Fan Parks Research Articles

Diversifying the fan experience and securitising crowd management: a longitudinal analysis of fan park facilities at 15 football mega events between 2002 and 2019

ABSTRACT Rationale This article explores the development, use and impact of fan parks in host cities of men’s football mega events, constructed as temporary commercial sites where fans congregate to watch matches on large screens and partake in other forms of entertainment. Approach This study draws on ethnographic, observational, interview and focus group data, exploring perspectives of fans, volunteers, organisers, journalists, police and security personnel, totalling 212 respondents at five FIFA World Cup finals and ten other confederation tournaments. Findings This paper reveals that fans have increasingly engaged with such provision where available, relative to the degree of cultural resonance, accessibility, affordability, security and the suitability of facilities. However, these fan parks remain conspicuously absent in confederation events beyond Europe. Practical implications The research shows that fan parks can help diversify the fan experience, allowing users to interact with supporters from across the world in defined spaces. They also contribute to crowd management, enabling authorities to contain fans, confine their movement, monitor alcohol consumption and control behaviour. Research contribution This longitudinal study examines the emergence and development of fan parks at 15 events in five continents, analysing their impact on the fan experience and the securitisation of crowd management.

Designing a Fantasy Bike-based Exergame to Foster Physical Activity

Authorities recommend the practice of moderate physical activity to improve health and quality of life. "Play’n Ride" is a bike-based exergame aimed at promoting and controlling physical activity. This paper presents the usefulness of using extrinsic fantasy and a commonplace real bike to address a wide audience. It depicts the interactive universe in which the player pedals a bike equipped with sensors to control the flight altitude of an imaginary character. one hundred and seventy-eight fan park visitors from all age groups from youths to retirees tested the game during the ’Tour de France 2019’. Data were collected from an online questionnaire composed of SUS questionnaire items and a digital tracking system attached to the game-engine in order to assess the usability, the learnability and the acceptability of the system. Analysis shows that using extrinsic fantasy makes exercising fun and it engages people of all ages regardless of their interest in video games or sports.

Brand image legacies of the 2010 FIFA World CupTM: a long-term assessment

There has been limited research on brand legacies of the 2010 FIFA World CupTM; hence, this research examined brand image legacies of this tournament in the long run in South Africa in relation to determining the changes in international football tourists’ perceptions of South Africa as result of hosting this event. A quantitative methodology was employed to survey 391 international football tourists at fan parks and stadium precincts in five metropolitan cities in France during the 2016 UEFA European Championship, using a spatially based systematic sampling technique. The findings reveal statistically significant differences in most aspects between football tourists’ perceptions prior to, and six years after, the tournament. International football tourists’ perceptions changed positively six years after the event, including those features that were highlighted as major concerns prior to the tournament. The key findings of this study have a wider applicability to sport mega-events legacy research and body of knowledge.

From Fan Parks to Live Sites: Mega events and the territorialisation of urban space

This article draws on the work of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to consider the phenomenon of Live Sites and Fan Parks which are now enshrined within the viewing experience of mega sports events. Empirically, the article draws upon primary research on Live Sites generated during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Live Sites are represented as new spaces within which to critically locate and conceptually explore the shifting dynamics of urban space, subjectivity and its performative politic. The authors argue that the first, or primary, spaces of mega sporting events (the official venues) and their secondary counterparts (Live Sites) simply extend brandscaping tendencies but that corporate striation is always incomplete, opening up possibilities for disruption and dislocation.

Health care in a unique setting: applying emergency medicine at music festivals.

The last 25 years has seen an explosion in the popularity of outdoor music festivals, especially in the UK. Coupled with this has been the development of the trend for major sporting events that were once confined to stadia to be accompanied by mass gatherings of spectators and fans in “fan parks” and public places. The majority of music festivals and sporting events are considered to be mass gatherings, using the popular definition of more than 1000 people in one place.1 Despite the increasing popularity of music festivals and other mass gathering events, there is a lack of scientifically robust data concerning the provision of medical care in these circumstances. Published studies are almost exclusively retrospective reviews or case studies of the care provided at individual events. Prospective studies analyzing the role of medical professionals and the quality of care provided at mass gathering events are extremely rare. This literature review aims to summarize the current literature and provide an opportunity to identify new and exciting avenues for research into this unique field.

