Sport mega-events, the ‘non-West’ and the ethics of event hosting

Abstract

Events and sports events are perceived as having the potential to contribute to a number of benefits for the host country and its communities. The socio-political and economic environment of the host is an important consideration for both prospective hosts and event owners when allocating hosting rights. It is therefore, unsurprising that concerns have been raised over the relatively recent relocation of events to developing countries which, by their nature, frequently lack the economic, political and social stability of the traditional industrialized host. Developing nations are less affluent and arguably less prepared to deliver large scale sports events than developed nations. Therefore, this paper asks, ‘are governing bodies, when equipped with this knowledge, ethically obliged to withhold hosting rights from developing countries?’ The paper argues that denying sovereign States the right to make their own decisions would appear to compound the disadvantaged status of countries that mega-event hosting is perceived to address. The paper contends that event hosts – particularly those in the developing world – are potentially vulnerable to exploitation by the event owner.