Leveraging nation branding opportunities through sport mega-events

Purpose – This paper aims to indicate a shift in focus from legacy to the leveraging of event impacts, and previous papers have indicated a growing awareness of the brand-related legacies associated with sport mega-events for a host nation. However, none have explored this in relation to the strategic activities of nation brand stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – The case of South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup was selected, as this host nation clearly stated its aim of using the sport mega-event to develop its brand. A qualitative study explored the insights of selected, definitive nation brand stakeholders and experts, elicited using in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 27) that took place two to three years post the event. Findings – A thematic analysis clustered the leveraging imperatives into seven key strategic focus areas, namely, the media, local citizens, stakeholder partnerships, the tourism experience, design, sustainable development and urban transformation and event hosting. ...