Risk Management Issues in Large-scale Sporting Events: a Stakeholder Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to identify the risk management issues in large-scale sporting events from the perspective of the organizing committee members and stakeholders. A comparative case study analysis of two major Canadian sporting events (the International Skating Union 2006 World Figure Skating Championships and the U-20 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup Canada 2007) was conducted through analysis of archival material and interviews. A revised definition of risk management emerged from the data: “risk management is a proactive process that involves assessing all possible risks to the events and its stakeholders by strategically anticipating, preventing, minimizing, and planning responses to mitigate those identified risks”. Fifteen risk issue categories were also identified by the various stakeholder groups. The categories were: environment, financial, human resources, infrastructure, interdependence, legacy, media, operations, organizing, participation, political, relationships, sport, threats, and visibility.