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This paper aims to verify the brand image effects of holding a sport mega-event by investigating the host city's influence on the country's branding, as a tourist destination.

This research considered the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and uses quantitative methods: exploratory factor analysis and regression. Data were collected by structured questionnaires with a sample of (n = 274) international respondents with high international travel experience.

Rio de Janeiro's 2016 host city image positively predicted Brazil's tourist destination image. Both cognitive and affective image dimensions of Rio as a host city predicted Brazil's destination image, but the cognitive image dimensions demonstrated more impact.

Even in a mega-event context, city marketing strategies should be planned and executed with a focus on the country's destination image.

The study contributes by focusing on presenting the importance of the host city image dimensions to the host country destination image in a sports mega-event context. The study investigated a new approach, the impacts of affective and cognitive dimensions in the overall destination image considering two connected destinations and the hosting of a sport mega-event, a condition not found in the literature thus far.

This study aims to recommend initiatives that can be adopted to overcome overtourism in host destinations of mega sport events.

This study adopts a qualitative research design that involves 20 semi-structured interviews with key informant stakeholders of the London 2012 Olympic Games. An exploratory case study approach was used to investigate strategies used to leverage tourism benefits in host destinations, and the authors used thematic analysis to present strategies to overcome overtourism in host cities.

This study emphasises the need for spreading tourists beyond the host city as a main strategy. To do so, three initiatives are recommended: spreading domestic tourism outside the host city, showcasing destination beyond the host city and promoting regional collaboration.

This research provides tourism practitioners and destination management organisations in host destinations of mega sport events with an advanced strategic insights to capitalise on mega sport events. The authors suggest considering the events as a theme through an event planning process to overcome potential overtourism in unique host cities.

As overtourism has an impact on visited destinations, this study argues that overtourism can be generated by mega sport events. This paper offers an extended insight into overcoming overtourism by implementing strategic event tourism, leveraging initiatives that can be extended in use to reach geographic areas beyond host cities of mega sport events.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) that a host city can experience to utilize these for future strategy planning and event leveraging.

Five phone interviews were conducted with administrators of the Athens Olympic Games. Respondents were asked four questions relating to the SWOT of hosting the Olympic Games. Responses collected were transcribed and analyzed using a content analysis.

Findings suggest that the strengths lie in having certain infrastructures in place, volunteers, a strong economy and good political standing. Weaknesses stem from a lack of infrastructure, the size of the country, uncertain political and economic stability. Opportunities included the growth of the tourism industry, business developments, increase in the quality of life, the use of legacies post‐event, and the improvement and development of infrastructures. Threats included the cost of the event, pollution, relying on the event to rejuvenate the economy and the displacement of residents.

The SWOT analysis conducted in this paper laid the foundation for strategic planning for future host cities' organizers while taking into consideration the weaknesses and problems that have been experienced by the organization of former Olympic Games host cities. Moreover, the SWOT analysis conducted in this paper goes one step further by incorporating Chalip's leveraging model in order to identify what strengths and weaknesses need to be addressed in order for a host city to leverage the opportunities and threats of hosting a sport event.

The purpose of this paper is to identify strategic objectives that can be utilized by non-host communities to leverage the opportunities provided by mega sport events. The unique context and timing of this study facilitates discussion surrounding a particular non-host community and how it can plan relevant objectives to best identify appropriate leveraging mechanisms.

The study adopted a qualitative approach, drawing upon a case study of Kobe City, Japan, a non-host city of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Data were collected using diverse sources such as site visits, field notes, newspaper articles, destination marketing materials, archival data from sport and tourism facilities, and workshop with key stakeholders.

The within-case analysis identified four key objectives a non-host city could utilize to leverage mega sport events, namely, enhancing destination brand equity, integrating leveraging strategies with the existing event portfolio, fostering social capital, and strengthening corporate networks.

Research on event leveraging has typically focused on host cities, while there has been limited research attention on non-host cities. This paper highlights the importance of formulating shared objectives so as to provide a strong focus for relevant stakeholders, guide the deployment of resources, and create effective leveraging strategies. Few studies have focused on the planning of leveraging initiatives.

