Podcast blurb: It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore how events can generate social benefits but also influence negative impacts that are detrimental to the sustainable development of societal wellbeing. Given the significance of the UNSDGs, pushing for sustainable benefits is now considered a meaningful event outcome. A key tenet of sustainability is social growth and the focus on positive outcomes that foster sustainable development measures, and how they can transform way of life. The degree of social wellbeing that people experience during an event is of significance, this can influence their quality of life and individual outlooks on the usefulness of events.

Rutendo’s bio: Rutendo is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader on the Event Design and Management MA and Tourism Management MA courses in the School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster, UK. Her research interests cover community support for mega events, social impacts, legacy planning, and sustainability of events at large. Having taught at Bournemouth University, Coventry University and the University of Westminster, Rutendo has specialist knowledge of management subjects e.g. Tourism Management, Event Management, Sport Management, Strategy, Organisational Behaviour and Leadership.

Further reading and resources:

Jones, M. (2017). Sustainable event management: A practical guide. Routledge.

Mair, J., & Smith, A. (2021). Events and sustainability: why making events more sustainable is not enough. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1-17.

Mair, J., Chien, P. M., Kelly, S. J., & Derrington, S. (2023). Social impacts of mega-events: A systematic narrative review and research agenda. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(2), 538-560.

Musikavanhu, R, R; Ladkin, A, & Sadd, S., (2021). The lasting social value of mega events: experiences from green point community in Cape Town, South Africa. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1 -18.

Smith, A., & McGillivray, D. (2022). The long-term implications of mega-event projects for urban public spaces. Sport in Society, 25(10), 2107-2123.

Talbot, A., & Carter, T. F. (2020). Human rights abuses at the Rio 2016 Olympics: activism and the media. In Human Rights and Events, Leisure and Sport (pp. 77-88). Routledge.