The Global, the National, and the Local in the Citizens’ Perceptions of the 2018 World Cup

Abstract

This paper employs the multi-scalar approach towards mega-events (Flint, 2003; Peck, Theodore, and Brenner, 2009; Barret, 2013; and Trubina, 2019) to examine the results of fieldwork conducted in Ekaterinburg in the spring and summer of 2018, namely before, during, and after the 2018 World Cup. The multi-scalar approach allows the consideration of how the supra-local and supranational processes crystallize in complex urban systems, and their connections with other systems. The article addresses the question of the dynamics of the global, the national, and the local scales in the implementation and perception of the mega-event. Since the existing studies of the World Cup in Russia tend, as a rule, to focus on isolated topics and the national scale of the event’s preparation, the article expands the focus of existing research. It demonstrates “the game of scales” in the citizens’ perceptions of the World Cup. They, on the one hand, consider this mega-event as a part of the national strategy of development, including seeking investment, while on the other, they are aware that it is the transnational players (FIFA) and the federal and regional governments that predominantly benefit from the event. The authors argue that the respondents’ judgements, on the one hand, are strongly informed by nationalist and geopolitical propaganda, while on the other hand, stem from the respondents’ understanding of the global influences and the significance of economic logic, including the importance of the branding of the nations and cities. The citizens see both the political strategy devised to “force to show respect” and the economic driver of the national and urban growth in the mega-events. They, at the same time, are aware that it is the citizens who will be paying for the sporting festival with their taxes. The mega-events are ambiguous undertakings: while potentially open and bringing joy to everyone, they facilitate a social and geographic inequality.