This paper aimed to verify the most important factors (cognitive and affective dimensions) perceived in Rio de Janeiro’s image as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games and to identify the factors that predict better the overall city image and its affective image dimension in this particular context of a sports mega-event.

This paper employs exploratory factor analysis to define intervening factors in each dimension of Rio de Janeiro’s image. By parting from the initial diagnostic analysis, multiple regression analysis was applied to measure how the intervening factors predicted the overall image of the host city, as well as to whether its cognitive dimension was able to predict the affective dimension. Data collection was conducted by applying structured questionnaires with a sample of international respondents (n = 274).

Rio’s image as a sports mega-event host city presented two intervening factors for each dimension. For image composition, the most important cognitive factor diagnosed was “Services and Attractions.” For the affective dimension, the most important factor diagnosed was “Positive Feelings.” The investigation concluded that the cognitive dimension was capable of predicting the affective dimension, as “Positive Feelings” was the factor that better predicted Rio’s overall image as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, while the “Services and Attractions” factor was not significant in predicting the host city’s image.

The main focus of the investigation was the host city’s international image as presented by primary sources. The sample for investigation was therefore composed exclusively of foreign students, nonresidents in Brazil, who did not participate in said events. Although this approach provides a partial diagnostic of the host cityvs image, for an overall and accurate image diagnostic it is also relevant to investigate the national residents’ point of view, which is beyond the scope of this investigation.

The findings suggest that destination marketers would obtain better results investing in the affective dimension, employing actions that stimulate positive feelings about the host city, especially when relating to sports mega-event. Investment in general infrastructure is also presented as a relevant factor.

The host city’s image can guide policies to improve local capacity to attract investments and new events that contribute to change in urban areas, as well as to reinforce positive aspects of that image. Investment in general infrastructure, again, is presented as a crucial issue.

The value and originality of the presented investigation lie in a lack of specific studies on Rio’s image as a travel destination, despite its being the most important touristic city in Brazil and the host for the 2016 Olympic Games. A separate analysis of individual image dimensions and the examination of intervening cognitive factors in the affective dimension are also not common in a sports mega-event context.

This paper aims to examine the event attendance motives and the underlying mechanism through which event attendance motives influence positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) and revisit intentions. It also investigates how event attendance motives differ by gender.

A self-completed survey administered in English among visitors to the 2016 Olympic Games generated 230 valid responses. Partial least squares-based structural equation modeling was applied to test research hypotheses.

Event attendance motives of esthetics and escape positively influence host city evaluation. Host city evaluation positively influences PWOM and revisit intentions. Host city evaluation mediates the relationship between event attendance motives (esthetics and escape) and behavioral intentions (PWOM and revisit intentions). Male Olympic tourists show significantly lower means in the motives of social bond and escape when compared with female Olympic tourists.

This study adds to the body of knowledge concerning Olympic tourists, their motives and behavioral intentions. Research findings indicate that event attendance motives influence PWOM and revisit intentions through the mediating effect of host city evaluation. Considering the noticeable paucity of gender analysis weakens the understanding of the Olympic tourist behavior, this study contributes to the literature by examining gender differences in Olympic attendance motives.

Image congruence is one central metrics that significantly influences image transfer. Nevertheless, studies on impact of image congruence on consumers' attitudinal and behavioral components in the context of sport tourism remain few. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship among image congruence between sport event and host city, spectators' attitude toward the event and city and their intention to revisit and recommend the event and city. A mediating role of attitude in the relationship between image congruence and behavioral intention was also examined.

The study selected non-local spectators of the F1 Chinese Grand Prix and Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 as the participants. A total of 491 valid questionnaires were obtained from the survey of two events, including 222 from F1 Chinese Grand Prix and 269 from Shanghai ATP Masters 1000. Among respondents, 360 were Chinese spectators from other regions (73.3%) and 131 were international spectators (26.7%). The data were analyzed via descriptive statistics, correlations, factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), hierarchical regression analysis and ANOVA.

