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7001182 APS AS1 December 2022

The title: Impacts of hosting a major sporting event


Module Name: Academic and Professional Skills
Module number:1001
Word Count:2631
Student number: 7001182

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Content page:
Executive summary…………………..3

Introduction…………………………...3

Analysis…………………….................4

Economic impact………………………4

Social impact…………………………...6

Environmental impact………………….7

Conclusion…………………………….7

Recommendation………………………8

References……………………………...9

Executive summary:
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This report has analysed the economic, social and environmental impact of
hosting a major sport event. The economic impacts contain crucial things such
as challenges related to costs as well as the bidding prosses and money revenue.
Also, for a secure competition was discussed what security could be related to
and what role it has.
In social impact section has been analysed the new opportunities that can be
created due to events and the impact that the volunteers have on social, cultural
and religious exchange between foreign nations and how efficient in managing
various jobs can they be.
Last but not least, the environmental impact showed the importance of using
green technology to prevent pollution as well as the dangerous process of
demolition the old infrastructure in order to build something new and why the
waste could be recycled in purpose to use for hosting a major sport event such
as Olympics Game or World Cup tournament.

Introduction :
Major sports events serve as the focal points for various contemporary
competitions that not only showcase the nation's best professional athletes but
also give the host countries a globally accepted platform to demonstrate and
promote their national identities and cultures (Dolles and Soderman,2008).
However, an event of such great importance can bring many benefits and
challenges to the host country. Besides the other aspects, such as the financial
part and the organisation on a high level, this type of event hides a lot of hard
work behind it. For example, the Olympic Games are considered a major
sporting event because they involve a wide variety of sports with many
participants from all over the world.
An event of such magnitude can not take place without stakeholders who are
considered to have a key role.
A stakeholder is a person or a group of individuals who have a significant
interest in the outcome of a project and the context in which it is carried out.
Essentially, there are two types of stakeholders: internal, or those directly
involved in the project's execution, and external, or those who will be impacted
by the project (Olander,2007). Thus, an example of the stakeholders could be

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sponsors such as big companies which have a huge marketing impact, like
‘’Coca-Cola’’. Additionally, the government and local councils would be part of
this project since they have the power to decide on some organisational details.
Last but not least, local businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and local shops
are also important as part of the event.
This report will analyse the impact of hosting major sporting events, focusing
on the economic impacts such as funding and development.

Analysis :
Economic impact
Costs have the most influence on the economy while planning a large sporting
event. This is due to the fact that a large sum of money must be spent on an
event of magnitudes such as the Olympic games and the World cup. Firstly,
infrastructure, which includes things like roads, lodging, stadiums, and other
buildings required for various sports, is one of the crucial items in which money
may be invested. It also happens to be the segment where the host country
spends the most money. For instance, the city of Sochi spent almost $50.7
billion, which means 85% of its total budget for infrastructure when the Winter
Olympics were held there in 2014(Ang,2022). This is because an enormous
number of people from all around the world take part in such an event,
including athletes and supporters of their favourite teams. That means it
necessitates the building of new accommodations or renovating existing ones,
as well as the construction of new stadiums or consolidating and upgrading the
old ones, new roads, and other infrastructure projects in the host nation to
relieve congestion in the host cities and facilitate faster access for visitors to the
event. Moreover, when it comes to the Olympics, it can request that new
facilities be developed for sports, such as a swimming pool, a ski track, or a
hockey rink. This is because in the host city that kind of sport is not practised by
anyone. For instance, in Tokyo 2020 Olympics, numerous venues were built,
such as a park archery field, also an artificial river which serves as canoe sports
as well as an aquatic centre with a main 10 lanes pool (Ioc,2022).
Security is a crucial component in staging a huge event that is reflected in costs.
Firstly, security is essential and should not be overlooked, regardless of the
event. This is due to the fact that hundreds of thousands of people attend
sporting mega-events like the World Cup and Olympic Games, and among them
are notable individuals like politicians, managers, and sportsmen who require

