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This paper aims to identify why hotel employees in the Egyptian context accept the extreme job duties resulting from hosting too many mega sporting events and what outcomes they experience as a result.

The empirical data is based on semi-structured interviews with 36 hotel employees working in reservations, front desk and events management roles in four 4-star hotels located in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Thematic analysis was subsequently used to determine the main ideas in the interview transcripts.

The findings show that hotel employees accept the extreme job duties resulting from hosting mega sporting events for the following four reasons: linking pay with performance, difficulty finding alternative jobs, proving their occupational identity and being subject to patriotism. Furthermore, this paper highlights that the engagement of hotel employees in extreme work conditions during such mega-sporting events might be detrimental to their mental health, resulting in increased cronyism and gender bias among them.

This paper is a pioneering study to specifically investigate how hosting mega sporting events influences the extremity of work conditions for hospitality sector employees. Prior studies (to the best of the authors’ knowledge) have not theorised and empirically analysed this specific topic, especially in under-researched settings, such as developing countries in the global south.

Sport mega-events have received much criticism of late. However, there has been increasing awareness of the brand-related benefits from hosting a sport mega-event, with their hosting being a deliberate policy for many nations, most notably among emerging nations. One such nation is South Africa, which explicitly stated its nation branding ambitions through the staging of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Through this single case, this paper aims to identify the unique characteristics of the sport mega-event that were leveraged for benefits of nation branding.

An interpretivist, qualitative study explored the insights of nation brand stakeholders and experts, elicited using in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 27) undertaken two to three years after the staging of the event.

Three characteristics of the 2010 sport mega-event were deemed by stakeholders to be unique in creating nation branding opportunities: the scale of the event that created opportunities for transformational development; the global appeal, connection and attachment of the event; and the symbolic status of the event that was leveraged for internal brand building and public diplomacy. The paper proposes that while sport mega-events provide nation branding opportunities, the extent of these benefits may vary according to the context of the nation brand with lesser-known, troubled or emerging brands seemingly having the most to gain.

While acknowledging the critique of mega-events, this paper highlights a pertinent example of an emerging nation that leveraged the potential of a sport mega-event for nation branding gains. It extends the understanding of sport mega-events and their potential for nation branding.

This study aims to examine the impact of a mega-sporting event “2014 FIFA World Cup” on hotel pricing strategies and performance.

The present project examines the host regions’ response to the 2014 FIFA World Cup which was established by the variance in the main hotel key performance indexes: occupancy, average daily rate, revenue per available room (RevPAR) and supply. Using data gathered from STR, this research distinctly shows how the Brazilian host regions reacted to the World Cup.

Results suggest that the key performance indicators of Brazil’s lodging sector reacted differently to the World Cup. Although all hosting cities experienced significant RevPAR growth because of the increase in hotel room rates during the event, the supply and occupancy performed differed from each city.

Research is limited to the case of hotel performance at the country level for mega-events. The study focused on the reaction of revenue managers in the Latin America context. Other contexts may generate different results.

The study helps revenue managers to examine how the FIFA World Cup travel demand affected pricing strategies and revenue management practices in the Brazilian hotel sector in areas undergoing seasonal growths in overnight tourism. This study serves to inform hoteliers and practitioners about revenue management pricing strategies to improve hotel performance during mega-sporting events.

This study reveals that the benefits brought by a mega-event are not always translated into strong hotel revenue performance. This study highlights an important but understudied research area of revenue management pricing strategies and the effect of mega-sporting events in the hotel sector. This study contributes to the literature as one of the few investigations to benefit hotel pricing strategies and overall revenue performance.

This study is one of the few studies about exploring the reaction of revenue managers during the execution of a mega-sporting event. The value of the present study lies in the fact that the authors extend previous studies examining the impact of the most important sporting event in the hotel industry at the country-level perspective. This study serves to inform hoteliers and practitioners about revenue management pricing strategies to improve hotel performance during mega-sporting events.

This paper aims to indicate a shift in focus from legacy to the leveraging of event impacts, and previous papers have indicated a growing awareness of the brand-related legacies associated with sport mega-events for a host nation. However, none have explored this in relation to the strategic activities of nation brand stakeholders.

The case of South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup was selected, as this host nation clearly stated its aim of using the sport mega-event to develop its brand. A qualitative study explored the insights of selected, definitive nation brand stakeholders and experts, elicited using in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 27) that took place two to three years post the event.

A thematic analysis clustered the leveraging imperatives into seven key strategic focus areas, namely, the media, local citizens, stakeholder partnerships, the tourism experience, design, sustainable development and urban transformation and event hosting.

This paper is not an audit of leveraging activities nor does it assess the costs of leveraging. The focus on a specific case has allowed for an in-depth analysis, although, for greater transferability of these findings, it is recommended that further comparative studies be conducted, especially in emerging nation contexts.

The paper identifies key strategic focus areas as well as examples of practical activities for leveraging mega-events to gain and sustain nation brand benefits. In particular, stakeholders are urged to plan and budget for leveraging before, during and especially post an event.

In light of the critique of mega-events linked to their social impacts and costs, this paper recommends leveraging focus areas, and especially the mobilisation of citizen support, that can assist the realisation of positive social outcomes.

The paper adds to the emerging discourse of nation branding, highlighting opportunities derived through sport mega-events and assisting brand stakeholders to leverage such opportunities more effectively.

