Sport Mega Events in tourism. The case of UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland

Abstract

The main aim of this thesis is to present an overview of “Mega Sport Events” in relation to the tourism industry. The expectations of events like the Olympic games or the Football World Cup are very high; the media pay serious attention to these touristic attractions, and they certainly cast a world-wide interest. The appeal to the masses it is very high, this is why stakeholders (especially the sponsors) see profitable returns from their investments. Popularity intensifies because bidding as a host nation requires a large public expenditure to present and promote the prospective nation on a global scale. In this sense, these events can be the driving force for the construction of new state-of-the-art facilities, new heritage for the communities and renovated tourist venues. With an updated image of the touristic destinations comes the arrival of new foreign visitors as well as new policies and regulations in different fields. The first part of this work is a general overview of the subject. Taking into account different examples, I will study the areas of impact and research methods; then I will discuss the organisational procedures, the policies and event plans. This work is focused on UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland - chapter 3 presents the overview of the country - ; its impact on the Polish economy, the resulting touristic and social development, but also the structural refurbishment of the host regions. The purpose of the research work presented in chapter 4 and 5 is to underline the relevant case of one Polish venue: Wroclaw, capital of Lower Silesia. The information used to describe the Polish experience is from the official UEFA and Polish journals and academic publications, but also from direct interviews and field inspections. The effects of the expenditures on the regional economy and the impact of the constructions related to the “mega event” are examined through official records published by the Polish government.