Sport Events Industry
Individual Report
Words: 2822

Special events have always been part of human history. Anthropologists have traced human civilization for tens of thousands of years, and at the heart of their observations are the ‘special events’ that typify and explain tribal behavior of that time and place. At this point, there is no question that special events have taken on all aspects of an “industry” in that their organization and management are the underlying support for marking the local and domestic details of our lives. Events are not restricted to festive celebrations but can include a variety of gatherings, serious or happy, and religious or cultural, including meetings and conferences, expositions and trade shows, private and public special events, art entertainment and sport events, media or corporate events, and events of various sizes. Events are given a lot of definitions but the most general one that characterizes events is “Temporary occurrence with a predetermined beginning and end. It is unique stemming from the blend of management, programme setting and people.” (Getz, 2005). On the following report there is a wide overview of the sport events sector, that will examine the history and development, the factors that support this sector, the impacts of these events, career opportunities that will arise through this sector and future trends.
History and Development
Sport reflects the country in which it is played, so inevitably the history of sport in Britain, as it developed in the twentieth century, illustrates a class system, particularly with regard to professionalism. During the late 19th century and early 20th century associations were created in Britain dedicated to each sport. Rules were set up and official leagues were formed. The players/competitors were amateurs. This means that they were not paid for providing their athletic excellence. After a lot of pressure from the players and the clubs, associations did set up some ground rules for the sport to open up to the forces of the market. Not only that, but the British also spread sports throughout the world. Up to now teams in Brazil, Argentina and Italy have some British connections. Even though professional players had a lot of restrictions, after a “battle” against the associations in 1963 they were given fair rewards for their sporting abilities. Television coverage also increased in importance for sport and the sponsors as well. Not only that, the government had set up a long standing partnership with the associations and there was a lot of funding that help to undermine any problems a sport had. An advisory Sports council was also set up in 1965 in order of setting up rules and helping the sport community. From that time, press, television and profit became a great part of the sports sector which helped its evolution. The enormous success of televised sport within the last twenty years has certainly been decisive in turning matches into ‘media events’ and attracting major sponsoring money.

Time-line of events
1966 – England wins the football World Cup
1975 – England hosts the first Cricket World Cup
1992 – Premier League is founded
2003 – England wins the world Rugby Cup
2005 – London to host the 2012 Olympics
2007 – FA confirm England’s bid for the FIFA World Cup 2018

Top British Sport Events
A major race in the Formula One World Championship, the British Grand Prix takes place at Silverstone Circuit, and is the oldest continuously staged F1 race in the world. With plenty of British drivers winning at this magnificent event in the motorsport calendar, including Lewis Hamilton, Damon Hill, David Coulthard and Nigel Mansell, the weekend's action guarantees to thrill and excite motorsport enthusiasts and F1 fans.
Center court. Grass surfaces. Strawberries and cream. What better way to spend a couple of days in London? The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships is the place to be. Wimbledon is the only major tournament played on grass. Originally created in France during the 12th century, the sport took its modern form in Britain during the 1800s. The setting at Wimbledon and its history only magnifies the match-ups on the grass courts. The winner on center court holds a trophy to show who has reached the top, and maybe a number one ranking in the world tennis order.
The London Marathon is a 42km road race that is organised every spring in London since 1981. It was formed by former Olympic champion Chris Brasher and Welsh athlete John Disley after completing the New York marathon in 1979. Brasher wrote an article for “The Observer” newspaper which began:
"To believe this story you must believe that the human race be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, achieving the impossible. Last Sunday, in one of the most trouble-stricken cities in the world, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million black, white and yellow people, laughed, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen." London Marathon is a worldwide event that attracts elite runners due to its huge amount of prize money but not only that, according to the race organisers, it is now the largest annual fund raising event in the world with the participants raising over £40 million (approx.) for charity each year, bringing the total amount raised for charity by runners, to a grand total of £315 million! A major “media event” occurred in January 31st when Sky became the first TV Company anywhere to broadcast a live 3D TV sports event to a public audience. The “clash of the titans” of the Football Premier League, Manchester United against Arsenal, was filmed in 3D (3-Dimensional video) and was broadcasted through the Sky platform in selected pubs around Great Britain. The audience was the first ever in the world to watch a live sport event in 3D. "3D is without doubt one of the most talked-about developments in television for many years”, said Sky’s Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch. With such an innovation in the world of technology and sports, now the home-based leisure is much more dynamic and enjoyable to watch. Television brought people closer to sports and with such a technology we will see a noticeable increase in the amount of people watching sport events. The first televised sporting event was a college baseball game between Columbia and Princeton in 1939, covered by one camera providing a point of view along the third base line. Sky has just set a new history in televised sport events. England, the home of football, are now bidding for the 2018 Football World Cup. The last time that the UK hosted this event, in 1966, they lifted the trophy in front of their supporters beating Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley Stadium. Every British would like to see the world cup being held at their own country and they would love if they can lift that trophy again. It is of great importance that the 21st World Cup will take place at football’s home country. The bidding war is tough with 5 more bidders being competitive candidates. These include Russia, Spain/Portugal, Belgium/Netherlands, USA and Australia. Not only that, the London Olympic Games of 2012 are one of the most important events Britain has hosted in the last 50 years. This will be the third time London has hosted the games having also successfully done in 1908 and 1948. The 2012 Olympic Games will take place in new venues as well as using existing and historic facilities. Many of the new facilities will be reused after the games and the plans are part of the regeneration of Stratford and Lower Lea Valley in east London, and this will benefit London in the long-term.

