Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 194­215, 2003
 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
0160-7383/03/$30.00
www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
doi:10.1016/S0160-7383(02)00050-6
SOCIAL IMPACTS OF
THE SYDNEY OLYMPICS
Gordon Waitt
University of Wollongong, Australia
Abstract: This paper, drawing on social exchange theory, examines the changes in enthusi-
asm between 1998 and 2000 towards Sydney's Olympics among a socially diverse sample of
host city residents. In particular, it studies variables that differentiate respondents' altering
attitude. Results suggest that for the majority the reaction to Sydney's Olympics intensified
from 1998, reaching euphoria in September 2000. Elation was particularly evident among
those living in the city's western suburbs, those with dependent children, those from non-
English backgrounds, or who perceived the event's wider economic benefits as outweighing
personal costs. Implications arising from this project are considered for future researchers
and organizers of hallmark events. Keywords: Sydney Olympics, hallmark events, social
impacts, exchange theory.  2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Résumé: Impact social des Jeux olympiques de Sydney. Cet article, qui fait appel a` la théorie
d'échange social, examine les changements dans le niveau d'enthousiasme entre 1998 et
2000 envers les JO de Sydney parmi un échantillon socialement divers des habitants de la
ville d'accueil. En particulier, il examine les variables qui différencient les attitudes
changeantes des personnes interrogées. Les résultats sugge`rent que, pour la majorité, la
réaction aux Jeux olympiques s'intensifiait de`s 1998 et a atteint l'euphorie en septembre
2000. L'exultation était évidente surtout parmi ceux qui habitaient la banlieue ouest de la
ville, ceux qui avaient des enfants a` charge, ceux des milieux non anglophones et ceux qui
percevaient que les bénéfices économiques plus larges l'emportaient sur les cou^ts personnels.
Les implications suscitées par ce projet sont considérées pour les chercheurs futurs et pour
les organisateurs d'événements de marque. Mots-clés: Jeux olympiques de Sydney, événe-
ments de marque, impacts sociaux, théorie d'échange.  2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION
At the turn of the century, cities as sites of tourism spectacle have
given hallmark events a new economic role and heightened signifi-
cance. Global sporting events are perhaps the ultimate example of the
city as tourist spectacle, given their million dollar budgets, world mar-
kets, and the rapid turn-around of capital. However, relatively little is
known about the events' social impacts. Indeed, Fredline and Faulkner
(2000) argue that far greater concern has been given to evaluating the
Gordon Waitt is currently Associate Professor in the School of Geosciences, University of
Wollongong (Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia. Email <gordon wait-
t@uow.edu.au>). He is a graduate of the Department of Geography, Edinburgh University,
United Kingdom. His current research interests address the geographies of urban and nature
based tourism particularly the commodification of nature, the social impacts of tourism,
cities as spectacle and destination marketing.
194
195GORDON WAITT
political, cultural, economic, and environmental consequences. This
argument is confirmed by publications about Sydney's Olympics. Such
an emphasis may be misplaced on ethical and pragmatic grounds. A
planning/management regime sensitive to quality of life and equity
outcomes is an essential ingredient of sustainable tourism, since hosts
who are positively disposed to special events will enhance the tourists'
experience and contribute to the destination's attractiveness (Madrigal
1995). Social impact assessments have often relied upon secondary
data including court records and newspaper reports (Hall, Selwood
and McKewon 1989), or often a "snapshot" of resident attitudes at a
particular time (for an important exception see Ritchie and Aitken
1985). Carpenter (1992) lamented the absence of a temporal dimen-
sion in social impact research.
The purpose of this paper is to address such acknowledged limi-
tations in examining the temporal dynamics of the social impacts of
Sydney's 2000 Olympics, drawing upon primary data from two tele-
phone surveys conducted 24 months before and then during the
games. The study was designed to permit examination of whether a
wave of euphoric mass consciousness increasingly captures resident
imaginations and, if not, whether enthusiasm is differentiated along
spatial, socioeconomic, demographic, or altruistic lines. The temporal
analysis presented here provides some insight into these issues. Equally
important is to identify how planners and managers of future global
sporting events may effectively target strategies aimed at both maximiz-
ing positive and minimizing negative social impacts.
