About this Research Topic

Background

Sporting and cultural events allow us the space to explore the contested terrain that events can act as a force for good and agents of change. We aim to introduce the new specialty section of Sport, Leisure and Tourism by engaging innovative ways of exploring the public value of Events in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals address global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. This agenda presents fruitful conceptual ground in aspects of public policy and global governance of sport mega and major events. Events can offer an avenue to address the global challenges by calling governments and agents to account, empowering communities and citizens to realise their voice and ensure the potential soft power of sport and cultural diplomacy leads to sustainable change.

There is growing recognition that events and festivals take place in public and civic spaces, can add to public life and have the potential to leave a lasting positive social legacy. This affords us the opportunity to engage in debates and dialogue that explore how events add to public value, how they can show normative consensus, how they can be used as progressive opportunities and how they can benefit global citizens who at times are marginalised and excluded. Mega and major events theoretically offer the potential to foster peace, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. We invite scholars to engage in these discussions and debates by submitting an article on any of the following topics:

• Festivals and public spaces – whose space is it anyway?
• Creating public value through events – social, cultural and economic
• Mega-events as a progressive opportunity
• The social, economic and cultural impact of events and festivals
• Consensus building and citizen engagement through events – contested or otherwise
• Mega-events as a vehicle for sport diplomacy and cultural diplomacy
• Partnership approaches to events – does the neo-liberal model really work
• Ensuring gender equality through events
• How can Mega and Major Events influence the human rights agenda
• Fostering peace and inclusion through sporting and cultural events
• The role of parasport events in creating an inclusive society and tourism policy
• Can events ever really be sustainable?
• Mega and major events contribution to tourism policy to pursue global development that can bring gains to all parts of the world.

Keywords: leisure, sustainability, events, parasports, festivals, cultural diplomacy, sport

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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