Sport at the World Expo. Analysis of sports diplomacy at the non-sporting event

Abstract

The article considers the use of sport in the country pavilions during Expo 2020 in Dubai. Many states have increasingly used sport to improve their international reputation. Through hosting a sporting event or achieving a high level of sport, governments can attempt to affect how the foreign public perceives their country. Such undertakings have traditionally taken place at sporting environments. However, sport, considered a soft power asset, can also be used to promote states during a non-sporting event. The research aimed to study if and how states use sport to promote themselves during such non-sporting events, by the example of Expo 2020 in Dubai. The research aims to respond to the research question about how sport may be used to promote countries during Expo, with the goal to identify the main themes through which sport-related activities and assets were used and whether they had an overriding or a minor role in promoting a state. The main argument presented in the article is that the use of sport in shaping the international image of a state can also take the form of showcasing sport-related assets at a non-sporting event.