RESPONSES TO TOURISM AND EVENTS
Theoretical frameworks examining tourism's social impact have
received increasing attention following Ap's (1992) critique. In
addition to theorizing the impact of tourism at the level of individual
and collective affect, various schools of thought have theorized the
subject in terms of frameworks prioritizing self-identity (Wearing and
Wearing 1996), social representations (Pearce, Moscardo and Ross
1996) and political economy (Cox and Mair 1988). This paper is pos-
itioned within the humanist school, seeking to measure individual
affects.
Social exchange theory accounts for divergent resident evaluations
of tourism impacts primarily in terms of experiential or psychological
outcomes. Feelings or psychological states result from the experiences
conveyed "symbolically through the objects exchanged, the functions
performed by the exchange, or the meanings attributed to the
exchange" (Bagozzi 1975:138). This theory suggests that residents
evaluate tourism/events as either positive or negative in terms of the
expected benefits or costs deriving from the services they supply.
A positive perception is suggested to occur only when both actors
have high levels of social power within the exchange relationship.
According to social exchange theory, power derives from having, con-
trolling, or influencing resources that another actor needs and values
(Wrong 1979). Negative perceptions, in contrast, are related to low
196 SHARE THE SPIRIT
social power levels among actors, since they perceive little gain from
the exchange. In addition, this theory suggests that residents' evalu-
ations of tourism are reliant upon the "relationship form" between
residents and the event's organizers. Positive or negative evaluations
are theorized in terms of the presence or absence of certain "ante-
cedent conditions": rationality, satisficing benefits, reciprocity and the
justice principle (Searle 1991). Rationality pertains to an actor's
behavior being based upon reward seeking. Consequently, in the tour-
ism setting, residents who perceive rewards of either maintenance
and/or improvement of their social and economic well being are over-
all likely to evaluate the event positively (Ap 1992). Satisficing of bene-
fits suggests that residents may well be aware of the negative effects
but nevertheless accept tourism because they perceive the positives as
outweighing the costs. Residents are assumed to seek to obtain a satis-
factory, reasonable, or acceptable level of benefits from the social
exchange relationship rather than maximization of benefits. However,
a threshold of tolerance of tourism is assumed to exist that varies both
spatially and temporally and which, once exceeded, unleashes nega-
tivities. Consequently, a resident will only develop a positive attitude
if the expected benefits meet an acceptable predetermined level of
satisfaction. Reciprocity proposes that if resources exchanged between
the host residents and the industry are roughly equivalent, the effects
are perceived positively by all parties. In the context of hallmark events,
the perceived rewards should equal residents' willingness to carry the
infrastructure costs, extending friendliness, courtesy and hospitality to
tourists, and tolerating inconveniences (such as queuing for services,
sharing local facilities, overcrowding, traffic congestion, and route
disruption). The justice principle suggests that each exchange be
underpinned by norms of fairness to ensure that residents receive
reasonably equitable returns for their support or participation. Resi-
dents are more likely to have positive perceptions if they have a sense
of participation in planning policies and trust in the event organizers.
Public participation in the planning process is often advocated as a
mechanism for implementing social justice through reconciling host
residents and tourism development objectives (Lankford and Howard
1994). Local activism, spurred by negative perceptions, is likely when
the resource exchange value is perceived to bias the event over resi-
dents. Critically, for this paper, exchange relations are not temporally
static. Residents constantly re-evaluate the perceived consequences of
the exchange transaction within a dynamic social setting. However, it
is assumed that this must remain positive if they are likely to continue
in future exchange behavior (Figure 1).
Faulkner and Tideswell (1997) summarized the variables that may
differentiate both individual and collective exchange relationships by
an intrinsic and extrinsic dichotomy. Personal evaluations of tourism
or events may vary in association with both perceived social justice and
other intrinsic variables including: residential proximity to attractions,
evaluation of the event in terms of "altruistic surplus" (Fredline and
Faulkner 1998), and demographic characteristics. In brief, residents
who live in close proximity to heavy tourism concentrations are more
197GORDON WAITT
Figure 1. A Model of the Social Exchange Process
likely to be negatively disposed by virtue of their greater exposure to
its negative externalities such as traffic noise, congestion and litter.