The General Environment Forces Sport Events are in such an environment that can be affected from many factors. They rely on many forces that have a lot of impact in the sector, which include political, economic, social and technological factors. Politics influence the actions one country might choose against another and affect sports as they are an important part of a nation's role in the global scene. Countries during the recent past have boycotted sport events or used them for propaganda reasons, imposing their political views affecting the global scene. A recent example is the boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles games by Soviet-bloc nations. Countries use sports either to impose their economic power over others, or to even elevate their current position. Due to this great costs, governments engage themselves in promoting sports not only by giving money and honor to the country’s athletes but by monetary policies on funding the sport sector or even searching for funding through the private sector. The sport world, during recent years, has been under the media spotlight. The social impact has been a trigger for sporting events and athletes to be getting much more money from sponsors than ever before. For example, the FA Premier League has sold its broadcasting rights for the 2007-2010 seasons for a record amount of £1.7 billion! Even individuals that became famous through a sport are now getting enormous amount of money from advertising deals. English football star David Beckham signed a 100-million-pound life-long contract, the biggest commercial deal in the history of sport, by German sportswear giant Adidas and who football fan wouldn’t love to have an official T-shirt with David Beckham’s signature? During the recent past, more and more people are gaining places up the popularity ladder from the sport world and this has given them the right to demand higher wages. On the other hand though, people need to see that tax money are used wisely for local benefits and badly organized events lead to troubles instead of the success the well-planned events might have. The economical factors of events are long-term most of the times. If the event is of highly importance then the government will back it up and sometimes with taxpayers’ money. Well-planned events bring a rejuvenation of the city they take place at, and hope that it will increase the revenue streams in the near future. The 2004 Olympics, allowed Athens to gain not only experience but also 120 kilometres of new roads, an upgraded public transport system, new traffic management system and an airport (Mastermann 2007). The technological factors have some long term benefits from sport events as well. For example, the 2012 London Olympic Games have so much money poured into the industry. The whole city’s traffic and public transport systems are going to be upgraded and modernized in order of satisfying the needs of the flows of guests and athletes. A whole new east area of London is going to be regenerated through development and this will pay dividends in the future of London.
Key Impacts and Ethical Concerns
Each event brings along its own impacts, positive or negative, to each city and country. A well-planned event will think in long-term impacts and what legacy will be left behind. A poorly-planned event though might lead to problems in the future. Events that are thought-through try to benefit from employment opportunities for the local community, increased flows of tourism and efficient facility usage.
Graph: Economic Impact of Sports Events by financial year 1991-2001 in Sheffield.

