No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Faster, Higher, Softly Stronger: The Impact of Soft Power on the Choice of Olympic Host Cities
Abstract
This article statistically estimates the impact of different countries` softpower on the results of Olympic Games bidding in the post-Cold War era. Allbid results for the Olympic Summer and Winter Games between 1990 and 2011are analyzed by panel regression methods. The empirical results reveal that sportingsuccess, higher transparency, lower CO2 and particle emissions, and fastereconomic growth are likely to increase the probability of a bidding countrywinning an Olympic bid. These results have several implications regarding theimpact of soft power on choice of Olympic host site. First, if a country has ahigh number of Olympic gold medalists, this could attract International OlympicCommittee (IOC) members and influence their decisions. Second, a country`sethical reputation is likely to persuade the IOC to choose it as the rightful hostcountry. Third, the environmental record of a country may also be regarded as adesirable value by IOC members, who prefer a ``Green Games`` ecological legacy.
The experiences of past hosts to mega sporting events like the Olympics, or FIFA World Cup games show that there are numerous ways in which countries can be both empowered or disempowered through their pursuit of soft power. Through a selective literature review, this paper uses the relevant soft power experiences of six countries who have hosted either the World Cup or Olympic Games from 2008. The cases include China (Beijing 2008 Olympics), South Africa (2010 World Cup), United Kingdom (London 2012 Olympics), Brazil (2014 World Cup and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics), Russia (Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, and 2018 World Cup), and Japan (Tokyo 2020 Olympics). The paper then considers Qatar’s 2022 World Cup with an angle on applying and adapting the experiences of past hosts to understand the soft empowerment or disempowerment that Qatar will likely face as a result of hosting the games. The numerous international concerns over the situation with migrant workers in Qatar, and the Islamic and cultural norms that are alien to Western audiences, will continue to challenge Qatar’s image management and branding measures. Nevertheless, the commitment to holding the most eco-friendly event, continuous presence on international soccer fields through sponsorships, ownerships, and winning championships, in addition to actively seeking to enhance and alleviate the status of the country on the global stage will help Doha in its soft empowerment endeavors in the period before and during the event. Its pledge and dedication to keeping a long-lasting legacy after December 2022 will also help the State in the post-event phase of soft empowerment.
A country’s attractiveness is a factor in its success in many areas of international competition, such as encouraging international investment, but its impact on international sporting events remains unexplored. Using various measurements of country attractiveness, statistical tests of the proposition that a country’s economic, social, and environmental attractiveness are correlated with its success in bidding to host international sporting events were conducted using data on the results of competitions to host 54 world championships in Olympic sports/disciplines from 1990 to 2012. The results presented here affirm the impact of country attractiveness on the success of bids to host such events.
As bidding for the rights to host sport events has become increasingly competitive, more and more countries, regions and cities have been employing public strategies and policies for promoting attractiveness of their locations to host sport events, which can be termed as ‘sport-event-hosting strategy’ (SEHS). However, from an academic standpoint, minimal effort has been made to conceptualise the notion of SEHS. This paper, thus, attempts to systematically examine such strategy by integrating the main findings of prior theoretical and empirical research. To this end, the paper begins by defining the concept of SEHS and proceeds to examine its constituent elements such as strategic goals, targets, stakeholders, tools, and management process. National variations of SEHS, including the emergence of public hosting policies, are also explored. The conclusion suggests future research directions for SEHS.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.