The altruistic surplus effect is demonstrated when, summing the social
benefits accrued, an individual puts group interests ahead of his/her
own. Demographically based effects are also likely to be dependent on
the degree of similarity between the resident population and the target
market of the event in terms of identity, age, or socioeconomic charac-
teristics.
The extrinsic dimension comprises overarching, contextual vari-
ables. Historically these include the stage of tourism development, the
seasonal patterns of tourism activity, tourists/resident ratios and
host/guest cultural differences. Such ideas are exemplified in Butler's
(1980) destination lifecycle model and Doxey's (1975) `Irridex' model.
However, mounting contradictory empirical evidence undermines the
value of these particular extrinsic variables (Fredline and Faulkner
1998). Resident responses to impacts are simply too differentiated by
the societal and temporal context for theoretical frameworks con-
ceived along evolutionary projections of increasing dissatisfaction. In
this paper, the extrinsic variables have been reconceptualized in terms
of an event's social representations and role in the "place wars"
between competing cities in a globalizing economy.
The Societal Context of Sydney 2000
In theory, the Olympics offered Sydney's entrepreneurs and poli-
ticians an event to both reposition the city as a global city and to
198 SHARE THE SPIRIT
restructure the local economy in "creative" industries. Its economy had
not been immune to deindustrialization in the 70s and 80s, witnessing
the closure of manufacturing activities and the growth of information
technology, regional headquarters, financial services, and tourism.
Sydney was also not exempt from problematic social features follow-
ing the economic transformations to global city living, particularly the
highly controversial phenomenon of social polarization. In Australia,
Badcock (1997) demonstrated that particularly Sydney had increas-
ingly divergent life opportunities and socioeconomic circumstances,
with the greatest division occurring between the northern and western
suburbs. The latter had higher levels of youth unemployment and
numbers of unskilled migrants, and lower levels of household income,
education, and English proficiency. In comparison, the former became
home to many highly skilled service economy employees. Local media
representations underscore this west/north binary polarity, portraying
a city divided between the uneducated/intellectual, poor/affluent,
criminal/law abiding, and violent/safe (Mee 1994). Sydney's popu-
lation was increasingly understood as empirically and symbolically pola-
rized.
In 1991, within this polarizing context, Sydney Olympic Bid Limited
(SOBL) was established to secure the rights to host the 27th Olympiad.
As a public-private partnership, securing the games for Sydney was a
business venture. Public transparency of this organization was never a
requirement. Indeed, as a registered limited company, all SOBL docu-
mentation remains protected for 30 years from freedom of infor-
mation provisions.
Creating and sustaining substantial public support for the bid was a
key SOBL role. Economically, the bid's chief-executive, Rod McGeoch
(1994), repeatedly argued that the games were an imperative part of
securing Sydney's status as an Asia-Pacific regional headquarters and
international tourism destination. Socially, the bid was also employed
to manufacture consensus in an era of increasing socioeconomic polar-
ization. SOBL (1993) invited Sydney residents to "Share the Spirit" in
wide-ranging and innovative ways to sustain public interest and legi-
timize claims of an unqualified Australian public support. Invitations
included television campaigns, fashions designs, `high-jacking' public
events and federal and state government sponsored Olympian edu-
cation packages designed to teach pupils to "Share the Spirit". Knowl-
edge of sporting traditions in sustaining Australian national identity
unified these diverse campaigns. The "community spirit" that SOBL
invited Sydneysiders to share was specifically that of an imagined
national identity within sporting traditions.
Hosting the games required not only public support but also a site
that could contain most of the sporting venues. In 1990, the 760-hec-
tare Olympic site at Homebush Bay had already been identified by the
New South Wales government as the only available location (Figure
2). The land was mostly a government owned brownsite. Redundant
space appeared from closure of noxious chemical industries, arma-
ment depot, and abattoir. An opportunity was provided to generate a
public legacy of remediated land, housing, parkland, and sports facili-
199GORDON WAITT
Figure 2. Location of Sampled Statistical Local Areas in Sydney
ties in Sydney's socially disadvantaged west. Locating an Olympics at
Homebush provided a mechanism by which to implement a material
and symbolical site transformation, from a marginal brownsite of noxi-
ous industries and dump to a central, vibrant, clean, "green" economic
base sustained by consumptive practices of culture economies, prim-
arily sport.
