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Addressing inequality, enhancing diversity and facilitating greater dialogue in the hosting of sporting mega events.

Project description

Major sporting events versus human rights

Global or major sporting events like the Olympic Games have been the subject of human rights concerns – forced evictions, media censorship, abuse of migrant labour and political repression. In this context, the EU-funded EventRights project will focus on how to reverse this trend so that mega sports events can positively impact broader social outcomes, such as empowering disadvantaged groups and bringing about lasting positive social change in relation to human rights. Specifically, the EventRights project will formulate recommendations on how the mega sports events landscape can be improved to ensure a rights-focused agenda is pursued in the planning, delivery and legacy plans for the events.

Objective

Major sporting events (MSEs) have been the subject of increasing levels of critique in recent years for the social costs associated with their bidding, planning and delivery. The rationale used by cities and countries for hosting MSEs is often the potential for an event to generate positive economic and social transformation within the host area (Brittain, Bocarro, Byers and Swart, 2017). However, research has repeatedly demonstrated actual impacts of hosting MSEs fall short of these lofty claims and in reality often result in detrimental effects for host populations. The negative impacts of MSEs have variously been reported as: exacerbating human rights abuses; facilitating corruption; supporting elite beneficiaries over those most in need; and transforming host destinations’ urban environment by displacing vulnerable populations. Recent mega sport events (a specific category of the largest MSEs, such as the Olympic Games and World Cup; Muller, 2015) have been the subject of international condemnation for being the catalyst for forced evictions (Beijing 2008; Rio de Janeiro, 2016), restricting media freedom through censorship (Sochi, 2014), abuse of migrant labour in the construction of facilities (Sochi, 2014; Qatar, 2022) and increased political repression (Beijing, 2008). Human Rights Watch has suggested that “Time after time, Olympic hosts have gotten away with abusing workers building stadiums, and with crushing critics and media who try to report about abuses…the right to host the Olympics needs to come with the responsibility not to abuse basic human rights” (Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives, HRW). The EventRights project will explore and produce recommendations as to how MSEs can influence MSE organizing committees and other stakeholders to ensure that progressive social opportunities to address inequality, enhance diversity and facilitate greater dialogue are enshrined in the planning, delivery and legacy plans for the events themselves.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-RISE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018

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Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 301 760,00
Address
Arcisstrasse 21
80333 Muenchen
Germany

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Region
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 301 760,00

Participants (8)

Partners (7)

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