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security. For instance, due to the lack of security personnel from Qatar for the
2022 World Cup, money was spent to bring security and police units from each
participating nation(Ardemagni.E,2022). Maintaining calm and public order
while directing supporters to the right locations is another reason for the
security. For example, the prevention of terrorism, including bomb attacks on
crowds of people or high-profile targets like politicians. According to Pelit A.
(2022), Qatar spent billions of dollars on security as well as expenses of over $
1.1 billion for cybersecurity which could be a possible threat.
A major sport event, in addition to costs, can generate money as well. This is
because in the financial plan of the organisation, besides expenses, there are
revenues to sustain the entire event. Those revenues could come from different
sources, such as sponsorship, tickets, merchandising, and TV rights. According
to (Rowbottom,2018), Russia, which was the host country for the world cup
2018, benefited from revenue of $14 billion after they spent $10.5 billion on
organising the event, which means they earned a profit of $3.5 billion. In
addition, food and beverage can be another important revenue stream for such
mega-events. This is due to spectators’ and fans’ necessities of consuming food
and drink during the daily events and games provided by special stores placed
around the arena or the village campus.
Right from the beginning, the host country is chosen following a bidding
process. The bid process often begins a year or two before the event when the
sports governing organisation releases a thorough questionnaire explaining the
procedure and timetable. Additionally, it will follow the following phase locally
after the host nation's outcomes. As a result, a new round of bidding will be
available to the cities in the country, serving as the host as well as other
interested parties(African Journal of Hospitality,2020). For instance, well-
known brands like "Coca-Cola" or "Heineken" would fight for large contracts,
which could bring in a sizable sum of money to support their reputation. On the
other hand, the bidding procedure makes potential host nations more
competitive. In addition, this competitiveness has generated debate at the
organisational level in recent years, and the word corruption has surfaced.
According to IHRB (2014), the proposal of bidding for the hosting country is
made within 7 years before. For instance, even though the weather is
unfavourable for playing football in the summer, Qatar is hosting the 2022
World Cup. However, this has brought up many concerns for FIFA, and the
independent governance committed related to sports events. Therefore, they
launched an internal inquiry to see whether the elections had been conducted
fairly and to see whether there were any financial conflicts of interest.

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Social impacts
The attendance of fans who follow their favourite athletes to see them compete
is crucial when holding a major sporting event. First and foremost, the event
would not be possible without individuals and communities. This is due to the
fact that individuals are required both to maintain a positive energy and
environment at the event as well as to carry out a variety of jobs. According to
Parret (n.d), as a result of an activity, initiative, organisation, or plan,
individuals and communities may be affected in some way. This effect is
referred to as having a social impact. Moreover, a major event usually creates
many jobs from the beginning of the project.
These events create new jobs right from the start of the project, most of which
are for the population of the host country. This is due to the fact that labour is
needed for a variety of departments in which to work, such as the construction
field that deals with the infrastructure, salespeople for the sponsors' stores, and
people for security, as well as jobs that ensure maintenance. Therefore, in
addition to paid employment, volunteer programmes were developed with the
goal of increasing both sociability and connections among participants as well
as the necessary labour. For example, for each Olympic event, anyone from all
over the world can apply to become a volunteer. As a result that Paris will be
the host of the Olympic games in 2024, and more than 45,000 volunteers from
all over the world are expected (Olympics.com, 2022). In addition, through
volunteer labour, it is hoped to engage the participants in as many activities as
possible, resulting in the meeting of various people from across the world.
Because of this, cultural exchange is made possible, allowing each participant to
diversify his or her knowledge of various topics, including the history of various
nations, varied traditions performed throughout the world, as well as the
exchange of information regarding various religions and lifestyles. Because of
this, people of all backgrounds—regardless of their skin tone, physical
characteristics, or socioeconomic status—can come to get along better with one
another and contribute positively to the long-term growth of more unified
nations, which raises global living standards and promotes peace. Thus, the
volunteers play a crucial part in the operation of the extracurricular activities as
well as the growth of interpersonal connections, which implies that they are
''...being hailed as heroes behind the scenes." (Xu, K., Zhang, C. and Leng, S.,
2022).