Ever since being awarded the bid, public controversy has surrounded
the games (Kell 2000). Questions have been raised of Aboriginal social
justice and human rights violations, "greenwashing" the remediation
process and dioxin levels at Homebush (Beder 2000), and creative
accounting regarding the actual public costs (Booth and Tatz 1996).
In 1998, public revelations began about the bid team's use of
"inducements" to various International Olympic Committee delegates
200 SHARE THE SPIRIT
(Burroughs 1999), culminating the next year in the investigation of
high profile Australian committee members. Also in 1999 the proposal
to erect the temporary Olympic beach volleyball stadium on Bondi
beach (an Australian icon) was attacked (Owen 1999), together with
a ticketing fiasco and increasing fears of a budget shortfall. Inevitably
arrangements for the Olympics began to disrupt rhythms of household
and business life. In the seven years leading up to the event, for
example, daily trips were inconvenienced by a building and transport
infrastructure program that transformed the Central Business District,
Homebush, the airport, and Bondi Beach. The closer the games
approached the more wide-reaching and personal the impacts became,
of school terms, university semesters, day-light hours, public transport
timetables, and access to certain roads. Such widespread disruptions
to daily routines were a potential source of personal irritation to
many Sydneysiders.
During the 16 days of the games, however, the Olympics appeared
to provide a reason to celebrate rather than protest. Boisterous cel-
ebrations did little to confront stereotyped notions of Australianess.
Attendance in the hundreds at public protests, such as the temporary
Aboriginal Embassy in Victoria Park, were dwarfed by a public presence
in the thousands at Olympic inspired social activities. Sydney 2000,
although centered on celebrating sport, also generated a multitude of
official and unofficial parties, often underpinned by patriotism.
Immediately before the games, public interest, imagination, and
nationalism were captured by the 100 day torch relay, beginning at the
symbolic heart of the nation (Uluru/Ayers Rock) and culminating in
the arrival of the flame in Stadium Australia (Sinclair 2000). The open-
ing ceremony stirred patriotism to new heights through a four-hour
extravaganza, celebrating national identity. The party atmosphere was
sustained throughout the games by providing free entertainment at a
number of street venues in the city. The party atmosphere culminated
in the closing ceremony's fireworks display. Given the emergent public
controversies and transformation from anticipated to lived experience,
a temporal dimension is clearly an essential element in addition to
spatial and demographic variables to examine a hallmark events'
social impact.
Research Methods
One way to measure at the level of affect and feelings, the individual
exchange evaluation of hosting an event, is to construct an enthusiasm
scale. Procedures employed in developing one for measuring host resi-
dents' appraisal followed widely accepted procedures for attitudinal
scaling. Three steps were involved: creating, pre-testing, and refining
the multi-scale item.
Creating an enthusiasm scale to appraise events came after a com-
prehensive literature review (Fredline and Faulkner 1998, 2000; King,
Pizam and Milman 1993; Lankford and Howard 1994; Syme, Shaw,
Fenton and Mueller 1989). Seven questions were designed to measure
respondents' degree of enthusiasm towards the games from their level
201GORDON WAITT
of agreement or disagreement with various statements. Responses were
measured on a 5-point Likert scale (Likert 1967). The wording was
reversed for approximately half the items in order to avoid response
set bias. The seven emotional affects of the enthusiasm multi-item scale
were desire to attend, desire to be a volunteer worker, support for the
Olympics if it were to occur today (the survey date), sense of com-
munity spirit, sense of pride in Sydney as a result of the 2000 Olympics,
sense of excitement as a result of the games, and sense of pride in
Australia as a result of the games. In addition, five questions were asked
regarding perceived economic impacts (economic importance, tax
increases, employment opportunities, costs of living, and responsibility
of organizing authorities) and perceived environmental impacts for
air, water, and biodiversity.
