International reputation
By promoting positive views of Australia and highlighting our reputation for excellence we can generate flow on benefits for business, trade, investment, tourism, and more.
Sports, and in particular major sporting events, have long been used as diplomatic platforms for countries to promote their international reputation, advance national interests, project their values and identity, and to bring people from different cultures and countries together. 1
78% of Australians generally believe that sport contributes to our national identity 5
78% say it is important that Australia is respected on the international sporting stage 5
77% believe that high performance sport gives Australia positive international exposure 5
By promoting positive views of Australia and highlighting our reputation for excellence across the sport industry, including competition and performance, event management, sport science, technology and innovation, design and construction, and media and broadcasting, we can generate flow on benefits for business, trade, investment, tourism, and more. 2
- Since the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games over 140 Australian companies and major sporting event specialists have played pivotal roles shaping every major sporting event around the world. 3
- Analysis by the Commonwealth Games Federation has shown that hosting the Games has led to increases in tourism and trade deals agreements and investments of up to £400 million into the host city. 4
These international ‘brand’ benefits, like other legacy outcomes, cannot be achieved without sustained and intentional efforts from stakeholders across the bid process, including governments, event organisers, sponsors and more. 6
Resources and reading
- Giant support for baseball on global stage, opens in a new tab, South Australian Department for Trade and Investment, (12 October 2022). Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants met with the State’s Trade and Investment Minister Nick Champion in Japan this week, to invest in a partnership with Adelaide’s baseball team, also named the Giants. The relationship between the Japan and South Australian teams is becoming a growing contributor to the strengthening relationship between Adelaide and Tokyo, whose players visit each other’s cities during their respective off-seasons.
- Brand SA joins forces with one of South Australia’s favourite sports teams, opens in a new tab, South Australian Department for Trade and Investment, (27 September 2022). The Government of South Australia has formed a partnership with one of Australia’s best known and professional sporting organisations in a move that will help raise the state’s profile. In October, the Adelaide 36ers will play two games against NBA teams, the Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder, with South Australia’s State Brand prominently on show. The games in Phoenix and Oklahoma will help promote and support trade and investment opportunities for South Australia. Companies from Australia and South Australia, including Valo, Walker Corporation and XVenture, will also travel with the Adelaide 36ers to explore business opportunities and connections.
- Gold Coast jumps 20 places on the Sporting City index. Can it become a sporting capital?, opens in a new tab Kirsten Webster and Dominic Cansdale, ABC Gold Coast, (12 September 2022). The city is now ranked 26 in the world, with Melbourne the highest ranked Australian city at 10 and Sydney at 22. Gold Coast City Council Mayor Tom Tate said there was now an opportunity to claim a larger share of the $50 billion industry, especially after the success of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. "Our sporting economy is touching $800 million a year," he said.
- Commonwealth Games to put the Gold Coast on the global tourism map, opens in a new tab, Tourism and Transport Forum media release, (3 April 2018). The poll, commissioned by the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia (TTF), found that Australians believe the biggest long-term benefit of the Games will be the promotion of the Gold Coast on the global stage (40 per cent), beating out improved infrastructure and services (22 per cent) and additional jobs and economic growth (14 per cent). The survey also found that when asked whether the 2018 Commonwealth Games will help promote Australia to the world, 71 per cent said yes, 11 per cent said no and 18 per cent were not sure.
- London 2017: Key Stats Infographic, opens in a new tab, London and Partners, (2017). The IAAF World Athletics and World Para-Athletics Championships, which were held in 2017, have also showcased London in a positive way, with 97% of fans who attended the two events agreeing that they showed London to be a positive, vibrant city, with between 91 and 95% feeling that the events had a positive effect on London communities.
- GC2018 Legacy: Beyond the Games report 2024, opens in a new tab, Ernst and Young (EY), (2024). In June 2023, the Department of Tourism and Sport (DTS) engaged the services of EY to prepare the final Post Games Legacy Report (this Report) to assess the benefits against key objectives listed in the associated Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. This evaluation framework was collaboratively developed by the Queensland State Government and City of Gold Coast and other partners. This Report also provides an analysis of lessons learnt and potential considerations for Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics Games legacy planning. Highlights relating to international reputation include:
- The region has been awarded several major sporting events through the development of legacy infrastructure and the hosting of the Games – a prime example being Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The reputation of Queensland cities as sporting cities have improved from pre-GC2018. Stakeholder consultation revealed that GC2018 also showcased the region’s infrastructure capabilities and resulted in international teams visiting Queensland for training camps. Stakeholders have revealed that business events have also increased in the State.
- Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Our legacy, opens in a new tab, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, (July 2022). Highlights from the publication include £23.9 million Business and Tourism programme enhancing the region and UK’s profile as a destination for tourism, trade and investment.
- Promoting a Strategic Approach to EU Sports Diplomacy: Final report, opens in a new tab Richard Parrish, Antoine Duval, Silvija Mitevska, et al., Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, (December 2021). The aim of our project was to undertake primary research and stage a series of Multiplier Sport Events (MSE) to provide such evidence on the efficacy of sport as a diplomatic tool. During our six MSEs, we invited a wide range of actors to share their thoughts and experiences on the practice of sport diplomacy. These events reinforced our view of the value of sport in helping the EU achieve its external relations ambitions. In this study, we claim that now is the time for the EU to act more strategically in this field and adopt an EU Sport Diplomacy Strategy.
- Commonwealth Games Value Framework: Final report, opens in a new tab, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the Commonwealth Games Federation, (December 2019). A new report evaluating the benefits and costs of hosting the Commonwealth Games, which is the largest and most detailed analysis of the event in history, has revealed that staging the competition has consistently provided an economic boost of over £1 billion for previous host cities along with an array of positive social and environmental benefits. Some of the key trade, investment and tourism benefits identified were:
- Hosting the Games has ‘showcased’ the host city’s culture worldwide with a TV audience of 1-1.5 billion.
- Hosting the Games has led to increases in tourism of up to 25% in the three years after hosting, as well as trade deals agreements and investments of up to £400 million into the host city.
- Post-Games Report, opens in a new tab, Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation, (August 2018). GC2018 was a transformational event for the Gold Coast, our event cities and communities throughout Queensland. It created new opportunities, built capacity and shaped an enduring legacy that will last beyond the Closing Ceremony. It is estimated that GC2018 had a cumulative viewing audience of 1.5 billion worldwide, reaching 16 million individuals in Australia alone. The GC2018 website had 113 million hits, while our social media channels had over 1.5 million followers, eclipsing previous Commonwealth Games records. There were more than 1.2 million spectators in the competition venues and over 1.1 million people experienced the Festival 2018 program held across Queensland. Delivering a GC2018 to international sustainable event management standards supported our Games Delivery Partner’s shared vision for a strong and diversified economy, a pristine natural environment and an active, inclusive Gold Coast community.
- London four years on: a global host for sport, opens in a new tab, London and Partners, (July 2016). When seven young British athletes lit the Olympic cauldron in front of tens of thousands of global dignitaries, celebrities and sports fans on 27 July, 2012 it not only marked the start of 17 days of sporting achievement, it began London’s Olympic and Paralympic legacy. Four years on, the capital remains a global host of major sporting events. Whether it’s rugby or field hockey, athletics or cycling, American football or NBA basketball, London’s world-leading sporting venues continue to be a fitting home for the world’s top athletes, performing in front of packed out stadia and to audiences worldwide. During that time, London has hosted over 30 large-scale sporting events. This document showcases what the city has delivered since the Olympic cauldron was extinguished.
- Politics, policy and legacies of the Olympics in Asia Pacific: a panoramic view, opens in a new tab, Jung Woo Lee, Tien-Chin Tan, Sport in Society, Volume 24(12), pp.2067-2076, (November 2021). The Olympic Games in the Asia Pacific zone offers useful episodes where various tangible and intangible legacies of the sport mega-event can be examined sociologically, politically, and historically. In this opening essay, therefore, we will provide a brief social scientific review of three different variants of the Games in this region, namely Summer, Winter and Youth Olympics.
- Mega-events and place branding legacy for emerging economies, opens in a new tab, Brendon Knott, Kamilla Swart, Chapter 9 in Legacies and Mega Events, opens in a new tab, Routledge, (2017). Countries and cities are increasingly looking to sport mega-events to change or enhance their international reputation or brand image. While few would argue with the global attention these events command, assessing a definitive legacy for the place brand of the host is a more complex exercise. Similar to other legacy criticisms, questions remain around the longevity of perceived branding gains. This chapter details a number of different studies conducted to assess aspects of the place brand legacy from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The chapter discusses the branding opportunities that resulted from the event, the role of stakeholders in sustaining these branding gains, and the opportunities that exist for place branding legacy beyond sport mega-events, particularly for emerging place brands. Fact: Mega-events provide significant branding opportunities for cities and nations, especially within developing economies. Fairy tale: A positive branding legacy is an expected outcome from hosting a mega-event, without intentional, sustained leveraging efforts of brand stakeholders.
