The effect of infrastructure on the social legacy of mega sporting events

Abstract

Social legacy has become increasingly vital to hosting mega sporting events. Many host destinations have withdrawn their bids for mega sporting events, threatening the sustainability of such events. This study aims to investigate mega sporting event infrastructure’s effect on social legacy for host communities. The focus is on understanding infrastructure’s role and effect on social legacy for host residents. The study employed semi-structured in-depth interviews with residents who previously hosted a mega sporting event. The findings reveal the effect of event infrastructure, including schools, green spaces and hospitals, on quality of life (QOL), social cohesion, civic pride and human right violations, as well as on social legacy. The findings highlight new factors influencing social legacy, the importance of social infrastructure and the negative effect of demolishing social infrastructure. This study contributes to mega sporting event literature and social legacy research by highlighting the specific factors of infrastructure impacting social legacy for residents. This research has implications for potential host destinations and organisers of mega sporting events.