Rather than sampling from the whole of metropolitan area, only
Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) containing Sydney's socioeconomic
extremes were selected to explore how the process of social polariz-
ation might influence the games social impact. The highest socioecon-
omically ranked SLAs were Mosman, Ku-ring-gai, and Willoughby; Fair-
field, Liverpool, and Auburn comprised Sydney's lowest scoring. With
a target of 200 respondents for the pretest, a sample proportional to
each SLA's total population was randomly selected from the telecom-
munication company's (Telstra) CD-ROM. Telephone calls were made
to the household at each randomly identified number. A stringent
three-phased call back procedure was adopted to minimize non-
response biases that might result from residents not being home.
Potential respondents refusing for reasons of inconvenient timing were
asked to specify their preferred time to minimize non-response bias. In
each household only one person aged 18 years or over was an eligible
respondent. Each interview had a similar question format. The overall
response rate was 30%, with no difference in response rates between
SLAs.
Scale purification began with the computation of Cronbach's coef-
ficient alpha. Results for the 7-item Olympic enthusiasm scale provided
an Alpha coefficient of .8 (where 1.0 is the most accurate measure of
the phenomenon). Exploratory factor analysis was employed to further
examine the validity and dimensionality of the enthusiasm scale. In
this case 15 items were subjected to exploratory principal component
factor analysis, the seven questions identified as measuring enthusiasm,
the five perceived economic impacts, and the three perceived environ-
mental implications. As expected, within the results of this analysis, the
seven questions intended to measure "enthusiasm" loaded on a single
factor. The variance accounted for by this factor was 47.7%. Statisti-
cally, these results suggest that the 7-item scale accurately measures the
social impact of either anticipating or experiencing a hallmark event.
Two telephone interviews provided the primary data. The first sam-
ple was gathered over a period of three weeks in March 1998 from
658 Sydney residents. The distribution of completed interviews by SLA
is provided in Table 1. The sampling strategy broadly mirrored that
used in the enthusiasm scale pretest. This time, however, over 2,000
telephone calls were made, giving a response rate of 33%. Of those
202 SHARE THE SPIRIT
Table 1. Distribution of Respondents by Statistical Local Area
Western Statistical Local Areas Northern Statistical Local Areas
Fairfield Liverpool Auburn Mosman Ku-ring-gai Willoughby Total
1998 157 (24%)149 (22%) 44 (7%) 50 (8%) 168 (25%) 90 (14%) 658 (100%)
Survey
2000 45 (25%) 23 (13%) 19 (11%) 13 (7%) 54 (30%) 24 (14%) 178 (100%)
Survey
who declined to participate, 10% claimed English language difficulties,
45% were not interested, and a similar percentage refused on grounds
of insufficient time.
In 1998, 456 (70%) respondents expressed a willingness to partici-
pate in a second follow-up questionnaire. In September 2000, during
the three weeks of the Olympics, all were contacted again but only a
smaller subsample of 178 respondents were available or willing to be
re-interviewed. Of the repeat telephone numbers dialed, 30 (7%) were
ineligible because the initial respondent no longer lived there. Of the
remaining eligible respondents, 93 (20%) could not be contacted, 76
(17%) were no longer interested, 9 (2%) were too busy, while in 66
(14%) cases the telephone number had been disconnected since the
first survey. In addition to the generic problems in longitudinal
research of maintaining participant interest and contact details,
vacations coinciding with hosting the Olympics may have further
reduced the response rate. The 2000 survey's similar proportional dis-
tribution to the one conducted in 1998 (Table 1) suggests that these
reasons operated uniformly across metropolitan Sydney.
Data limitations arise from the sampling strategy. Concerns of a
response bias stem from the participants' decision to continue with
the survey. Without any reward for participation, the decision to coop-
erate may have been due to already having a positive disposition
towards the Olympics. By purposefully sampling only from Sydney's
socioeconomic extreme SLAs, this sample makes no claim to be rep-
resentative of the total metropolitan population, only the areas from
which it was drawn. By relying upon listed telephone numbers from
one telecommunications supplier, the survey technique excludes the
homeless, those who can not afford a telephone, and those unlisted
or opting for an alternative supplier. Furthermore, there is no post-
Olympic data to determine whether enthusiasm is sustained after
the event.