While discourse abounds regarding the potential impacts of sports mega events on host cities, existing ideologies about, strategies for, and systematic examinations of “legacy” effects are poorly understood. This chapter presents a sociological examination of the sport mega-event legacy measurement process.

In this chapter, we reflect on our own involvement in legacy evaluation in the context of the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games in Toronto to examine existing legacy measurement strategies, review their findings, and present a theoretical detour via the past for consideration in future sociological contributions to the legacy measurement process.

Data discussed in this chapter suggest a need for the creation of a more sociologically informed, methodologically robust and piecemeal rather than Utopian-oriented “report card” measurement device for legacy evaluation.

Based on the review of evidence, we contend that if sociologists of sport remain committed to keeping their roles, as public intellectuals, applied researchers or participatory activists in the sport for development/legacy nexus, those involved might do so with a greater attention to focusing on what Karl Popper (1961) refers to as piecemeal social engineering strategies and measurements, and attending to those legacies both on and off the event organizing committee radar screen.

Since the 1960s, the impact of mega sporting events on the built environment has become increasingly important, and the relationship between hosting cities and events increasingly complex and controversial. The outcomes of these mega-events, however, are very discouraging, especially in terms of the state of sports venues and event sites. In many cases, Olympic parks and event sites stand abandoned once the event is over, and sports facilities are often either closed or underutilized. The purpose of this paper is to identify replicable best practices and successful examples used in mega-events to transform events sites and venues into livable public open spaces (POS), enjoyed by the local communities.

Three cities were selected for this investigation: London, Sochi and Rio de Janeiro. London hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics, and this study focused particularly on its Olympic park, Queen Elizabeth Park. Sochi hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics but also some of the matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics and also a part of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Each case was investigated according to a methodology composed of interviews with experts, site visits, and analysis of the bidding book and post-event reports to check the consistency between promises and legacies.

The research identified a framework of six major elements that determine, or contrast, the long-term use of events sites and sport facilities, and highlighted some main attributes to consider in order to transform sporting event sites into livable and enjoyable open spaces. It is expected that this framework can be used as a guidance to deliver sustainable events and long-term legacies and to define a strategy for optimization of planning mega sport events.

Mega events provide near-unique, fast track opportunities for urban transformation. This research can be used as guidance for the overall mega sporting events stakeholders, such as the IOC, FIFA, and local organizing committees, to identify replicable best practices and successful examples in the leverage of mega events to transform events sites and venues into livable POS.

Why is it so difficult to transform event sites and sport venues into livable areas of cities? What are the recurrent mistakes, issues, and challenges that hosting cities have to face? This research is unique as it aims at answering these questions by defining a framework of relevant factors for hosting cities to help them in the planning of mega sporting events. The research also highlighted some recurrent mistakes, such as the exorbitant costs of a mega event, the inability to keep the initial budget unchanged and the difficulty to adjust plans to local needs.

This study aims to recommend initiatives that can be adopted to overcome overtourism in host destinations of mega sport events.

This study adopts a qualitative research design that involves 20 semi-structured interviews with key informant stakeholders of the London 2012 Olympic Games. An exploratory case study approach was used to investigate strategies used to leverage tourism benefits in host destinations, and the authors used thematic analysis to present strategies to overcome overtourism in host cities.

This study emphasises the need for spreading tourists beyond the host city as a main strategy. To do so, three initiatives are recommended: spreading domestic tourism outside the host city, showcasing destination beyond the host city and promoting regional collaboration.

This research provides tourism practitioners and destination management organisations in host destinations of mega sport events with an advanced strategic insights to capitalise on mega sport events. The authors suggest considering the events as a theme through an event planning process to overcome potential overtourism in unique host cities.

As overtourism has an impact on visited destinations, this study argues that overtourism can be generated by mega sport events. This paper offers an extended insight into overcoming overtourism by implementing strategic event tourism, leveraging initiatives that can be extended in use to reach geographic areas beyond host cities of mega sport events.

Using Beijing’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games as an example, the purpose of this paper is to explore the expected social impact of mega-sporting events, as perceived by non-host city residents, and the way in which this perception affects attitudes toward bidding.

An empirical survey study was conducted in which data were collected from residents in Shanghai, comprising a sample of 483 respondents. An exploratory factor analysis identified 40 items loaded on eight distinctive factors that underlie the expected social impact of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect of the perceived impact on residents’ attitudes toward the bid to host the Olympics.

Among the eight identified impact factors, six were found to be positive and two negative. While all factors were significantly higher above the point of indifference, perceived positive impact factors tended to outweigh those that were negative. In addition, seven out of the eight factors were found to be significantly predictive of support for Beijing’s bidding: while the effect of “tourism and environment,” “social capital and psychic income,” “international cooperation and exchange,” “infrastructure,” “national image,” and “sport development” was positive, the effect of the “higher living cost” factor was negative with regard to the support of the bidding. This study seeks to contribute by taking a non-host community perspective.

A growing body of literature has documented perspectives on events and their specific timing during event cycles, i.e., during the bidding stage. In addition, it also offers insight into the perception and attitudes of citizens from emerging markets toward event bidding and hosting, both of which play an increasingly important role in global sports but, on the whole, remain relatively under researched.