Kamilla Swart

The 2010 Football World Cup as a Political Construct: The Challenge of Making Good on an African Promise:

It is today widely understood that sport mega-events are complex affairs which originate from specific sets of economic objectives but which have political and social corollaries that usually extend far beyond the event itself. Sport megaevents are generally initiated and driven by cadres of societal (ie, political and corporate) elites and are aimed at satisfying development goals or ambitions around projection, competitiveness or growth targets. In the planning, implementation and execution of events, however, cultural, social and other imprints are left that can have enduring impacts on the society. Further, the economy of sport mega-events has developed to such an extent internationally, that events have gained a self-perpetuating dynamic of their own, characterized by distinct coagulations of interests and the predominance of certain corporate actors. The gains that are widely thought to be made from participation in this mega-events ‘market’ prompt states continually to seek involvement: noticeably, once a country is able to break into the international arena of hosting mega-events, this stimulates the desire to attract more and often larger mega-events. Once on the mega-event circuit, there is an aspiration to host more of them (Hiller, 1998), often without proper attention to the economic and social counter-costs of events. These aspects are highly visible in post-apartheid South Africa’s engagement with sport mega-events. Slightly more than a decade into the new democratic dispensation, sport mega-events have seemingly come to play an important socio-political role. Prompted by the successful hosting and victory of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, a more or less sustained campaign has been undertaken by political and other elites to make bids, with varying degrees of success, for the hosting of some of the most important events on the world sports tournament calendar. Underpinning this, at least from the government’s perspective, is an attempt to utilize sport mega-events as key social and political instruments: on

The seductive discourse of development: the Cape Town 2004 Olympic bid.

Research on how the decision to bid for the Olympics is made, the resources and processes involved in the bidding process and how a country responds to a failed bid is important. These aspects are embedded in a range of political and economic processes from the local to the global level. The Olympic Games is the ultimate mega-event. This article uses the case study of the Cape Town 2004 Olympic Bid (CTOB) to examine the above aspects, highlighting the global dimensions of bidding for major events. The CTOB illustrates that contemporary sport associations and structures are strongly influenced by emergent global forces such as global capital and dominance by certain regions. This often results in countries being disadvantaged from one of two sides. Either they cannot afford to participate in the bidding process or they cannot lobby sufficiently to influence the international sport associations.

Towards redefining the concept of legacy in relation to sport mega-events: Insights from the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Increasingly, governments from both the developed and developing world look to hosting sport mega-events as a way to stimulate development. There is much debate over what the legacies of sport mega-events are, how to stimulate positive legacies and how they should be studied. Drawing on a growing body of scholarship on legacy best and worst practice, this article discusses the economic, physical, infrastructural, social, political and environmental consequences of sport mega-events, using insights from South Africas hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It examines pertinent debates, highlights prominent approaches to assessing legacy impacts, notes the lack of consensus on the meaning of ‘legacy’, and suggests steps towards a clear definition of the concept. These include the need to consider event impacts in relation to the context in which they occur, and to integrate triple bottom-line principles systematically into mega-event planning, design and evaluation.

The Eluding Link: Toward Developing a National Sport Tourism Strategy in South Africa Beyond 2010

Abstract This article provides an overview of sport tourism generally and investigates the sport tourism policy in the South African context. The discussion draws upon South Africas unique context and international experiences to provide guidelines for the development of a national sport tourism strategy. In particular, the opportunities presented by the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup are underscored. The need to consider the full extent of sport tourism products is emphasised and it is argued that the current focus on events as one sub-segment of sport tourism, and especially mega-events, limits the capacity for South Africa to capitalise on the potential benefits of sport tourism. The article concludes by summarising the critical issues that need to be considered when developing a national sport tourism strategy framework. The development of such a framework should be an integral part and key legacy outcome of planning for 2010.

Bread or circuses? The 2010 World Cup and South Africa's quest for marketing power

Marketing power relates to the kind of two-level games in which state elites are engaged. Internally marketing power refers to attempts by state elites to shore up political legitimacy, reinforce a sense of national identity and placate those constituencies adversely affected by the growing internationalisation of domestic issue areas. Initiatives such as hosting or sometimes even just bidding for a major sporting event help create a symbolic focus of commonality, enforcing the sense of identity and loyalty to which the state as civil association could more readily lay claim. The process of state transformation towards a competition state and the complex confluence of marketing power in one of the new ‘emerging powers’ of the developing world is clearly revealed in South Africas bid and preparations to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The event provided a rare glimpse into the complex trade-offs, contradictions and dilemmas facing state and other elites. We contend that three issues prove decisive as a means of probing the societal reach and impact of the event. First, the prioritisation of state expenditure towards the event over more ‘mundane’ but essential domestic budgetary items; second, matters of identity and the pervasive quest for marketing power; and third, concerns about the extent and quality of public participation and questions about the degree to which certain aspects of state sovereignty become modified or re-adapted particularly in response to FIFA demands. We conclude by noting the significance of the World Cup as a means of offering a circus rather than the more challenging task of providing bread.

