Updated Review of the Evidence of Legacy of Major Sporting Events: July 2015

8. Areas for Future Research

8.1 There are some areas which would benefit from further research. On the whole, the evidence base would be improved by more research into the factors which make successful legacies more likely, and on the potential negative consequences of major events.

8.2 There remains a need for further long-term research across each of our themes. More research is required in order to understand the factors which make successful legacies more likely over the long term and to ascertain how transferable the findings are from one event to another.

8.3 There is a particular lack of research into the cultural activities associated with major events, and how these can impact on communities. The evidence base would be improved by further research into long-term impacts of major sporting events on cultural engagement, civic pride and enhanced learning.

8.4 The evidence base would also benefit from longitudinal research amongst host populations. To date there have been no long-term studies which track how the local population is affected over time. In order to capture as wide a range of effects as possible, the evidence suggests that it is important to begin these research projects early in the process, and to continue collecting evidence well after the event.

8.5 Moreover, a greater understanding of the unintended consequences of major sporting events would be valuable. There is significant scope for increasing our understanding of the disparate effects of major events that are not intended by event planners.

8.6 Lastly the evidence base requires more consideration of the effects from 'second tier' events, or those smaller than the Olympics or World Cup. More research into the scale of the effects relative to the event size would help our understanding of the likely legacy of slightly smaller events such as the Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games.