Capitalism Sport Mega Events And The Global South

There has been a trend for urban mega events to be awarded to cities in the East and Global South. The book examines the ambition for spectacle that has emerged from these nations, exploring the theoretical and conceptual issues associated with this trend, from the critical political economy of mega-events in a changing world order to the social issues and contested legacies of mega-events in the East and Global South. This book also explores questions of governance, corporate power and the State, and 'living' the mega-events, from celebration to opposition and resistance.

What are the social, political and economic consequences of staging sport mega events such as the Olympics and the World Cup? Capitalism, Sport Mega Events and the Global South presents a new approach to sport mega events and related issues, exploring elements that are not present or are not developed in the existing literature. This book explores the socioeconomic impact of these events on host countries in the Global South. Drawing on a thorough case study of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, it examines how the residents of Porto Alegre perceived how they were affected and considers the relationship between sport mega events and the wider social sphere of global capitalism. Supported by original socioeconomic research conducted in the area, this is fascinating reading for all students and scholars interested in sport mega events, sport tourism, international development, sport geography and the sociology of sport.

Bringing together many of the most influential scholars in sport and media studies, this book examines the diverse ways that media influences our understanding of the world’s most important sport events, dubbed sports mega-events. It sheds new light on how these events have been changed by the media, and have, in turn, adapted to media to further their brand’s cultural influence. Focusing on the central concept of "mediatization" – the permeation of media into all spheres of contemporary life – the book presents original case studies of major events including the Olympics, FIFA, rugby and cricket World Cups, Tour de France, Super Bowl, World Series, Monaco Grand Prix, Wimbledon, and many more. Written from a truly international perspective, this is a seminal work in sport and media studies that reveals the growing political, economic, and cultural influences of sport mega-events in contemporary society. Sport, Media and Mega-Events is an essential text for any course on the sociology of sport, event management, sport marketing, or featuring a cultural, communication or media studies approach to sport.

This volume offers a distinctive and timely comparative analysis of the sociological, economic, and political significance of bids for, and the hosting of, sports mega-events throughout the world. A collection by leading international scholars examining sports mega-events, such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Analyses the sociological, economic, and political significance of bids for, and the hosting of, sports mega-events. Explores the costs and benefits incurred by host cities. Focuses on both advanced and developing cities throughout Europe, Asia, North America, Australasia, and South Africa.

From the Olympics to the World Cup, mega sporting events are a source of enjoyment for tens of thousands of people, but can also be a source of intense debate and controversy. This insightful Handbook addresses a number of central questions, including: How are host cities selected and under what economic conditions? How are these events organized, and how is local resistance overcome? Based on historical and empirical experience, what are the pitfalls for the organizers of these events? What are the potential economic benefits, including any international image effects? How can the costs be minimized and the benefits maximized for host cities and countries? How do these mega events impact the challenges of globalization and what is their environmental legacy?

Mega-events represent an important moment in the life of a city, providing a useful lens through which we may analyse their cultural, social, political and economic development. In the wake of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC’s) concerns about ’gigantism’ and wider public concerns about rising costs, it was imperative in the C21st to demonstrate the long term benefits that arose for the city and nations from hosting premier sporting events. ’London 2012’ was the first to integrate the concept of legacy from the moment a bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games was being considered. London proposed an ambitious programme of urban renewal for East London. Subsequent host city bids have adopted the ’legacy narrative’ and, as this book demonstrates, aligned this to major schemes of urban development and renewal. Bringing together scholars, practitioners and policy makers, this book focuses upon the legacies sought by cities that host major sports events. It analyses how governments, the IOC and others define and measure ’legacy’. It also focuses upon the challenges and opportunities facing future host cities of mega-events, looking at their aspirations and the intended impact upon their domestic and international development. It questions what the global shift in geographical location of mega-events means for sports development and the business of sport, what the attractions are for cities seeking to harness the hosting of a mega-event, and whether there may be longer term consequences for the bidding and hosting major sporting events in the wake of the widespread social unrest that accompanied the preparations in Brazil for hosting the FIFA World Cup (2014) and the summer Olympics (2016) and in Turkey, where there was significant opposition to bid for the 2020 summer Olympiad.

The spectacle of major cultural and sporting events can preoccupy modern societies. This book is concerned with contemporary mega-events, like the Olympics and Expos. Using a sociological perspective Roche argues that mega-events reflect the major social changes which now influence our societies, particularly in the West, and that these amount to a new ‘second phase’ of the modernization process. Changes are particularly visible in the media, urban and global locational aspects of mega-events. Thus he suggests that contemporary mega-events, both in their achievements and their vulnerabilities, reflect, in the media sphere, the rise of the internet; in the urban sphere, de-industrialisation and the growing ecological crisis; and in the global sphere, the relative decline of the West and the rise of China and other ‘emerging’ countries.

Chile and the South American Games of Santiago 2014 offers an interesting case to examine an event of sizeable magnitude in a country with little history of hosting sport mega-events (SMEs). This case study will expand the readers understanding of third-order SMEs like the South American Games and highlight the circumstances under which they occur. It also contributes to advance and challenge our knowledge as to what extent previous findings made on impact, legacies, justifications, and challenges identified on larger scale SMEs hosted in the developed world, inform the process and outcomes of second or third-order SMEs organized in less developed countries. This monograph is suitable for scholars and practitioners who want to expand their knowledge on sport event planning outside the rim of the global north. It is an essential read for scholars and graduate students in policy studies, sociology, international business, sport and event management, and tourism and hospitality. Likewise, it is an important resource for event planners, government officials, event rights holders, and sport destination marketers involved with the planning of sport mega-events across the world.

This handbook illustrates the utility of global sport as a lens through which to disentangle the interconnected political, economic, cultural, and social patterns that shape our lives. Drawing on multidisciplinary perspectives, it is organized into three parts. The first part outlines theoretical and conceptual insights from global sport scholarship: from the conceptualization and development of globalization theories, transnationalism and transnational capital, through to mediasport, roving coloniality, and neoliberal doctrine. The second part illustrates the varied flows within global sport and the ways in which these flows are contested, across physical cultures/sport forms, identities, ideologies, media, and economic capital. Diverse topics and cases are covered, such as sport business and the global sport industry, financial fair play, and global mediasport. Finally, the third part explores various aspects of global sport development and governance, incorporating insights from work in the Global South. Across all of these contributions, varied approaches are taken to examine the ‘power of sport’ trope, generating a thought-provoking dialogue for the reader. Featuring an accomplished roster of contributors and wide-ranging coverage of key issues and debates, this handbook will serve as an indispensable resource for scholars and students of contemporary sports studies.

The book focuses on how, when, where and why the US-based professional sports leagues extend their brands and penetrate markets in nations across the globe. The book examines the strategies, progress and expectations of each league despite the cultural, economic and political barriers that exist between and within countries and areas. It offers a model of the sports business and, where appropriate, the emergence, evolution and growth of prominent women's sports leagues are documented. This book is unique as there are no other academic publications that study and report the global ambitions of this special group of organizations in one volume. Readers such as college and university sports history, management, marketing and international business professors, students and researchers can use and apply the book, as either a teaching supplement, reference and/or literature source. It will also appeal to targeted groups beyond the academic community with strategic economic incentives to learn about sports capitalism, such as sports entrepreneurs and league officials.