Event Management: Organizing a Sporting Event Essay

Introduction

Management of an event is a great responsibility that requires certain skills and experience. Each of the events should be different in setting, organization, objectives, visitor behaviors, etc. Vision is an integral management tool of events management. ‘Vision is vital to the success of any event of any size: It is the grand scheme of how the event will be perceived before, during, and after it takes place.” (Catherwood, Ernst & Young 1992). Organizing an event, especially global ones, involves a number of people each specializing in different areas of event management. The majority of the events are comparatively small but there are also large events that capture everybody’s attention and have a number of policy implications.

2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics can be characterized as a global international multi-sport event. A number of countries bid to host this event in 2008 but “Beijing received 56 votes” (Davies 2005) and the tournament was held in “People’s Republic of China, with over 11,000 athletes and approximately 20,000 accredited media” (Wong 2008). There is no doubt that the management of this event took a lot of time and efforts. The aim of the managers of the event was to make it a “High-tech Olympics”, which entailed incorporating the latest technological and scientific achievements. This proves that organizers of any event wish, in the first place, to create unique experiences. There exist a number of factors that influence the event experience with roles, responsibilities, atmosphere, and the setting is the major ones; due to the influence of these factors volunteers and non-volunteers (ordinary customers) who witnessed the 2008 summer Olympics had different experiences about this event.

Roles of Volunteers and Non-Volunteers

To begin with, volunteers and non-volunteers performed different roles in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Volunteers usually support the participants and seek contact with them. “Because many sporting events are not fixed to one particular location, volunteers often must travel some distance to the host venue.” (Parks, Quaterman, & Thibault 2007). Volunteers are not only involved in supporting participants of the tournament but take an active part in organizing the event. “Sports events typically require a low number of volunteers for a long period of time both before and after the events, while during the events the required number of volunteers is very high.” (Madella 2006). The role of volunteers, in general, is considerable because “without volunteers, community sport would cease to exist, sports complexes would close, sports events would decrease, and physical activity levels would decline.” (Chadwick & Arthur 2007). Their role in the 2008 Summer Olympics consisted in supporting the participants and encouraging the rest of the audience. The role of non-volunteers, however, was no less significant. Encouraged by volunteers, they also supported the participants and some of them were also fans of definite sportsmen. Non-volunteers usually pay to attend the event, which may influence the experience they get from it since their gaining experience depends on the costs of their investment. Therefore, depending on whether one is a volunteer or a non-volunteer, the overall experience from the event may range from the most positive to barely satisfactory. This information should be taken into account when planning global sporting events for it will considerably influence their organization.

Responsibilities of Volunteers and Non-Volunteers

What’s more, volunteers and non-volunteers of the 2008 Summer Olympics had absolutely different responsibilities which cannot but influenced their event experience. In large-scale events, such as the 2008 Summer Olympics, a special division for managing volunteers is usually created, “whereas the volunteer program responsibilities may be designated to a small group comprised of planning volunteers and/or staff for moderate to small-scale events.” (Mallen & Adams 2008). The biggest difference between volunteers and ordinary customers in terms of responsibilities is that the volunteers are, as a rule, treated as co-workers, “This includes job descriptions, equal employment opportunity, occupational health and safety, anti-discrimination legislation and organizational grievance processes.” (Bodwin, Allen, O’Toole, Harris, & McDonnel 2006). Non-volunteers, in their turn, do not have clearly defined responsibilities; they treat the event as a kind of holiday. They simply cheer up the participants and have fun. Their main responsibility is paying for attending the event and getting no less experience than they paid for. The factor of responsibilities of volunteers and non-volunteers has a great impact on the organization of the event and should be paid special attention to by the event managers.

Atmosphere and Setting as Factors Influencing Event Experience

The atmosphere of the event is crucial for getting the experience that both volunteers and non-volunteers count on. The only difference between volunteers and ordinary customers is that the former has a possibility to influence the atmosphere of the event since they are directly involved in the process of its organization. “The fundamental principle underlying the organization of a sports event must be the priority given to the spectator and public safety.” (Soek & ASSER International Sports Law Centre 2007) Only when the managers together with volunteers will be able to create a safe and comfortable atmosphere during the event, the non-volunteers will get the experience they expected. Ensuring safety during such events as the 2002 Summer Olympics is not an easy task; safety measures should be taken in a way that will not make the non-volunteers feel uncomfortable. The event managers should not focus on safety alone and remember that the aim of the non-volunteers is to get an only positive experience from the event; this is why the managers’ aim should be to “create a party-like atmosphere and make the spectator interaction possible.” (Humphrey 2006) Choosing the right setting for a sporting event is vital for producing the necessary impression. The location of the stadium and its technical equipment add to forming a positive experience for both volunteers and non-volunteers.

Conclusion

Therefore, when organizing a sporting event, the event managers should bear in mind the main factors which influence the experience of people attending this event. Such factors as roles, responsibilities, atmosphere and setting have different impacts on experiences and depend on whether the visitors are volunteers or ordinary customers.

References

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