In the surveys of 1998 and 2000, the instrument comprised three
main parts. To measure an individual's "exchange evaluations" respon-
dents were asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagree-
ment on a five-point Likert scale with each of 7 enthusiasm statements.
The second part recognized that these evaluations might differ among
individuals; therefore, respondents were asked about their demo-
graphic attributes and proximity to Homebush. Their willingness to
203GORDON WAITT
make personal sacrifices for Sydney's benefit and their need for social
justice were inferred from answers to questions about perceived econ-
omic impacts. Further, a series of open questions allowed respondents
to express their own evaluations. Using questions worded similarly to
those in Ley and Olds' (1988) analysis of the 1986 World Exposition,
respondents were asked "in what ways they could illustrate the best
and worst aspects of Sydney's Olympics?", "what they would remember
most?", and "whether they thought the games were worth the estimated
cost to the New South Wales taxpayers of some US$1.3 billion?"
Potential data constraints may have been introduced by the interview
schedule's structure, particularly with the open-ended questions
appearing after the closed ones. Some respondents, rather than supply-
ing their own words/ideas, may also have chosen to repeat simply those
concepts supplied in the closed questions. However, the majority nar-
rated a story around a personal experience rather than simply reiterat-
ing a supplied construct.
In both 1998 and 2000 frequency distributions drawn for the
enthusiasm item scale revealed a positively skewed response bias. Non-
parametric Wilcoxon signed rank paired tests were calculated to ident-
ify whether the perceived emotional benefits from hosting the 2000
Olympics had changed over two years. For the same reason, non-para-
metric Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests were performed to
ascertain whether there were significant differences between groups in
mean rank scores of enthusiasm, differentiated by respondent percep-
tions of economic and environmental impacts and socioeconomic or
demographic attributes. A form of content analysis, or "framework
analysis", was then performed on the qualitative responses, following
the procedures of familiarization, classification, and indexation rec-
ommended by Ritchie and Spencer (1994). This allowed the identifi-
cation of different themes underpinning respondent appraisal of the
games, categorized according to a specific intrinsic variable.
Study Results and Discussion
Between 1998 and 2000, enthusiasm levels were not only sustained
but increased. Overall, frequency distribution bias for both years sug-
gests respondents held very positive attitudes towards Sydney 2000. In
1998 and 2000, item by item comparison of the frequency distributions
suggests that the very strong positive desire to bid for another Olympics
remained unchanged over the two-year period, with 61% strongly
agreeing in 1998, and 67% in 2000. Greatest percentage increases over
the period were in the degree of willingness to participate as a volun-
teer (up from 3 to 35%) and feeling a sense of community inspired
by the Olympic spirit (increasing from 43 to 68%).
In 2000, the level of experienced enthusiasm was also significantly
more positive than that anticipated two years earlier (Table 2). The
Wilcoxon paired signed rank analyses confirm that the most significant
transformations of respondents' attitudes involved the desire to partici-
pate as a volunteer worker, and feelings of sharing in an Olympic com-
munity spirit. Equally, statistically significant positive changes occurred
204 SHARE THE SPIRIT
Table 2. Temporal Changes in Respondents Enthusiasm Toward Sydney 2000
Wilcoxon Paired Signed Rank <0 Rank <0 Rank >0 Rank >0
Rank Analysis Countb
Mean Count Mean
Rank Rank
Overall Enthusiasm Attitudea
(Z value=0.05, P-Value=<0.0001)
54 71 119 93
Desire to be a volunteer at the Sydney Olympicsa
(Z value= 5.4, P-Value=<0.0001)
21 42.9 78 51.9
Feelings of a sense of community spirit as a result of Sydney 2000a
(Z value= 5.2, P-Value=<0.0001)
26 44.7 80 56.3
Feeling a sense of pride in Sydney as a result of Sydney 2000a
(Z value= 4.3, P-Value=<0.0001)
27 38.5 66 50.4
Feelings of pride in Australia as a result of Sydney 2000a
(Z value= 2.8, P-Value=<0.0001)
38 51.6 69 53.3
Feelings of excitement about Sydney hosting the 2000 Olympicsa
(Z value= 4.7, P-Value=<0.0001)
27 36 67 52
Desire to bid for the Olympics again if it was to occur today
(Z value=0.67, P-Value=<0.0001)
54 53.8 53 54.1
a
Statistical significant results, with P-values <0.05.
