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Volume 13 | Issue 10 | Year 2026 | Article Id. IJEMS-V13I10P101 | DOI : https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V13I10P101

The Economic Impact of Hosting International Sports Mega Events (2015- 2025): A Systematic Narrative Review

Aryan Mehta

Received Revised Accepted Published
22 Aug 2026 25 Sep 2026 13 Oct 2026 28 Oct 2026

Citation :

Aryan Mehta, "The Economic Impact of Hosting International Sports Mega Events (2015- 2025): A Systematic Narrative Review," International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 1-13, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V13I10P101

Abstract

The hosting of the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup and other sport mega-events is always touted as an economic imperative, with the expectation of an economic boost from the event, job creation, investment in the City's infrastructure, and the creation of a legacy that will last for years to come. The effects on these topics are scattered in the fields of economics, urban studies, tourism management and sociology, however. Research studies were searched from 2015 to 2025 in the two literature databases we used, Semantic Scholar and PubMed Central (PMC), to determine the impact of sport mega-events on the economy. After screening, 31 studies met the inclusion criteria and were quality assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) of 1052 records identified. The three main findings were found using thematic synthesis. First, the hosts might have positive non-market benefits (reputational or “psychic” benefits), which may be unevenly experienced across low-income and minoritized groups. Second, structural negative or negligible aggregate financial impacts are typical in most major events like the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup and Formula 1. Thirdly, small and medium events tend to create small and medium economic impact locally but with uncertain benefits. Issues of debate include tourism, the development of the host country, image impacts and the concept of “legacy.” There are significant omissions such as insufficient long-term tracking, inconsistent impact assessment and growing non-empirical commentary on specific incidents.

Keywords

Sport mega-events, Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, Economic impact, Host city.

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