It doesn’t matter if you are an enthusiastic fan of a soccer club, a professional worldclass athlete, the owner of a sports association or even “just” a person that follows the daily news about sport affaires: Sport has become one of the major topics of (almost) everybody’s life in the twenty‐first century.
Besides, sport can be related to as many aspects of life as possible. Nowadays, sportive activities or even sport events are significant motivations for planning your holidays and that is why sport and tourism achieve high synergies together.
Sport has also emerged as global mass entertainment, and is now one of the most powerful and far‐reaching communications platforms in the world. Global sport events offer the capacity and possibility to reach vast numbers of people worldwide.
By extension, high‐performance athletes have become global as they sell themselves to the bright public. And as a result, they become powerful ambassadors, spokespeople and role‐models. The creation of the term “sportainment” reflects the increasing importance of the entertaining sports industry.
Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the relation between sports and entertainment, sports and tourism as well as entertaining sports and tourism. I am going to concentrate my focus on the following questions:
– What is the importance of sports and how can it be related to tourism?
– What is “sportainment” and how can its relevance be described in the twenty‐first century?
– How does “sportainment” influence tourism?
– How does “sportainment” influence international sport events?
Hence, the first two chapters build the theoretical framework of this paper. Chapter two examines the importance of sports and the rising appearance of sports as tourism. Chapter three explains the term “sportainment”, gives examples and finally relates it to international tourism. Chapter four analyses the Olympic Winter Games of Vancouver 2010 as a global project towards an entertaining sport event and examines its tourism impacts.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Defining sports and important sports-related aspects
2.1. The importance of sports
2.2. Sport tourism
3. Sportainment – Facing a new dimension of sports
3.1. Explanation of sportainment
3.2. Sportainment and its relation to tourism
3.2.1. Sports-Cities and their impacts on tourism
3.2.2. Creating global destination image for a sport destination
4. Vancouver 2010 – An introduction
4.1. Vancouver 2010 – XXI Olympic Winter Games
4.2. Financing the Olympic Winter Games
4.2.1. Financial resources of the City of Vancouver for the Winter Games
4.2.2. Funding of the Venue Construction by the Vancouver Organizing Committee
4.2.3. Operational Expenditures by VANOC
4.3. Tourism impacts of the Winter Games
4.4. The Winter Games and their relation sportainment
4.4.1. The Winter Games in the media
4.4.2. Media programs of the Winter Olympic and Paralympics
4.5. The Winter Games as a global project
5. Summary and future prospects
Objectives & Core Themes
This paper examines the evolving relationship between sports, entertainment, and tourism, specifically analyzing how the phenomenon of "sportainment" influences modern sporting events and destination marketing, using the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics as a primary case study.
- The theoretical convergence of sports, tourism, and entertainment.
- The definition and characteristics of "sportainment" in the 21st century.
- Developmental impacts of specialized "sport-city" zones on tourism infrastructure.
- Economic and media-driven strategies involved in hosting global mega-events.
- The role of athletes as commercial brands and global media spectacles.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. Explanation of sportainment
It is not a secret that the term “sportainment” does not exist in relation to science or official language use. When looking for explanations, examples or definitions on Google, the only results you may receive are web pages of media companies or sport consultancies. Additionally, books, articles, news, blogs or statistics are (almost) not available for the word sportainment. The only book that has been published concentrates on the synergies between sport and communication, with special regard to the German market. In the following, this book will be included and the author will be quoted. So, science as well as daily-news coverage lack reliable and scientific information Nevertheless, the meaning of the term seems to be more than ostensible: sportainment – an integration of sports and entertainment.
From the author’s point of view, there are two different styles, which represent the current dimension of sport behaviour:
(1) Sports and athletes as modern benefits of the entertainment industry
(2) Intensive media coverage of sport events
Following the international sport news and media reporting, it seems as if sport organisations, sport clubs or even athletes themselves sell their talent as well as their personal life to the international stage of spectatorship.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the rising importance of sports in the 21st century and establishes the research focus on the synergy between sport, entertainment, and tourism.
2. Defining sports and important sports-related aspects: Explores various definitions of sport and analyzes its economic and social significance as a driver for global tourism.
3. Sportainment – Facing a new dimension of sports: Defines the concept of "sportainment" and examines how sports cities and media integration reshape sports behavior and tourism marketing.
4. Vancouver 2010 – An introduction: Analyzes the 2010 Winter Games as a specific case study for understanding mega-event financing, tourism impacts, media reach, and project management.
5. Summary and future prospects: Synthesizes findings on the high-value synergies between sports and entertainment, while predicting the continued growth of these sectors globally.
Keywords
Sportainment, Sport Tourism, Mega-events, Olympic Games, Vancouver 2010, Media Coverage, Destination Marketing, Economic Impact, Sports-Cities, Athletes, Entertainment Industry, Tourism Economy, Sponsorship, Sport Management, Broadcasting Rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the intersection of sports, entertainment, and tourism, specifically analyzing the emergence of the concept "sportainment" and its influence on global tourism and mega-events.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
Key areas include the definition of sportainment, the role of sports in destination marketing, the development of sports-themed cities, and the socio-economic impacts of hosting the Winter Olympic Games.
What is the main objective of the research?
The primary aim is to analyze how the integration of sport and entertainment influences tourism and how this relationship is strategically utilized by cities hosting major sporting events.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The paper employs a qualitative approach, synthesizing existing literature, economic reports (such as those from PricewaterhouseCoopers), and analyzing the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games as a practical case study.
What is covered in the main section?
The main section discusses the theoretical framework of sports tourism, the specific characteristics of sportainment, the development of sports-city zones in places like Doha and Dubai, and a detailed analysis of the Vancouver 2010 Games.
Which keywords characterize this work?
The study is best characterized by terms such as sportainment, sport tourism, mega-events, Olympic Games, destination marketing, and economic impact.
How does the author define sportainment?
The author defines it as the integration of sports and entertainment, manifesting through two styles: athletes operating as modern benefits of the entertainment industry and the intensive media coverage of sport events.
What role does the case study of David Beckham play?
David Beckham is cited as a striking example of the changing perception of professional athletes, who have transitioned from pure sports competitors into multinational commercial brands.
How are "sports-cities" assessed in the paper?
The paper evaluates them as themed urban zones designed to provide unique sport facilities and secondary leisure attractions to strengthen the destination's tourism portfolio and global brand image.
- Citar trabajo
- Undine Handorf (Autor), 2012, Sportainment. Facing a new dimension of sports, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/337593
