Abstract
We are currently seeing an increasing interest in sport from the perspective of various scientifi c disciplines. This paper deals with the phenomenon of mega-events, large-scale (not only) sporting events that have broad, social impacts, from a sociological perspective.
The term "mega-event" was fi rst used sociologically in 1987 at a conference held in Calgary, Canada. The topic of mega-events is now richly processed not only in sociological literature.
The aim of this study is to present the topic of mega-events from the sociological point of view with an emphasis on controversies associated with mega-events. At the same time, the study highlights some theoretical-methodological issues.
This is an overview theoretical study. The choice of texts is certainly not exhaustive, but the study nevertheless provides a basic overview of the topic.
The topic of mega-events is elaborated in the sociology of sport. In sociology, there is a consensus on the defi nition of mega-events.
Megaevents are large-scale social events with an international reach, with a significant impact on host cities, regions, or states with considerable media attention. These events also represent a discontinuity, they are unique and take place once every certain time.
Mega-events are also one of the manifestations of modernity. At the same time, however, they can provide feelings of certainty and order and create different forms of collective identities.
Sociology also pays close attention to the controversies surrounding the organization of mega-events. These are mainly financial controversies, creative destruction, and politicization.
However, although the topic of mega-events in sociological literature is elaborated in a comprehensive way, the analysis showed two methodological-theoretical problems. First, there is no consensus on how and whether to categorize mega-events.
We outlined several attempts to categorize large sporting events, but none were suffi cient. This study also encountered the second issues, namely that most of sociological studies are mainly devoted to the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup.
Other "smaller" sporting events, which are still watched by millions of spectators around the world, are not given enough attention.