b
Rank <0 count is the number of respondents who scored a higher value on the attitudi-
nal scale in the year 2000 than 1998, suggesting a decreasing level of enthusiasm. Con-
versely, the rank >0 is the number of respondents who scored a lower value on the
attitudinal scale in the year 2000 than 1998, suggesting an increasing level of enthusiasm.
in respondents' feeling a sense of Olympic derived excitement and
pride in Sydney and Australia. Together, these suggest that "euphoric"
might best describe the social impact of the Olympics operating at the
level of feelings during two-week period. Yet, in neither year was the
social impact at an emotional level operating homogeneously across
all respondents. Consequently, each intrinsic variable was analyzed to
explore if it could account for response variability.
To develop a rationale for attitude variability, the relationships to
respondent demographic characteristics were explored using non-
parametric tests. Results from a series of Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal
Wallis tests suggest for both years that socioeconomic variables
(education, income, and employment) do not differentiate signifi-
cantly among respondents' attitudes. This result supports findings by
other tourist-focused studies (Ryan and Montgomery 1994). Such a
finding also confounds proponents of the "bread and circus" school,
who argue that the most socioeconomically disadvantaged will be those
most absorbed by an event's "party" syndrome. Rather, it would seem
205GORDON WAITT
that the "redemptive ideology" in Australian sporting traditions offered
by Sydney 2000 appealed across all socioeconomic classes. In contrast,
however, enthusiasm for Sydney's games was clearly differentiated by
respondents' demographic characteristics (Table 3). Generally, older
respondents were least enthusiastic and those with young dependents
were generally most positive. Those born in non-English-speaking
countries or respondents who identified themselves with a hyphenated-
Australian identity, such as Vietnamese-Australian, were also very posi-
tive towards the Olympics, regardless of age or marital status. Clearly,
Sydney's Olympics, from the period of anticipation to actualization,
held greatest appeal for younger adults, families with children and
migrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds. For example, as one
parent explained "[I]t's encouraging to see my children playing the
sports they've watched at the Olympics. I hope my children, and grand-
children in generations to come, are inspired by Sydney's Olympics".
Importantly, the perceived reward was not couched in terms of training
future champions but rather embedded within arguments of improved
health and social networking.
Another theme involved rewards centered upon the opportunity for
their children to experience the social harmony that notionally under-
pins the Olympic ideal. Several parents spoke of how, in their experi-
ence, the games helped in various ways to dissipate perceived differ-
ences between people and to illustrate to their offspring the principles
of global citizenship, social equity, and respect for cultural difference.
The Olympics is "such a worthwhile event to put on ... [pause] ...
uniting a city and the world ... [pause] ... upholding many ideals" and
"[The] games are special, each person [is] counted as equal." For these
respondents, the Olympics were played out not only in Homebush,
but also in countless backyards and streets within Sydney. While the
movement has been accused of having an ideology of world peace
through sport that is nothing but rhetoric, for many Australian families
the `Olympic dream' became a lived reality enacted, whether by play,
watching television, a visit to the city or at a sporting venue. In part,
this positive evaluation can be perhaps understood as an outcome of
parental perceptions of the social and health benefits for their children
from hosting the games.
Similarly, content analysis of the open questions provided insights
into why immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds, or those
Australians expressing a hyphenated-identity remained very positive.
From their responses it appears that the best and most memorable
characteristics of the games involved feeling part of an Olympics'
inspired "community". Such expressions included: "I will always
remember walking down the Olympic Boulevards with crowds, it was
such a buzz to be part of something this big" , and "it doesn't matter
where you go in Sydney you can sense a camaraderie and friendliness".
