Summary of the Article
Major sport events have huge socioeconomic impacts on host countries and cities because of their large scale investments. Smith (2009) states host countries invest heavily in these sport events because they boost economic efficiency, promote equity, and enhance collective identities. However, the problem is that host countries usually focus on economic sustainability of the impacts and neglect social sustainability of the impacts. Given that most studies have emphasized on social impacts of major sport events, there is a need to assess social sustainability of these impacts. Therefore, this study aimed to find out if the impacts of major sport events relate to social sustainability.
The study is significant because it seeks to evaluate social sustainability of the impacts associated with major sport events and promote their understanding. The understanding of social sustainability of sport events is critical for it aids host countries to plan these events and invest in them with a view of deriving optimal benefits. Major sport events have negative impacts for they entrench neo-liberalism, undermine native identities by creating collective identity, control the vulnerable populations, displacement the poor, break social networks, and increase cost of living. Additionally, major sport events have positive impacts in that they unite people, transform lifestyles, reinforce collective identities, give hope, become symbols of social transformation, and encourage participation in sports. Hence, the study is significant because it provides a basis for evaluating social sustainability of major sport events using both negative and positive impacts.
The methodology that the study employed is the review of literature. Diverse literature materials contain pertinent information about the impacts of major sport events and their social sustainability. Specifically, the study employed arguments and theories, which elucidate the impacts of major sport events and explain their social sustainability. The literature indicates that major sports events have negative impacts such as neo-liberalism, abolition of native identities, social control of the vulnerable populations, displacement the poor, disruption of social networks, and increased cost of living. Evidently, the findings also illustrate that these events have positive impacts since they symbolize social transformation, give hope, shape new way of life, unite people, transform lifestyles, reinforce collective identities, and encourage participation in sports.
Evaluation of the Article
The article clearly theorizes the social impacts of major sport events and points out a deficiency of social sustainability. In theorizing social impacts of these events, the article employed numerous theories derived from the literature materials. These theories effectively elucidate the occurrence of social transformations and explain their social sustainability. Moreover, in the conceptualizing the impacts of major sport events and their social sustainability, the article also used outstanding arguments, which effectively supported theoretical conception. As the study relied on literature review as a source of information, it used sufficient sources of information to support the concept of social sustainability. Given that the author of the article is a famous lecturer at the University of Westminster, it offers credible information about social sustainability of major sport events. Overall, the article is relevant in conceptualizing and elucidating the relationship between the impacts of social events and social sustainability of these impacts.
Topic of Interest
The article relates to the topic of social transformation, which elucidates how humans transform their lifestyles, cultures, and behaviors in response to social forces that are prevalent in the society. Essentially, the article examines numerous theories and arguments that explain how negative and positive social transformations occur during major sport events. Fundamentally, sport events constitute a force that causes social transformations because they allow people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to interact and share their norms, values, and traditions. As people interact and share their respective norms, values, and traditions, they transform their lifestyles.
Reference
Smith, A. (2009). Theorizing the Relationship between Major Sport Events and Sociial Sustainability. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 14(2-3), 109-120.