Social playware for mediating tele-play interaction over distance

We suggest that novel playware technology can function as a mediator for playful social interaction over long distances, such as where people are separated by physical distance but feel the presence of each other mediated through their interaction with the playware technology. In order to investigate such social playware, we developed the Playware Soccer game and tested it with more than 1000 users during the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The test was conducted in townships, orphanages for HIV/AIDS children, markets, FIFA fan parks, etc., along with simultaneous tests with similar set-ups in Europe and Asia. With the social playware, players would compete against each other simultaneously in three continents, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and feel the presence of the competitors on the other continents expressed through the playware. The playware game is set up to motivate players to engage in training in technical soccer skills by receiving immediate feedback and offering challenges to players of all skills at soccer. It is played on a modular interactive wall composed of modular interactive tiles that respond with colored lights, sounds, and scores of the players’ performance. This article outlines the concept of social playware and physical-virtual tele-play, and exemplifies this with the playware soccer game.

South Africa under FIFA's reign: The World Cup's contribution to urban development

When South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the move to stage this mega-event at the southern tip of the African continent was lauded as a timely acknowledgement of the growing importance of the ‘global south’. Most of the fears that had been raised before the kick-off proved immaterial once the event was under way. Nine host cities enjoyed the international spotlight; the new and revamped stadiums were the focus of the media. Behind the scenes, however, more infrastructure had to be created, locational decisions taken and structures of governance honed. That this process was thoroughly influenced by FIFA's wishes can be demonstrated by focusing on a few strategic elements, such as the site selection for stadiums and fan parks. The findings in this article sustain the dominant argument in mega-event research: urban development and governance in the host cities are severely affected by these events.

The Privatization of Street Cheering Space by a Capital: A Case study of "Hyundai Fan Park 2010"

The Privatization of Street Cheering Space by a Capital: A Case study of "Hyundai Fan Park 2010"

The 2010 FIFA World Cup and women's experiences In Fan Parks

abstract The existing body of research on mega-events has so far focused on wider economic impacts, with little attention being given to the social impacts of large sporting events on visitors and local residents. Specifically gender issues are neglected in relation to the FIFA World Cups since it is often assumed that these events are male dominant, both in terms of participants and spectators. However, Manzenreiter and Home (2002) indicate the growing interest among women in soccer as both participants and attendees. In South Africa a significant proportion of attendees at both stadiums and Fan Parks were women. Fan Parks in particular were introduced in the 2006 German World Cup and have emerged as key spaces for residents and tourists to experience the event outside the stadiums. During the World Cup, visitors to the host cities (non-locals! were interviewed at Fan Parks and Stadium Precincts in Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. A purposive, systematic sampling approach was adopted and interviews were conducted on all match days. Eight hundred and thirty three (833) women were interviewed at the Fan Parks in these cities. The analysis also draws on observations made by the authors at the Fan Parks. This Article presents the experiences, perceptions and concerns of these female respondents in relation to the World Cup and Fan Parks.

World Class Cities for All Campaign—“This World Cup is not for us poor women”

abstract The World Class Cities For All (WCCA) Campaign was launched by StreetNet International to denounce the negative impact of mega sporting events on the lives of street vendors, the majority women, and to call for inclusive urban planning processes. The Reportback outlines the Campaign implementation in South Africa in the run up to the World Cup 2010 and in India, the Commonwealth Games, in October. It also examines how the WCCA Campaign was able to link national demands and actions focusing on the ban on trading in the exclusion zones around fan parks and calls for a xenophobic free World Cup with support from world renowned leaders Mary Robinson and Ela Bhatt to apply pressure on FIFA. The Reportback concludes with some lessons to be passed on to Brazilian street vendors and their allies as they prepare for the World Cup 2014.