The results showed that image congruence between sports event and host city had a positive impact on spectators' attitude toward and intention to recommend the city; but it had no significant impact on attitude toward event, intention to revisit and recommend the event and intention to revisit the city. Attitude toward event had a positive impact on intention to revisit and recommend the event, and attitude toward host city had a positive impact on intention to revisit and recommend the city. In addition, attitude toward host city fully mediated the relationship between image congruence and intention to recommend the city.

The current study provides a meaningful contribution to the existing literature by examining the impact of image congruence on spectators' attitudinal and behavioral components in the context of sport tourism.

The purpose of this study is to analyze Chinese tourists' perceptions toward the 2010 World Expo and the impact of a mega event on the host city and visitor satisfaction.

Guided by the conceptualization of hosting special events for destination branding, this study examines empirically tourists' perceptions and experiences of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the host city. Ten hypotheses were tested using SEM to identify and analyze the factors and relationships that influence mega events and host cities.

Data collected from 600 tourists who visited the 2010 Shanghai World Expo provide support for the proposed model. The empirical test provides support for eight of the ten hypotheses and it reveals that the hosting of the World Expo had significant positive impact on Shanghai but not vice versa, and the Chinese tourists exhibited loyalty to the host city.

Using a moving event such as Expo, the Shanghai brand is simplified. The sample includes only domestic tourists and future research should include an international sample for comparison.

The results help in identifying and managing the factors that contribute positively to the host destination brand when hosting mega events.

This study is the first attempt to empirically test the conceptual framework of leveraging a mega event for enhancing the host destination brand by using the 2010 Shanghai Expo as a case study. It validates that the strategic fit between the event and host city, community support and event quality are essential in enhancing host destination brand and tourist loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how non-host cities strategically plan to leverage pre-Games training for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to maximize benefits to the city.

Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with key tourism and government stakeholders involved in developing leveraging strategies for pre-Games training in a non-host city. Interviews were conducted a little over 18 months before the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

A model of the strategic planning of leveraging pre-Games training is presented. Pre-Games training was positioned as a leverageable resource. The non-host city was well positioned to host pre-Games training given its existing sport focus and facilities and its proximity to the host city and its similar climate. Opportunities, objectives, means, and considerations were constantly developed. The city strategically targeted teams to maximize the use of the training facilities and make the most of the value of well-known athletes, while being cautious of overcrowding. The teams had to be secured before strategies were devised to achieve other opportunities and objectives. Short-term benefits included generating tourism through visiting teams and entourages and integrating visiting teams into the local community through education and sport programming. Long-term benefits included building the destination’s capacity and reputation as a place for elite training camps and tourism.

Understanding how to develop strategies to leverage pre-Games training can inform those responsible for developing and implementing pre-Games training strategies and lead to maximizing the benefits to a city or region.

Limited research has examined the strategic planning process used to develop tactics to leverage mega-events. This study provides insight into the strategic planning process of non-host cities to increase short- and long-term benefits by leveraging pre-Games training.

In the last 50 years, every Olympics has experienced a major cost overrun. This paper explores the reasons for this cost underestimation and looks into the occurrence of the winner's curse. We also forecast the spending pattern of future host cities. Finally, we discuss the role of the International Olympic Committee in making the Olympic Games more efficient and sustainable.

The review of literature on the topic of constant cost overrun in the Olympic Games is surprisingly very thin. We comprehensively review the existing literature to understand the scholarship in this area. This paper also produces future cost trends for the host cities.

We argue that cost underestimation is resulting from the outdated bid process which encourages spectacle over efficiency. A no-bid environment is more efficient and allows the host city to negotiate effectively with the International Olympic Committee. The Los Angeles Games of 1984 was profitable and has shown reusing the infrastructure can save a lot of money which could help make the Olympic Games economically sustainable.

This paper adds to the existing knowledge on the cost overrun aspect of Olympics financing. We also forecast the cost trends of hosting future Olympics.