- Soft power and soft disempowerment: Qatar, global sport and football’s 2022 World Cup finals, opens in a new tab, Paul Michael Brannagan, Richard Giulianotti, Leisure Studies, Volume 34, pp.703-719, (2015). This paper examines the critical role of global sport within Qatar’s international strategy, most notably through the successful bid to stage the 2022 football World Cup. Our discussion draws particularly on interviews with key stakeholders in the Qatari sport system, as well as fieldwork in Qatar and the analysis of relevant documents and secondary materials. The paper is separated into five main parts. First, we set out our theoretical framework, which draws on the concepts of globalization and soft power; to assist in the analysis of Qatar’s engagement with global sport, we introduce the two further concepts of ‘glocal consciousness’ and ‘soft disempowerment’. Second, we provide the reader with background information on Qatar and Qatari sport. Third, we discuss three key themes that emerged mainly from our interviews on Qatar and global sport: exhibiting Qatar’s supremacies as a microstate; the pursuit of peace, security and integrity; and confronting national health crises. Fourth, we explore issues of soft disempowerment and reputational risk with regard to these three themes and, in particular, critical international comment surrounding Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. Fifth, we conclude by arguing that Qatar’s soft disempowerment, although damaging in the short term, leaves the door open for the state to respond in a positive manner, regenerating its soft power capabilities in the process.
- Interrogating states' soft power strategies: a case study of sports mega-events in Brazil and the UK, opens in a new tab, Grix, J., Brannagan, P.M., Houlihan, B., Global Society, Volume 29(3), pp.463-479, (2015). Central to this article is the use of sports mega-events as part of a state's “soft power” strategy. The article offers two things: first, a critique of the “soft power” concept and a clearer understanding of what it refers to by drawing on the political use of sports mega-events by states; second, the article seeks to understand how and why sports mega-events are attractive to states with different political systems and at different stages of economic development. To this end a case study of an advanced capitalist state (London Olympics, 2012) and a so-called “emerging” state (FIFA World Cup, 2014; Rio Olympics, 2016) will be undertaken in order to shed light on the role of sports events as part of soft power strategies across different categories of states.
- Soft Power, Sports Mega-Events and Emerging States: The Lure of the Politics of Attraction, opens in a new tab, Jonathan Grix, Donna Lee, Global Society, Volume 27(4), pp.521-536, (2013). This article highlights and analyses a hitherto largely neglected dimension to the growing agency of large developing countries in global affairs: their hosting of international sports mega-events. Why are large developing countries hosting sports mega-events and what does this contemporary phenomenon tell us about the significance of, for example, the Olympics and the World Cup in global affairs? We explore these questions through brief examination of the cases of the three most active sports mega-event hosting states in recent times: Brazil, China and South Africa. The 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and the upcoming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil provide interesting examples with which to explore developing country agency in the international system and in particular the discursive basis of that agency. We see the hosting of sports mega-events as the practice of public diplomacy by states to both demonstrate existing soft power capability as well as pursue its further enhancement.
- Sports Diplomacy 2030, opens in a new tab, Australian Government, Department of Health, (2019). The second Australian sport diplomacy strategy is linked to the national Sport 2030 plan and looks to create closer collaboration between the Australian sports codes, industry and government to leverage the nation’s sporting excellence in ways that enhance Australia’s influence and reputation to advance our national interests, including, promoting Australia as a host of choice for major international sporting events and leveraging associated legacy opportunities.
- The Australian Trade and Investment Commission, opens in a new tab – Austrade – is Australia’s leading trade and investment agency. We are experts in connecting Australian businesses to the world and the world to Australian businesses.
- Australia's major sporting events (MSE) capabilities, opens in a new tab, Austrade, YouTube, (accessed 17 January 2023). Australia has a distinguished track record helping host nations create and stage the world's premier sporting events. Here are some of our stories.
- Major sporting events, opens in a new tab, Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, (accessed 4 November 2025). Over the next decade, Australia will host some of the world’s largest sporting events culminating in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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