Source: Strategic Sports Events Management (Guy Masterman) Massive Sport Events, like the Olympic Games, should be well-processed because the impacts left on the hosting city are very important. An example of a poorly organized event is considered to be the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. The city was left with enormous debt because of building new stadiums and other sporting facilities. The stadium was even unfinished when the Olympic Games occurred. I order of paying such a high debt, the government had to use money from taxes and used national lotteries as well. Major sport events are also often used to raise political awareness. The 1968 Mexico Olympic Games had two athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos who made history by presenting so-called ‘Silent Gesture’ to recognise race inequality (Cashmore 2005). The environmental impacts are increasing attention. Due to the complexisity of the environmental impacts of sport events makes them difficult to assess. Mega events though, such as the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup, are trying to minimize the problems arising from the environment. On to the social impacts, these have not been changed much for a long time. Sport offers the conference and social opportunity to meet with people around the world and reinforce the relationship between the human race.
Ethical Concerns Sport has been established, by most, as a friendly way of exercising the body. The most important concerns of the community is about tax money, local benefits and facility usage after the sport event. On the other hand though there are the animal-related concerns. Some of the sports which include animals, for example horse and dog racing, have been face against organizations like the RSPCA that fights against animal cruelty because of their involvement in sport. Not only that but some violence concerns have been made for sports like boxing and karate.
Careers
The sport sector is known to provide a wide range of jobs. Someone who is working for a sporting event might involve pre-event, during or post-event duties.
Sport Event Steward is one of the most common jobs for the sport events sector. This role is for people that control a certain section of the facility and ensure the place is secure and the rules are followed by the spectators/athletes. The person in charge is also an event information provider in order of satisfying the customer wants and needs with his enthusiastic personality. The average wage is £6 - £7.50/per hour. An example includes the stewards that work for football games.
Sport Events Sales Director is another event job but this one is permanent. The main role of this position is managing the sales department and needs experience in hospitality and events sales. An excessive ability in creating business relationships is also important for this job. The average income for such a position is £35000 - £45000 per year.
Project Manager is one of the most important roles an individual can have in the events sector. She/he is responsible for logistics, the budget, the research and the whole creation of the event. The main responsibilities for this job include project presentations to the management team and reports to the Marketing Manager. The abilities needed for these role are time-management, communication skills and organisational. The average income from this permanent job is around £32000 per year.
Sport Event Coordinator is the coordinator of the whole event. An enthusiastic personality is vital for this important role. Not only that but great organisational and administrative skills are needed for this person in order of maximizing the funds raised through the event. This social role includes a pay check of around £21000 per year.
Hospitality Coordinator is responsible for aministration and control over the hospitality budget. An experience of working in the sector is vital and ability for working long hours under pressure is essential for achieving the best possible results. The average wage is between £25000 and £35000 per year.
Reference: http://www.sportsrecruitment.co.uk Last accessed: 04/05/2010

Future Trends and Challenges Future Trends and Challenges have always been in the back of the head of people who are in the organisation of events. From the ancient times sport was regarder to as a social benefit allowing people to meet one another and share their interst (Holt 1990). Special bodies have been created in the UK, an example includes UK Sport, which promote sporting activities and healthy lifestyle along with providing more and more facilities. Sport is spread with fast pace in schools and to the general public. Year by year there is more demand and more supply in the sport events sector. A wide variety of specialized companies like caterers, entertainment agencies and lighting and sound personnel are widely available to meet the needs of this successful industry (Bowdin et al 2004). Another major trend to follow up in the next years is the ageing population. Improvements in health care made it possible for people to live longer and this makes the market for Sport Events even more popular, from football for youngsters to bowling for the elder. Another major future issue for the sport events industry is Information Technology. As the technology progress with lightning speed, the event system should be upgraded technologically as well. The growth of internet sets the base for researching, marketing, reporting and communication. Software has also been developed for making sport events more practical. Having events that won’t cost the earth are always in the main plans for event managers. ‘Greening of the Games’ is also a top priority for the IOC for future Olympic games. Enviromental Management strategies offer the effect of lower costs as well and more and more events (eg. Virgin London Marathon) promote sustainability which is a trend which is about to continue and improve during the future.
Summary
Modern-day sport events are vastly different not only in their functionality but in the quality offered as well. This is a major outcome from the fact that sport events are expanding and are becoming more diversified and that the needs of customers have changed. The sports industry is now estimated to be worth $500 billion worldwide, which is clearly reflecting the trends sweeping the world economy as a whole. This analysis report covers the most important issues and impacts of the Sport Events Industry and so does its history and key movements. This is one of the oldest industries of the world and is surely to continue.

References:
“History of Sport” – (no author or date given) http://www.brianmac.co.uk/history.htm - Last Accessed: 12/03/10
“Victoria Sport: Playing by the rules” – Alex Perry 05/11/09 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/sport_01.shtml - Last Accessed: 17/03/10 http://www.sportengland.org – Last Accessed: 12/03/10
“Top Sports events boost economy” – Bill Wilson 16/02/10 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8516889.stm - Last Accessed 17/03/10 http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/index.html - Last Accessed: 22/03/10 http://www.britevents.com/features/top-british-sports-events.asp - Last Accessed: 22/03/10
“British Sporting History” – (no author or date given) http://www.infobritain.co.uk/British_Sporting_History.htm - Last Accessed: 17/03/10
“Sky Makes 3D History” – (no author given) 28/01/10 http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11994_5889013,00.html http://www.2018england.co.uk – Last Accessed: 05/05/10 http://www.london2012.com/ - Last Accessed: 05/05/10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_sports - Last Accessed: 24/04/10
“Beckham offered 100 million-pound contract” – (no author given) 10/08/03 http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/aug/10beck.htm - Last Accessed: 25/04/10
“Pollution risk for Olympic Games” – (no author given) 08/08/07 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/6934955.stm - Last Accessed: 29/04/10

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