It is 10 years since London welcomed the sporting world and hosted the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is nearly 15 years for me studying international sporting events, with London featuring significantly in this research. The amount of research on international sporting events is vast and this blog showcases the efforts of scholars in the past month or so to bring together a series of topics connected to the London Games.

I would highly recommend adding these links (listed below) to your reading lists or newsletters as these snap shot pieces should stimulate conversation and forward people onto further resource. This is particularly useful for the student and industry communities who might be having similar conversations around topics, such as volunteering, sustainability or disability, especially as the Women’s EUROS and Commonwealth Games have re-sparked up debate about the effectiveness of event hosting for broader benefits to sport and society.

Why the London 2012 Olympics had limited impact on volunteering across the UK

London 2012: what the Olympic Games’ legacy of sustainability means for events today

London 2012 Olympics: how it boosted medal winning but failed to inspire a generation

London’s Olympic legacy: research reveals why £2.2 billion investment in primary school PE has failed teachers

London 2012’s legacy boosted Paralympic sport, but disabled people’s lives have worsened

You may read these and disagree, good! These are short-form pieces designed to offer glimpses into debate rather than answers… plus, as you should realise from event research I’ve blogged about previously, there are many sides to the stories of hosting an international sporting event.

For an up to date UK Government perspective on the benefits of events, I would recommend visiting a recent Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry ‘Major cultural and sporting events’ as the evidence, report and government response documents are an interesting read!

A big thank you to Mike Duignan and others (including the excellent editorial staff at The Conversation) for rustling this series of articles up. Onto the next 10 years now…

VPos