Development and Dreams: the urban legacy of the 2010 football World Cup (review)

Reviewed by: Development and Dreams: the urban legacy of the 2010 football World Cup Julian Azzopardi (bio) Udesh Pillay, Richard Tomlinson and Orli Bass (eds) (2009). Development and Dreams: the urban legacy of the 2010 football World Cup. Cape Town: HSRC Press Introduction The FIFA 2010 World Cup (WC) to be held in South Africa between June 11 and July 11 has already netted FIFA over US $3 billion, exceeding net revenues from the 2006 World cup by some 25 per cent whilst costing the South African government over ZAR 25 billion.1 With an estimated 3 million supporters watching matches from within the new stadiums or the bustling fan parks, the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been dubbed as the largest footballing event in the history of the game. Sport and specifically football has played a significant role in South Africa's history and transition from the era of segregation and separate development. As Alegi says, 'football matters to the people' (2004:1) in more ways than one: From an expression of political and social discontent fighting segregation and isolation, representing cultures and constructing social identities, to exploring new opportunities, and personal improvements, football carries the hopes and dreams of many South Africans and Africans alike, of unity, hope and prosperity. The successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, its impact on the lives of those participating and those watching therefore resonates far beyond the footprint of the stadia and deep into the dreams of an entire nation. For some it represents the pinnacle of South Africa's transition process towards international recognition and acceptance – given its history of segregation – as providing a 'lasting social and economic legacy for South Africa and the rest of the African continent' (Makgabo 2006: 1). [End Page 103] The book Development and Dreams – the urban legacy of the 2010 football World Cup is therefore a welcome addition to the debate, albeit belated in the course of events. Considering the country had already attempted to host the 2006 tournament and kick-off just under a year away from the book's publication, its value, whilst undoubtedly important, is somewhat dampened by the fact that it could have provided a more than welcome and useful contribution to the preparations of the tournament when still in the early phase of conceptualisation and development. Nonetheless, editors Udesh Pillay, Richard Tomlinson and Orli Bass, have compiled an important piece of work, bringing together a series of essays penned by 17 academics and practitioners in the field of urban development, economic policy, geography, tourism, local government and social policy. It is a cautionary wake-up call to fairly tackle the many questions and aspirations surrounding the organisation of sport's largest showpiece to date. The 2010 WC: what kind of legacy and for whom? In the introduction, government's intentions to 'leverage the World Cup to assist in promoting economic development and halving unemployment by 2014' (Tomlinson et al: 3) is presented as one of the book's key bones of contention. This is especially evident in the discussions on the 'sobering economic perspectives' of the nature and extent of investments undertaken in preparation for the event by du Plessis and Maennig in chapter 4; poverty reduction as expressed by Pillay and Bass in chapter 5; housing (Bénit-Gbaffou, chapter 11) and, urban identity in the cases of Johannesburg and Durban by Czeglédy and Bass (chapters 12 and 13 respectively). In addition, the fulfilment of a host nation's obligations under strict FIFA rules has revamped discussions on the appropriateness of the macro/micro-economic choices taken by – and benefitting - a few at the top of the food chain, whilst the burden of the cost is shouldered by the 'citizen of the empire or subject of the imperial colony' (Czeglédy: 286). Concepts that juggle concerns over the emergence of a relationship between the South African government and FIFA equal to a form of colonialism of a special type – embodied by FIFA's quasi-autonomous determination of how the tournament should be organised and run – and, the embedding of the neoliberal model to regenerate economic development at the expense of crucial social interventions. As Tomlinson states...

Exploring Hyper-experiences: Performing the Fan at Germany 2006

In the modern era, affluent western economies are increasingly marked by the development and use of cultural products (Ransome, 2005). Festivals and events are central aspects of a global cultural economy where material products and services merely facilitate the quest for experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 1999). This article investigates the phenomenon of the travelling sports fan through a case study of the Munich Fan Park experience at the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany. It highlights how nation states, cities and individuals are engaged in circuits of cultural consumption whereby ephemeral, ‘hyper-experiences’ are sought, technologically captured and virally circulated for their promised cultural cache and status value. Methodologically, the paper draws upon, and integrates, Foucauldian theory with observational and interview data collected during the Germany 2006 world football extravaganza. In focusing upon Brazil and Australian supporters, an analysis of the sports fan experience is uncovered as fans are tracked, observed and digitally captured along with ‘vox pop’ recordings inside and outside the formalised Fan Park space. The authors argue that in their organisation, the Fan Parks manufacture and accentuate intense dramatalogical experiences (Roche, 2000) within a predominantly disciplined set of spatial practices. Fan Parks provide a platform upon which hedonistic or ludic subjectivities are assumed, accepted and wilfully enacted. These spatially demarcated locations legitimate the subject position and performativity of the ‘fan’ (Blackshaw & Crabbe, 2004). However, through technological mediation, fan subjectivities can also be de-territorialised, breaking free from the guiding principles of disciplinary practices.