Work

Passing on the flame: Do mega sports events promote health behaviours?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: To justify billion-dollar public expenditures on mega sports events, proponents often suggest lasting improvements in health behaviours among the general public. To estimate the returns to health behaviours from hosting the 2012 London Olympics, we collected panel data on more than 19,000 respondents across two European capitals, London and Paris, between 2011 and 2013. Using a difference-in-differences design with Paris as counterfactual, we find an increase in physical activity by six percentage points among the inactive, from a baseline of 34%. Activation, however, lasts only for about 100 days. Although we also find suggestive evidence for reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption during the event, a cost–benefit analysis suggests that staging mega sports events is not a cost-effective policy to promote lasting health behaviour change. • We estimate the causal returns from hosting the Olympics on health behaviours using quasi-experimental methods. • We find an increase in physical activity among people who were previously inactive. • We also find suggestive evidence for reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption. • Activation of the previously inactive lasts only for about 100 days, suggesting a temporary effect only. • A cost–benefit analysis suggests that hosting mega sports events is not a cost-effective way to promote behaviour change.

Source: Social Science & Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117921

Authors: Christian Krekel, Georgios Kavetsos, Nicolas R. Ziebarth

Institutions: London School of Economics and Political Science, Harvard University, Queen Mary University of London, Centre for European Economic Research, University of Mannheim

Language: English

Topic: Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,800