The Mega-Event Syndrome: Why So Much Goes Wrong in Mega-Event Planning and What to Do About It

Müller, Martín

doi:10.1080/01944363.2015.1038292

Cited by 196 publications

(151 citation statements)

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“…Rather than a catalyst for infrastructure or an economic boon, mega-events often lead to an overpromising of benefits and an underestimation of costs, the unequal appropriation of resources, the violation of citizen rights and the rewriting of urban development priorities to serve the demands of the event (Boykoff, 2014;Horne, 2007;Müller, 2015;Zimbalist, 2015). Thus, the relationship between mega-events and host societies is often the inverse of what promoters of mega-events suggest.…”

Section: Mega-events: From Leverage To Event Seizurementioning

confidence: 99%

How mega-events capture their hosts: event seizure and the World Cup 2018 in Russia

Müller

2015

Urban Geography

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This paper develops the notion of "event seizure" to better understand how mega-events, and the elites associated with them, take possession of host cities and societies-of development plans, funds and legislation-and impose their priorities on cities and citizens. It illustrates how event seizure plays out in the preparations for the Football World Cup 2018 in Russia, which is on course to become the most expensive World Cup ever with a total cost of about USD 20 billion. Drawing on government and FIFA documents, public statements from authorities and officials, and media coverage, the paper examines three different dimensions of event seizure. First, infrastructural seizure, where event-related infrastructure, particularly sports venues, crowd out infrastructure that serves wider urban needs. Second, financial seizure, where a close circle of political and business elites benefits from state funding, while the public underwrites cost overruns. Third and last, legal seizure, where the event introduces exceptional legislation, infringing citizen rights and compromising due oversight of event preparations.

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Section: Mega-events: From Leverage To Event Seizurementioning

confidence: 99%

How mega-events capture their hosts: event seizure and the World Cup 2018 in Russia

Müller

2015

Urban Geography

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“…In addition, positive internal effects might emerge from intangible effects in the pre-and post-period such as pride, anticipation, improved social networks and social capital, cohesion, or cultural heritage (Chen & Tian, 2015, Gibson, 2014Horne, 2007;Preuss, 2007). These effects are often referred as psychic income (Gibson et al 2014;Preuss and Solberg, 2006;Szymanski 2002) On the other hand, they have to face internal and external negative effects (Müller, 2015). Similar to positive effects, negative effects could also arise in both the pre-event and post-event phase.…”

Section: Social Exchange Theory and Domestic Support For Mega Sports mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the one hand, locals may benefit from varying positive external or internal effects through improvements to urban infrastructure and psychic income (Preuss & Solberg, 2006;Solberg & Preuss, 2007). On the other hand, they have to face monetary (increased or diversion of taxes) and non-monetary negative external and internal effects such as noise, traffic, pollution, frustration, anger about politics (Müller, 2015;Preuss & Solberg 2006). Referring to social exchange theory (Homans, 1958) and rational behaviour of local residents, the balance of positive and negative effects may determine his/her support for MSEs; such support has been identified as a main factor influencing the benefit/cost ratio and the social impact of these events (Deccio & Baloglu, 2002;Hiller & Wanner 2011;Jeong and Faulkner 1996;Pappas, 2014;Ritchie, Shipway & Cleeve, 2009;Zhou & Ap, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Local politicians justify such allocations of public money for various reasons: positive macro-economic effects (Allmers & Maennig, 2009;Baade & Matheson, 2004;Bramwell, 1997;Preuss, 2007;Rocha, 2016;Spilling, 1996a), image campaigns for the nation and city (Müller, 2015;Preuss & Alfs, 2011;Rocha & Fink, 2017) and positive effects (e.g. sports participation, living conditions and well-being) at a micro-level (Fredline & Faulkner 1998;Kaplanidou, 2012;Ritchie 2000;Weimar, Wicker & Prinz, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Distance Matter? Geographical Distance and Domestic Support for Mega Sports Events

