Contemporary Issue 6: Economic Impacts of Events

(Image from Effective)

Before discussing economic impacts of events it is important to have an understanding of what the term means. There are many definitions of economic impacts but for the purpose of this blog entry, I have chosen to use UK Sport's (2004) definition which states that economic impacts is ‘The total amount of additional expenditure generated within a defined host economy which is directly attributable to the staging of a particular event’. Due to the varying definitions of economic impacts Abelson (2011) argues that there are disputing arguments over which methodology is the most appropriate for measuring economic activities.


Positive Economic Impacts
Sola (1998) states that there are many economic impacts of mega-events which are stated below and to get a better understanding of them I have put them into context using the South African World Cup in 2010.

• Increased tourist volumes both directly and indirectly - Easy Travel (2013) write that since the World Cup, South Africa saw an 8.6% increase in the number of tourists arrivals in the first quarter of 2013. During the World Cup itself, South Africa attracted 300,000 visitors, 60% of which had never visited the country before. The increase in tourists helps the local economy as tourists spend money in local businesses such as hotels and restaurants.

• Publicity for the host nation increasing the knowledge of their culture and by portraying a positive image - Bac (201) stated that hosting the 2010 World Cup altered the landscape for tourism in southern Africa and as a result of hosting the world Cup the country has been branded as a tourist destination which is based around the development of global sporting events. This new brand for South Africa could see an increase in tourists which in turn would see the local economy benefiting.

• Improvements to Infrastructure and building of a new stadia leading to prosperity during and after the event - Humphreys (2010) writes that the South African government spend $1.48 billion, on new football stadium construction and renovation to existing stadiums for the World Cup. He states that five new football stadiums were built to host World Cup matches, and five existing stadiums were renovated and enlarged. Humphreys (2010) believes that this improvement in stadia could benefit the ABSA Premiership due to an increase in the number of seats available for fans to watch the matches.

Negative Economic Impacts of Events
As well as positive impacts, hosting a mega-event can also result in negative impacts and an example of this is the 2004 Greek Olympics. Malkoutzis(2012) writes that hosting the Greek Olympics cost almost €9 billion and as a result made the 2004 Games the most expensive ever at that point and as a result of this large expenditure Greek taxpayers had to pay for €7 billion. Within days of the closing ceremony, Greece warned the euro area that its public debt and deficit figures would be worse than expected. Malkoutzis (2012) writes that the Olympics was not the only factor to bring about the economic collapse in Greece as he believes that public debt which totalled €168 billion also played a high part. However, he argues that the Olympics enlarged the economic problems that Greece was facing.

Implications of this issue for my future career
The economic impacts of an event is something I as a future event manger will need to carefully plan in order to reduce the chances of my event incurring negative economic impacts. The ways in which I can try and insure my event has positive economic impacts is by creating a budget which is managed and referenced throughout the planning stage. In addition, research into similar events could be carried out before the event is planned in order to see if they have encountered any negative economic impacts and whether there are management techniques which can be used to stop them reoccurring. I believe that the economic impacts is an important part of creating a successful event as many events are organised to make a profit.

Contemporary Issue 5: Volunteering in the Events Industry

(Image from International Newcastle)

Volunteering is a contemporary issue that is closely related to the issue of legacy and Bladen et al. (2012) argues that this would be considered by Preuss (2007) as a soft legacy. Volunteering an issue that I have familiarity with due to it being a valuable experience for events management students to have on their CV. Wilson (cited in Bladen, 2010) states that: ‘Volunteering means any activity in which time is given freely to benefit another person, group, or organization.' As an event student, I would add to this definition that volunteering not only benefits the organisation but also the volunteer as it demonstrates to future employers that they have experience in the events industry.

The 2012 London Olympics saw 70,000 Games Makers volunteer to showcase London and the United Kingdom to the rest of the world. The popularity of volunteering at the London 2012 Olympics was evident with 240,000 applicants and this popularity demonstrates how volunteering is still considered to be a valuable experience for individuals. As a volunteer myself, volunteering has allowed me to gain practical knowledge of working on large scale events such as the London Marathon and as a result will benefit me in a future career in the Events Industry.

Volunteering and the future Events Industry
Having recently attended the 2014 Sport Relief Games at the Queen Elizabeth Park, the pride felt by the Games Makers was still evident as there were numerous participants wearing their Games Maker's uniform. The pride of being a volunteer is an issue that the Events Industry need to research in order to find out why the volunteers still feel dedicated to an event that has finished. By having this understanding, the Events Industry may be able to increase the number of people who re-volunteer at reoccurring events or encourage more people to volunteer. Further research also should be carried out into whether the Games Makers have started volunteering at other events in order for LOCOG to see whether a volunteering legacy has been created after the 2012 Olympics.