Rio 2016 Olympic Games and diplomatic legacies

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the current study was to describe perceptions of Brazilian diplomats in regard to legacies, diplomatic legacies and strategies that have been applied by the Brazilian government to leverage possible legacies of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Drawing on soft power theory, I investigated whether Brazilian diplomats perceived the 2016 Rio Olympic Games as an opportunity for the country to gain diplomatic relevance in international affairs by improving its non-coercive power. I sent invitations to all ambassadors and consuls responsible for Brazilian representations abroad (N = 198). I received answers from 12 diplomats living abroad and one diplomat in charge of the department of General Coordination for Cooperation and Exchange on Sport, a department inside the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Results showed that Brazilian diplomats perceived higher chances of positive legacies related to infrastructure, positive image of the country internationally and development of elite sport in the country. Few leverage strategies for diplomatic legacies were cited by the diplomats, who understand the event itself as the most important leveraging strategy. Implications for theory and practise are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Legacy
• leverage
• Olympic Games
• sport policy

Acknowledgement

The author wants to thank the Leverhulme Trust Foundation by its support under grant number IN-2014-036.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust [IN-2014-036];

Notes on contributors

Claudio M Rocha

Claudio M Rocha is an assistant professor at School of Physical Education and Sport of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. His research interests are in sport mega-events and international sport tourism. Dr. Rocha was a Fulbright Scholar during his Ph.D. at Ohio State University.