Legacies of a mega sporting event for healthy adolescent development: a case study of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games

Abstract

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.