Key issues in sports mega-events research: Soft power, climate change and health

Jonathan Grix, Paul Michael Brannagan and Thi My Le Le

Chapter 15 in Research Handbook on Sport in Europe, 2026, pp 157-166 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter focuses on the burgeoning area of sports mega-events (SMEs) research, highlighting three of the most pressing concerns related to SMEs that are all interrelated. First, the continued belief by states of all political hues that the staging of SMEs will bring the host an increase in both international prestige and soft power. Here we question the logic of a multi-host approach to SMEs that appears to be a new trend in Europe and globally. Second, the paradox of how to attract the maximum number of spectators, many of whom are tourists, to an SME against the backdrop of climate change – especially if the events are divided between several hosts. Third, the conundrum of increasing government investment in elite sport and elite sport events against the backdrop of rising numbers of citizens who are physically inactive and obese. This begs the question: Are SMEs bad for our health and the climate?

Keywords: Sports mega-events; Soft power; International prestige; Multi-host; Health; Climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035338382
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