Weimar

Rocha

2017

Journal of Sports Economics

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Residential support is one key multiplier that increases the probability of a positive outcome of mega events. Especially pre-event support seems important since hosting the event often requires public consensus. Within the discussion of determinants of pre-event support, the distance between a resident's home (district) and the event area has been neglected so far. To explore the spatial nature of event support, representative survey data (n=900) from the 2016 Olympic Games is analysed using ordered probit and spatial autoregressive models. Estimates reveal a lower probability of high support for residents living close to the main event area. Moreover, the rate of marginal changes in the probability of support decreases with decreasing distance to other areas. JEL: C51, D84, L83, R12

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“…As European ethnologist Wolfgang Kaschuba (1989: 154) argued more than two decades ago, "sportivity" as a "social pattern of behavior and interpretation" has become "omnipresent" and "taken for granted". This image still holds: runners, cyclists and other recreational athletes in public spaces are perceived as normal, and mega events, such as city marathons, are a common part of urban event calendars (Berking and Neckel 1993;Müller 2015). Practicing endurance sport is not limited to training sessions or competitions: it influences perceptions of healthy and performance-enhancing diets, affects leisure activities such as holiday planning, abstaining from alcohol or going to bed early to be fit for training, and influences social relations when circles of friends mainly consist of fellow hobby athletes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensing Athletes: Sensory Dimensions of Recreational Endurance Sports

Groth

Krahn

2017

Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

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Sport has become increasingly popular with recreational athletes over the last couple of decades. This has only gained minimal attention so far from scholars interested in the relations between recreational sports and everyday culture. With this paper, we seek to contribute to this field by scrutinising the sensory dimensions of recreational sport. Rather than probing into or highlighting isolated senses, we look at sensory dimensions understood as a combination of different, non-separable sensory experiences featured in recreational endurance sports. We are interested in how the senses play a role for recreational endurance athletes in running, triathlon and cycling both in training and competition. We start by examining how cultural and social dimensions are inextricably linked to doing sports. Secondly, we show how different configurations of the senses and their communicative mediation are contingent on sport disciplines, specific settings, technology, development and change as sensory careers over time. Thirdly, we discuss the kinaesthetic dimensions of doing sports in relation to the senses and the role of atmospheres. We conclude by arguing that highlighting specific senses by athletes is a cultural practice that calls for a holistic analysis of senses in sport, and outline some methodological implications for research on the senses. Going to the gym, attending yoga classes, jogging or cycling are part of everyday routines for many people, permeating everyday practices and shaping parts of everyday culture. Being a member of a fitness studio, a local sports club, participating in marathons or cycling races, as well as being physically active in general, has become an integral part of everyday routines and a broad spectrum of lifestyles. Advertisements on TV, lifestyle reports in magazines and self-presentations in social media feature the ideal of the active sportsman and -woman; health insurance institutions and health ministries foster these images as benefits claimed from an active lifestyle. Rather than having to justify oneself for doing sport, one has to justify oneself for not doing sport. Endurance sports take up a considerable share of such sporting activities and images of fitness and healthiness. The lunch run at work, the bike ride with a local club in the evenings, 5K races or city marathons, as well as sports holidays, such as cycling vacations or training camps (Strüver 2010) -endurance sports like these have become a frequent and important part of everyday culture, shaping leisure time as well as perceptions of the self (Krahn and Groth 2017). As European ethnologist Wolfgang Kaschuba (1989: 154) argued more than two decades ago, "sportivity" as a "social pattern of behavior and interpretation" has become "omnipresent" and "taken for granted". This image still holds: runners, cyclists and other recreational athletes in public spaces are perceived as normal, and mega events, such as city marathons, are a common part of urban event calendars (Berking and Neckel 1993;Müller 2015). Pra...

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The Mega-Event Syndrome: Why So Much Goes Wrong in Mega-Event Planning and What to Do About It

Cited by 196 publications

References 50 publications

How mega-events capture their hosts: event seizure and the World Cup 2018 in Russia

How mega-events capture their hosts: event seizure and the World Cup 2018 in Russia

Does Distance Matter? Geographical Distance and Domestic Support for Mega Sports Events

Sensing Athletes: Sensory Dimensions of Recreational Endurance Sports

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