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This study investigated whether the 2008 summer Olympic Games improved the country image of China among foreign consumers. It examined the extent to which the changed country image contributed to its product image. A quasi-experimental research design was used, with surveys taken two months before and two months after the event. The results showed that hosting the Olympics significantly improved the country image of China but did not affect the image of its products in a positive way.

Little research has examined sponsorship within the context of mega‐event and related host images. This paper seeks to explore the relationships among country, destination, mega‐event and sponsor images through the evaluations formed of each entity.

Based on data collected from 291 Canadian consumers two months after the Beijing Olympics, a SEM model examines the relationships among consumer evaluations of the host country, the country as a destination, the mega‐event itself and sponsors.

Results support the hypothesized model and present a paradoxical situation for the Olympics hosted by China. While the overall country evaluation was found to have a strong and positive effect on its evaluation as a tourist destination and the destination evaluation has a subsequent positive relationship with Olympic evaluations, a direct and negative relationship between the evaluation of the country and of the Olympic Games was also supported.

Future research should examine the relationship among country, destination, mega‐event and sponsor images in other mega‐event and country contexts. In addition, the pattern of these relationships should be assessed longitudinally.

This study provides evidence to show that the Olympic Games image is resilient and can thrive in challenging contexts. Further, sponsors can be assured that they are receiving value from Olympic sponsorships.

These results extend previous literature on sponsorship evaluation into the large, global sponsor context. In addition, this study examines the role of the host country in understanding the influence of the mega‐event on sponsor images.

This paper aims to report on the views that tourists in China have about the country, its people, the country as a destination and the 2008 Olympic Games that were held there.

The study utilizes a survey in which responses were gathered from 288 tourists in Beijing, China during the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. The study presents results for China's three images (country, destination, and mega‐event) using an attitudinal framework and explores the patterns of relationships using linear regression.

Results of the study show that tourists perceive China positively in terms of the country and people competencies and the character of the people. China is less positively viewed in terms of country character. As a destination, China is seen positively for its built environment but less positively for its natural environment. Positive experiential and logistical beliefs characterize the Olympic Games, while beliefs about security are less positive. The data support the assertion that the three images are important and related. In addition, the evaluation of China as a destination involves the relationship of the country image evaluation to the evaluation of the Olympic Games.

This paper addresses a gap that exists in image‐based research on mega‐events. In particular, this study explores mega‐event image in the context of the host country and destination images.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of residents and foreigners of the Olympics and the host country before and after the mega‐event within the context of marketing theory on country image effects and psychology theories attribution.

This is achieved by studying the views of American and Chinese respondents of China and the Olympics before and after the Beijing Olympics. Samples of Chinese and Americans were surveyed before and after the Beijing Summer Olympics concerning their images of the Olympics, China and its people, and China as a vacation destination. Cross‐national and pre‐post comparisons are made and interaction effects are noted using MANOVA.

Significant cross‐national and time differences and several interaction effects are found across all three focal objects of image measurements. Large country differences are found. Despite how technically successful the Games might have looked, post‐event assessments are overwhelmingly lower. Additional differences in views and interaction effects are discussed in terms of the intended and unintended impacts of the event on local and foreign respondents.

Only one location in China and one foreign country are surveyed.

The paper has important implications for both the effects of mega‐events on country images and the effects of the host country on the event brand image. These issues have relevance for countries seeking to host mega‐events and those who manage these events and make decision about where they will be held.

This is the first cross‐national study of the Olympics and their effects using before‐and‐after event measures. It also combines analyses of both the event and the place images from the perspectives of both those who live in the country and residents of other countries. Attribution theory is a useful reference theory for mega‐event assessments.

The paper aims to give an interesting insight into the rise in event bidding and delivery of sports mega‐events from Qatar and the Middle East. This paper seeks to examine the shift in government policies and citizen relationships in the Middle East and Gulf Region, focusing on the specific case of Qatar from its staging of the 15th Asian Games in 2006 to present.

The paper begins with an overview of the main literature on the importance of sport events as a vehicle for securing global profile for cities and nations. The paper draws upon the authors' participation at the 15th Asian Games and interviews conducted there and latterly, desk‐based research involving scrutiny of Qatar's recent policy pronouncements and published materials pertaining to sporting events in the intervening period since the 2006 Games.

The findings are presented in the form of a case study, using the Asian Games as a starting point and finishing with Qatar's latest bids for sporting mega‐events. The paper presents a conceptual analysis of the situation in Doha and reveals a ten‐year strategy from Qatar to set itself apart from its neighbors in bidding to host mega‐sporting events and in its progress in terms of civil rights for women. This has allowed wider participation in sport and ensured Qatar can bid for the most prestigious global sporting events.

This paper adds to the wider public policy discussion and contributes to the body of knowledge in this area. The authors have written extensively on events policy but believe issues of democracy versus ruling states, emotional bidding and awarding to such states will continue to rise over the coming years and these have significant implications for both event owners in awarding such bids but also for policy makers in legitimizing bidding for such events in this context.

The paper reveals that the currency of awarding events to countries in the Middle East, Africa and South America is politically and socially important and of major interest to both the public and academics at present.

The paper aims to (1) explore the positive and negative sociocultural, economic, and environmental impacts on satisfaction, and behavioral intentions; and (2) examine the changes in relationships among event impacts, satisfaction and behavioral intentions of host city residents before and after a major sporting event.

We used panel data to estimate how resident responses change over time. The data were collected three months before (N before = 266) and three months after (N after = 266) the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games. Data were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM) and invariance tests.

A significant relationship exists between negative and positive perceived sociocultural, economic, and environmental impacts, satisfaction and behavioral intentions. In addition, findings suggest that the effect of the sociocultural impacts on satisfaction and of satisfaction on behavioral intentions strengthened after the event. The relationship between positive environmental impacts and satisfaction was reduced across the two points in time. Our results indicate that residents’ assessment regarding the sporting event partially changed over the whole six-month course of the study.

This study differs from most recent research in that it examines the sociocultural, economic, and environmental event impacts in modeling residents’ satisfaction and testing the influence of negative event impacts on residents’ satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The current study contributes to the literature by emphasizing the changes that occur regarding the relationships among event impacts, satisfaction and behavioral intentions across the same respondents over time.