ABSTRACT
The profile and nature of mega-events present a significant opportunity to influence business practices and agendas in the host nation and beyond, particularly through systems of licensing for merchandise, suppliers, and sponsors. Organisers promote such events as valuable opportunities to showcase business excellence and attract investment and for brands to reach global audiences. At the same time, activist groups use the platform of sporting mega-events to promote responsible business in areas such as human rights and working conditions. Although often in conflict, these forces can together create a business legacy that can potentially change the norms of industry practice, raise consumer expectations, and improve the lives of workers around the world. This particular type of legacy is difficult to factor into economic calculations of the costs and benefits of mega-events, even though impacts can be significant and long term.
