The opportunity to host a major sporting event brings with it the promise of economic and social benefits for the local community. Countries spend millions evaluating, preparing and submitting bids before the committees responsible make their selection. Once a country is selected, further millions are invested in the hosting process itself; preparing venues, hiring consultants, planning and executing events and upgrading sports facilities. For many cities, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to showcase their place on the world stage and develop a new sense of civic identity.
However, the social impacts of these events have been largely overlooked in research and practice. While scholars have discussed the potential for sport as a tool for diplomacy, few studies have looked at the impact of large sporting events on local communities. Considering that sport has the ability to transcend cultural and political barriers, the opportunity for cities to host an international sport event could be a powerful catalyst for positive social change.
In this paper, we consider residents’ perceptions of a recurrent action sport event in the post-war city of Mostar, a destination growing as a tourist destination yet encumbered by notable social divisions. Drawing upon the energy drink brand Red Bull’s inspirational motto “giving wings to people and ideas”, we inductively sought to understand how residents perceive this event and its community impacts, particularly in terms of its role in facilitating social development.
Our interviews reflected a broad consensus among respondents on the positive social impacts of the event, with mean scores for these ranging from 6 to 7 (strongly agree to very strongly agree). Most participants acknowledged that the Red Bull event heightened the sense of pride they had in the city and contributed to a renewed sense of civic identity. The interviewees also highlighted the way that the event’s focus on local attributes and a broader range of activities and competitions complemented and added value to their participation.
For example, participants like Lana praised the fact that the jumps were more stylistically diverse than in traditional jumping; they argued that this increased the appeal of the event and contributed to its sense of fun. They also indicated that the Red Bull event acted as a cultural and social bridge, connecting local heritage with international values of adventure and exploration. Find out more by going to 해외스포츠중계!
However, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the delivery of these events by forcing an overhaul of health precautions. In this context, we recommend that public health experts partner with organising committees to develop protocols for infectious disease prevention and management in future events. This includes creating a tiered approach to screening, monitoring symptoms and isolating participants based on risk assessment. This would ensure that the public health and sporting benefits of these events remain in line with one another.