Environmental impact
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Most of the time, an infrastructure of impressive size is created for the big
sports events, which is based on a futuristic design and aims to be in step with
the latest technologies. This is done to promote the venue for the event in the
best light possible. For the 2022 World Cup, for instance, Qatar employed a
renowned architect whose design of the football stadiums reflected the history
and image of the city by building stadiums with various futuristic designs
(Crook.L, 2022). However, several sacrifices that may have an adverse impact
on the environment are undertaken in order to highlight this vision, which is
designed to be epic and distinctive for every host, regardless of nation. Thus,
one of the worrying things is that when new construction works are started, old
buildings are demolished, or certain green spaces are removed to create more
space for new buildings. Also, due to the use of various large machines, the
level of pollution increases. For example, dust clouds can be formed after
crashes, but the excessive smoke of machines and other used substances still
brings a negative aspect to the environment (Daibert.P.,2014). The environment
is rarely considered during such events, despite the fact that it frequently has
disastrous consequences, especially over the long term. This is due to the fact
that it frequently has distinct impacts that are less obvious to the human eye.
The first is that having a lot of people congregate in a small area releases a lot
of carbon dioxide and can have an impact on CO2. Another factor is the number
of competitors that fly in for the competition. As a result, there is a lot of air
traffic, which significantly reduces the chance that supporters will arrive by
plane. Additionally, there will be a huge increase in the amount of trash
produced and in the amount of fuel or power used (Frontier, 2016). All of these
factors so have the potential to accelerate global warming even more. The
situation has changed recently, though, and the host nations are beginning to
consider the environment as well. For instance, during the World Cup in Qatar,
new green areas are created, such as parks amidst the desert. (Qatar, 2022)

Conclusion:
Hosting a significant sporting event may have effects on the economy, society,
and environment. As a result, the economic impact, which is tied to expenses, is
one of the most significant. This is due to the fact that a large undertaking like
this necessitates a number of expenses for various things, without which the
event would not be possible. From the start of the design until its conclusion,
there are several costs. For instance, the infrastructure of buildings and roads
has to be updated, and security is a requirement, but the event itself may also
bring in money. People are an essential component of this initiative. From the

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athletes to the fans, they are the ones who plan and coordinate everything. On
the other side, there may be opportunities for new local jobs as well as new
relationships to be made throughout various races, faiths, and cultures. All of
these items may have beneficial or bad effects on the environment.
Unfortunately, in certain cases, more and more towns or villages have been
destroyed in order to create the area needed for this kind of event, and the
construction has also had other negative consequences on the air quality.
Fortunately, as a result of new technology, more and more organisations have
begun to protect the environment and make improvements to it through a
variety of means, such as expanding green areas or planting trees.

Recommendations :
As a result of the preceding analysis, the following recommendations can be
made.

Increase the number of potential sponsors and


volunteers
 In order to minimise the potential challenge of high costs, It is advised to
plan an auction fair where access to several sponsors is permitted.
Depending on the size of the firm, the sponsors are the ones that spend
astronomical sums to have their brand displayed at such a significant
event. Thus, as long as many of them are permitted to participate, even
sponsors with a bad reputation as spots might help to reduce expenses.
For example, according to Belam, M.(2022), the beer company
Budweiser paid FIFA $75 million as sponsorship for the World cup 2022.
As a result, the event could generate more money if many companies like
this are allowed to participate, and the cost would be minimised. By
increasing the number of volunteers, paid employment might be replaced
by those who desire to work and explore simultaneously for their own
growth. That implies it won't be required to pay for many occupations.

Using robot machines and technology to do jobs as well


as eliminate restrictions
 In order to minimise the challenge of hard work jobs is recommended a
scheme to use more technology and machines to replace the work that
some employees are doing in such hard conditions. For example, the

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development of infrastructure could be done by new technology instead


of using people such as digging and working in hot weather or extreme
conditions. This is because over 37 people died during the Qatar stadium
construction for the world cup tournament 2022 since some construction
companies take advantage of emigrants, paying them low wages and
letting them work in extreme conditions(Pattisson, P.,2022). On the other
hand, it is wonderful that there are options for people to find new jobs,
but it is preferred to improve working circumstances in order to maximise
the benefits of their high-quality labour. Additionally, barriers based on
ethnicity, culture, or sexual orientation need to be lifted in order for
individuals to meet and enjoy the event and their relationships with one
another. For instance, participation in major sporting events should be
open to LGBT populations as well.

