When Event Social Sustainability Is Tarnished by Scandal: Long-Term Community Perceptions of the 2002 Winter Olympics Bid Scandal and Legacy

Abstract

Due to the increasing number of events around the world, event sustainability is an area of research relevant across disciplines. Research has found that event sustainability encompasses economic, environmental, and social legacies. However, events may face unforeseen challenges, sometimes even major scandals. How do these scandals impact residents and the sustainable legacy of the mega-event? As a historical case study, we explore social aspects of event sustainability in the wake of the 2002 Winter Olympics bid scandal, where it was reported that the Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) bribed members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to secure votes in favor of Salt Lake City hosting the 2002 Winter Olympic. Despite the bribery scandal, the Salt Lake City Games were considered a success by the media and members of the SLOC and IOC. Specifically, the present study investigates local residents’ perceptions of the scandal before, during, and after the Olympics using data gathered from 1999 to 2018 in Heber Valley, Utah. We find that time is a significant predictor of residents’ feelings toward the scandal. Further, feelings towards the Olympics, community desirability, race, and biological sex are also significant predictors. These findings lead us to conclude that the effects of the scandal on the Olympics’ sustainable legacy fade away over time.