Free access book reveals the hard edges behind mega-event soft power 

Why do cities and states want to host mega-events? This is one of the most enduring questions in sport and, more generally, in society. And one of the most persistent answers to this question is soft power. 

Commonly invoked by leaders, organisers, journalists, and researchers, the term aims to explain the ways in which sports mega-events are married to (geo)political objectives. In contrast to the coercion of military or economic hard power, soft power is based on cooptation – on getting others to want what you want – usually via the communication of images and values.
 
On the surface, soft power purports to explain so much, but a closer examination reveals that the concept fails to explain the political functioning of sport and the aftereffects of hosting mega-events on cities and societies. 

For one, soft power too often remains at global and Western-centric levels of analysis, neglecting both domestic audiences and soft power targets outside the West. 

For another, it overlooks the ways in which soft power not only masks but actually generates some of the most problematic impacts of mega-events. These take place away from the spotlight but are always present, to greater or lesser degrees, in every mega-event in every host city around the world. 

Research has shown that when mega-events come to town, the city becomes militarised. Security and surveillance technologies are installed and never leave. Certain areas of the city are targeted for development, which often spikes rental and property prices. This kicks out local residents and replaces them with a richer, more elite population. 

Colossal amounts of money flow to relatively narrow needs, like new stadiums or refurbishing a tourist district in the city centre. This comes at the expense of longer-term needs for the city and society, such as schools, hospitals, and urban repair in the non-tourist areas. All of this takes place under the banners and flags of the mega-event, wrapped in patriotism and global prestige. 
Under the surface, soft power has a decidedly hard edge. 

Using the lens of soft power to look under the surface of mega-events

To explore these dynamics, an international group of academic researchers wrote a book entitled 'The Hard Edge of Soft Power: Mega-Events, Geopolitics, and Making Nations Great Again'. 

It presents global investigations of what it means to cities and societies when mega-events come to town, and features case studies from around the world, including Brazil, South Africa, Qatar, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the United States. 

Each author makes sense of the hosting experience through the lens of soft power, which is trained at both international and domestic affairs. They further apply the concept of Potemkinism – an approach that encourages studying situations in terms of a superficial surface that hides underlying and damaging realities. 

This perspective reveals the uncomfortable relationships between mega-events, great-nation populism, and the (geo)politics of authoritarianism. The book shows how authoritarian and exclusionary practices flourish in every context, though masked by powerful feelings of national identification, patriotism, and love. This is domestic soft power in action. 

In each of the case study chapters, the authors unpack how mega-events introduced or entrenched practices that were detrimental to host societies. For instance, Rutendo Musikavanhu from the University of Westminster reflects on the legacy of the 2010 men’s Football World Cup in South Africa, arguing that the event produced a powerful but short-lived “feel-good” moment centred on optimism and national pride. Ultimately, this failed to deliver long-term structural benefits. 

Once the global spotlight faded, the population’s hopes for infrastructure, inclusion, and authentic economic development remained largely unmet. The chapter underscores the gap between spectacular promise and mundane reality, showing how mega-events make grand promises but in reality often fail to address deeper inequalities and social needs.

What Potemkinism is masking

Similarly, Max Holleran (University of Melbourne), Jennifer Minner, and Martin Abbott (both from Cornell University) focus on mega-events in Australia, looking beneath the “golden glow” of the global spectacle to reveal the terrible tensions beneath the surface.

The authors show how organisers leveraged mega-event soft power to promote a glamorous national image, but this Potemkin surface obscured the neoliberal ambitions of rapacious property developers. 

The Australian mega-event story looked good from afar but in reality, it resulted in demolition and displacement. Put simply, the state uses the exceptional opportunity of hosting mega-events to push through larger agendas, too often to the detriment of local populations.  

Other chapters explore a variety of other themes. For example, the chapters on Qatar and Brazil highlight the trajectories of powerful individuals within the organising structures, but with different areas of focus. In Qatar, the work of elite-to-elite networks is brought into focus and shows how powerful actors can use mega-events to advance their careers – all while masking authoritarian functioning. 

The chapter on Brazil also details the intertwined nature of mega-events and authoritarianism but explores how hosting allowed the institutionalisation of new security and surveillance technologies and practices. These helped solidify the nation’s move to a more authoritarian politics, which was not necessarily so visible from the traditional mega-event view of the sport and the spectacle. 

In this way, the book details how harmful developments were hidden under the Potemkin surface of the mega-event spectacle. No one denies the very real feelings of excitement, celebration, togetherness, and love that are generated whenever and wherever mega-events touch down. 
Organisers and authorities bind these feelings to optimistic narratives of progress and prestige.

Then, under the Potemkin surface, mega-events contribute to destabilising democracy, funnelling funds away from local needs, restructuring neighbourhoods to become more exclusionary, or generating intense feelings of national pride that could then be directed towards geopolitical adventurism like invasion and war. 

By juxtaposing the optimistic narratives of mega-event soft power with the hard after-effects of displacement, surveillance, authoritarianism, and inequality, the book demonstrates a fuller and more honest appraisal of what mega-events actually do. 

Each author’s attention to everyday experience makes clear that any analysis of mega-events that ignores the domestic is ultimately incomplete. 

By focusing on the everyday realities underneath the spectacle, the book demonstrates what mega-events actually cost, and who pays the price. This is the hard edge of soft power.