order to determine whether or not

opinions on the games changed between 1998 and 2000. He telephone surveyed individuals 24
months before the event and then also during the Olympics. The main complaints amongst the
individuals living in Sydney were the traffic noise, congestion, and litter. Seven years leading up
to the event, daily trips were inconvenienced through the Central Business District, Homebush,
the airport, and Bondi Beach. There were boundless disruptions to daily life and it was very
irritating to many residents. However, all of that irritation came to an end for most Sydneysiders.
Throughout the 16 days of the games, everybody seemed to be celebrating. Planned and
unplanned celebrations began often created by patriotism. This article sought to explore the
importance of time, place, demographics, and perceived economic impacts in differentiating
responses. Most of these responses were positive and after the event many of those negatives
turned into positives regarding improving the infrastructure.

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VI.

A Critical Review of Social Impacts of Mega-events by Yeqiang Lin

Yeqiang Lin, author of A Critical Review of Social Impacts of Mega-events, remarks on

the social impacts of mega-events and how they play an important role in locals lives. Lin
claims there are only a small number of studies implementing social impacts of mega-events,
especially the negative impacts. According to Lin, mega-events include world expositions
(Shanghai Expo), unique carnivals and festivals (Mardi Gras), and major sport events (Olympics
and World Cup). Depending on whether or not the mega-event is successful, they create an
advertisement for the host city or country through media coverage. This creates long-term
positive aftereffect in relation to tourism, industrial relocation, and investments.
Lin claims numerous studies on the impacts of mega-events take an economical
approach, and there is limited research done on non-economic impacts. In addition, critical
theory, provides understandings that technical rationality can overlook and involves the
application of principles or values in order to make judgments for the purpose of bringing about
positive change, which is quite suitable for the study of social impacts of mega-events and will
be used as the research paradigm of this study. Lin uses critical theory on previous studies on
the social impacts of mega-events to explain the positives and negatives.
Furthermore, mega-events tend to be much more than merely an event. They can equip
host countries with tremendous freedom to promote their national identities and cultures. The
local community also can participate by volunteering in the events, which often heightens the
local communitys sense of belongingness. The profound media coverage from all over the world
also implements a sense of unity and increase patriotism.

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However, the government undertakes hosting these mega-events rather than the local
community and can ultimately create social problems. Gentrification involves the renovation of
homes in low-income areas by upper and middle-income individuals. It increases property
values, but unfortunately it often pushes out low-income families. Other negative impacts
include increased crime rate, inflation, cultural commercialization, and conflicts in the
community resulting from differences between locals and tourists. Also, infrastructure
improvements cause negatives in the short-term but most would agree the long-term benefits
outweigh the negatives.

Conclusion
Mega-events have mass popular appeal and international significance, setting them aside
from smaller-scale events. There are bountiful articles written on the impact of mega tourism
events. A common understanding amongst these articles was there is more of a focus on the
economic impacts rather than the social impacts. Simultaneously, the greatest social benefit for
the residents was the increased patriotism. It brought together people that never would normally
have things in common. Between the South African articles, the term Ubuntu, meaning humanity
or fellow feeling/kindness, was discussed. In fact, this term was used so prevalently they
believed the racism against South Africans decreased. On the other hand, gentrification is a
common occurrence associated with hosting mega-events. Although this improves the city by
increasing property values, low-income families are being pushed out of their homes. A common
complaint amongst all articles includes traffic congestion and parking difficulty. However, for
most of the residents from all articles, those negatives turned into positives after the event.
Although leading up to the event, all the construction disrupted daily lives; however, after the

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event these improvements were worth it to many individuals. Without a doubt, hosting megaevents most commonly heightens nationalism beyond belief. There can be negatives associated
with hosting these events as well. It is crucial for countries bidding to be aware of all impacts
associated with hosting these events.

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Bibliography
"FIFA World Cup." FIFA.com. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.
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Heere, B., Walker, M., Gibson, H., Thapa, B., Geldenhuys, S., & Coetzee, W.
(2013). The power of sport to unite a nation: the social value of the
2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. European Sport Management
Quarterly, 13(4), 450-471.
Lin, Y. (2012). A Critical Review of Social Impacts of Mega-events.
International Journal Of Sport & Society, 3(3), 57-64.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. J. (2011). Pan-Africanism and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in
South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 28(3), 401-413.
doi:10.1080/0376835X.2011.595996
Nesch, S., & Franck, E. (2009). The Role of Patriotism in Explaining the TV
Audience of National Team GamesEvidence From Four International
Tournaments. Journal Of Media Economics, 22(1), 6-19.
doi:10.1080/08997760902724472
Ritchie, B. W., Shipway, R., & Cleeve, B. (2009). Resident Perceptions of
Mega-Sporting Events: A Non-Host City Perspective of the 2012 London
Olympic Games. Journal Of Sport & Tourism, 14(2/3), 143-167.
doi:10.1080/14775080902965108
Waitt, G. (2003). Social impacts of the Sydney Olympics. Annals of Tourism Research, 30(1),
194-215.
Yuhei, I., & Havard, C. T. (2014). Determinants and Consequences of the
Perceived Social Impact of a Sport Event. Journal Of Sport
Management, 28(3), 295-310. doi:10.1123/jsm.2013-0136

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