Sport mega-events and their legacies: The 2010 FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, one of the most important mega-events on the world sports calendar, stands out not only for its commercial importance but also for the volume of sponsorship, branding, marketing and merchandising it attracts. From an official perspective, this was an opportunity ‘to speed up development and growth in the country so that it leaves behind a proud legacy that will benefit generations of South Africans to come’ (RSA, 2010). The 2010 Local Organising Committee aimed ‘to strengthen the African and South African image, promote new partnerships with the world . . . [and] drive our collective determination to be significant global players in all fields of human endeavour’ (SAFA, 2007). The Cup was to leave a wider legacy for Africa, inter alia countering Afro-pessimism and encouraging investment in the continent.

A sport and sociocultural legacy beyond 2010: A case study of the Football Foundation of South Africa

This study investigated the sport development and social legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It assessed the impact of an event-themed legacy project on Gansbaai, a non-host, small-town community in the Western Cape, South Africa. The Football Foundation of South Africa (FFSA) was established to capitalise on the increased excitement about football as a result of the 2010 mega-event, aiming to leave a sport and social development legacy in a region that might not otherwise directly benefit. The FFSA embarked on a project to accelerate social change and community integration in a racially divided community through sport. The short-term results indicate that the community has experienced an increased level of intangible legacies, such as youth development, social integration and community pride. The FFSA is leaving a sport and social legacy for the community beyond 2010. It will be necessary to monitor the impacts on a more long-term basis.

Tourists' perceptions of London, United Kingdom (UK), as a safe host city during the 2012 Olympic Games.

ABSTRACT The Olympic Games 2012 provided the host city London with the opportunity to showcase its cultural diversity and world-class tourist attractions. However, the build-up to the world’s largest sporting event attracted considerable negative publicity primarily related to security at the Games, namely terrorism and its potential to disrupt the spectacle. Intercept interviews were carried out with 354 spectators during the Games at public viewing sites and key tourist attractions to elicit the perceptions of London as a safe host city. The findings demonstrate that visitors to the Olympics perceived London to be safe, in terms of both crime and terrorism, with positive consequences for their future plans to revisit London. Ultimately, a better understanding of spectators’ perceptions of safety and security of the Games can help improve communication messages to combat misperceptions in an effort to increase tourist arrivals to host cities during the staging of mega-events and after such events.

The media impact of South Africa’s historical hosting of Africa’s first mega-event: Sport and leisure consumption patterns

The 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa was the biggest mega-event ever to be hosted on the African continent. This historical event had several social, economic and developmental imperatives, including destination profiling and changing negative perceptions of South Africa, specifically, and the African continent more generally. This research undertakes a media analysis of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in selected key markets, namely the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. The study investigates the media impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on South Africa as the host nation and Africas major tourism destination by undertaking a media analysis of the key source markets. Africas first mega-event provides an ideal opportunity to examine how a host country (in this case South Africa) is profiled in relation to sport and leisure consumption patterns, including shifts in sentiment over time. Four time periods were identified, namely pre-, leading up to, during and post-2010. A qualitative analysis is undertaken, which includes content sourcing, content identification, semantic cluster analysis and the use of Leximancer, an analytical tool used to evaluate the content of textual documents, in this case primarily online newspaper articles. For each of the source markets identified, 400–600 articles were extracted. The findings show generally positive or favourable media coverage in relation to sport and leisure consumption patterns. However, a higher level of unfavourable media coverage was discernible during the pre- and lead-up periods, which may have influenced World Cup attendance figures and therefore leisure consumption. Specific tourist products (in particular Table Mountain and Robben Island) and the main host cities (Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban) had more mentions and stronger associations than South Africa generally. The positive imagery which prevailed during the event needs to be further emphasised in future sport events and the tourism and leisure marketing of South Africa.

Predicting Volunteers' Intention to Return: An Examination of Brand Personality, Prestige, and Identification of Sporting Events

169 the athletes, visitors, and spectators and served in over 32 different functional areas (Vancouver 2010, 2010). The contribution and wider impact of volunteers are particularly significant, both to the event operations and within the host community (Baum & Lockstone, 2007). Research has focused on what motivates and retains individuals to volunteer. If event organizers are cognizant of Introduction