Increase the green spaces and using zero emissions


technology
 In order to minimise pollution and carbon emissions to protect the
environment, it intended to increase the co2 by creating more green
spaces such as planting trees or developing large parks. This is due to the
fact that several places are destroyed during development in order to
provide more space for the new structures. Recent technological
advancements can also be used to lower emissions. For instance, solar
panels might be utilised to generate more free power, and waste could be
recycled to be used in the creation of event-related items. As a result,
Nike began producing football player t-shirts using recycled materials.
(Price, 2020). Therefore, the organisers may use these guidelines as
requirements before granting access to host such an event. The
advantages of the environmental effect might be maximised by indulging
in these sports for a longer duration of time. For instance, there would be
less air travel, which would decrease the short-term usage of flights.
However, creating a better environment will have, as a result combat
global warming and increase life expectancy.

References:
 African Journal of Hospitality. (2020) Tourism and Leisure. Bidding to
host a major sports event: The Youth Olympic games [online]. Volume
9(2), pp.4-5.

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 Availablefrom:https://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/
article_10_vol_9_2__2020_thailand.pdf [Accessed 6 November 2022].
 Ang, C. (2022) How much does it cost to host the Olympics?, Visual
Capitalist. Available at: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-much-
does-it-cost-to-host-the-olympics/ (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
 Ardemagni, E. (2022) The security side of Qatar's World Cup, Arab Gulf
States Institute in Washington. Available at: https://agsiw.org/the-
security-side-of-qatars-world-cup/ (Accessed: December 6, 2022).
 Belam, M. (2022) Budweiser to give beer it can't sell at World Cup to
eventual winners, The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available
at: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/22/budweiser-to-
give-beer-it-cannot-sell-at-world-cup-to-winners (Accessed: December 8,
2022).
 Frontier (2017) The environmental impact of the Olympics, HuffPost UK.
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https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/-frontier/the-environmental-impact-
_b_11581162.html (Accessed: December 8, 2022).
 Frontier (2017) The environmental impact of the Olympics, HuffPost UK.
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https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/-frontier/the-environmental-impact-
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 IHRB (2014). Bidding to host mega-sporting events. Available at:
https://www.ihrb.org/uploads/reports/IHRB
%2C_Bidding_to_Host_an_MSE%2C_May_2014.pdf (Accessed:
December 6, 2022).
 Ioc (2022) Tokyo 2020 venues set to make the city more inclusive and
"smart" - olympic news, International Olympic Committee. IOC.
Available at: https://olympics.com/ioc/news/tokyo-2020-venues-set-to-
make-the-city-more-inclusive-and-smart (Accessed: December 5, 2022).
 Ioc (2022) Tokyo 2020 venues set to make the city more inclusive and
"smart" - olympic news, International Olympic Committee. IOC.
Available at: https://olympics.com/ioc/news/tokyo-2020-venues-set-to-
make-the-city-more-inclusive-and-smart (Accessed: December 5, 2022).
 Parret, E. (no date) What is social impact and how do I measure it?, What
is Social Impact and How Do I Measure It? | Good Finance. Available at:
https://www.goodfinance.org.uk/latest/post/what-social-impact-and-how-
do-i-measure-it (Accessed: December 7, 2022).
 Pelit, A. (2022) Qatar World Cup spends big on security with emphasis
on cyber threats , Sportico.com. Sportico.com. Available at:

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https://www.sportico.com/business/tech/2022/qatar-world-cup-security-
spending-cyber-threats-1234690532/ (Accessed: December 6, 2022).
 Price, G. (2020) Explained: How LFC's Nike Kits are made from
recycled plastic bottles, Liverpool FC. Available at:
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nike-kits-are-made-from-recycled-plastic-bottles (Accessed: December 8,
2022).
 Qatar (2022) Sustainability, Qatar 2022™. Available at:
https://www.qatar2022.qa/en/sustainability (Accessed: December 8,
2022).
 Rowbottom, M. (2018) World Cup 2018 added $14 billion to Russian
economy, organisers report. Inside the games. Available at:
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1071384/world-cup-2018-added-
14-billion-to-russian-economy-organisers-report (Accessed: December 5,
2022).
 So¨derman, S.and Dolles, H.(2008) ‘Strategic fit in international
sponsorship — the case of the olympic games in Beijing 2008’,
International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship 9(2): 95–110.
 Xu, K., Zhang, C. and Leng, S. (2022) 18,000 volunteers serve in Beijing
2022 as 'heroes behind scenes', Global Times. Available at:
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December 8, 2022).

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