Hence, despite Magdalinski's (2001:306) concerns that the spirit
invented by the SOBL valorized the mythical Australia imagined as the
mono-cultural paradise of the 50s, most non-Anglo Celtic respondents
spoke of Sydney 2000 as sustaining experiences of inclusion. Further-
more, they did not comment that the reward was being able to cheer
206 SHARE THE SPIRIT
Table 3. Test Results for Expressed Feelings of Enthusiasm
Year of Birth Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank
1976­82a
1966­75 1951­65 < 1950
1998 Surveyb
(H- 68 67 73 100
value=15,
P-value=0.001b
, DF=3)
2000 Survey (H- 86 86 76 93
value=3.3,
P-value=0.34, DF=3)
Country of Birth Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank
Australia Eng. Speak "Other
1998 Survey (H-value=1.3, 92 86 83
P-value=0.5, DF=2)
2000 Surveyb
(H-value=5.4, 96 76 79
P-value=0.06, DF=2)
Identity Mean Rank Mean Rank
Australian Hyphenated-
Australian
1998 Survey (U value=3591, 89 86
Z-value= 0.17, P-value .86)
2000 Surveyb
(U-value=3844, 96 76
Z-value= 2.44, P-value=0.01)
Dependents Mean Rank No Mean Rank
Yes
1998 Surveyb
(U-value=2949, 94 79
Z-value= 1.81, P-value=0.06)
2000 Surveyb
(U-value=2786, 95 76
Z-value= 2.32, P-value=0.02)
Location Mean Rank Western SLAs Mean Rank
Northern
SLAs
1998 Surveyb
(U-value=3279, 81 97
Z-value= 1.9, P-value=.04)
2000 Surveyb
(U-value=7195, 82 96
Z-value= 1.8, P-value=.05)
a
Given the mean ranks are calculated from responses to a 5-point Likert scale with 5
indicating strong disagreement, 3 indicating uncertainty and 1 indicating strong agree-
ment. Higher mean rank values indicate a less positive attitude towards Sydney's Olymp-
ics.
b
Statistical significant results, with P-values <0.05.
207GORDON WAITT
for their former home country. Instead, several commented that the
games best aspects were Australians winning gold medals, particularly
Ian Thorpe. Such perceived rewards perhaps confirm optimistic argu-
ments that global sporting events can operate to help ethnic minorities
recognize themselves as part of a wider imagined national community.
Proximity to Homebush is also important in accounting for different
enthusiasm levels. In both surveys statistically significant differences
between northern and western Sydney were identified (Table 3).
Respondents from the western SLAs had a more positive reaction
towards the games than those from northern parts. In this case, appar-
ently, proximity to Homebush sustained higher enthusiasm levels for
the event from 1998 to 2000.
Why western suburb respondents were in general more positive in
their appraisal, despite disruptions created by construction activities
before and traffic congestion during the event, may be attributable in
part to the demographic characteristics. For example, the demo-
graphic profile of western Sydney had a higher proportion of younger
adults (a median age of 31 versus 37 in the northern suburbs), families,
and overseas born. (Fairfield is Australia's most ethnically diversified
SLA, having residents born in over 20 countries in certain census col-
lection districts.) Such demographic attributes are those most receptive
to the "buzz" surrounding the games. Equally, respondents com-
mented upon a number of material rewards; a legacy of sports facilities,
the revitalization of a once highly toxic site and the re-imaging of
Homebush as Sydney's new heart. Any short-term inconvenience for
some was perceived as offset by these new resources. In short, in Syd-
ney's western suburbs the demographic profile and an iterative process
between the local material and symbolic rewards of Sydney's games
sustained positive levels of evaluation.
Altruistic Surplus, Social Justice and Exchange Evaluations
Results from Kruskal Wallis tests suggest enthusiasm of respondents
was also associated with their willingness to make personal economic
sacrifices. Those who were generally negative about Sydney's Olympics
seem to have envisaged far greater personal games related economic
penalties, for example in the form of increased taxes and/or higher
general costs of living. During the anticipation period, perceived per-
sonal economic burdens were a key source of respondent concern.
Undoubtedly, the potential for a public financial burden surrounding
a "failed" games worried some respondent; many spoke of Montreal's
US$500 million debt inherited from the 1976 games. However, over
the two-year period, the number of respondents who perceived
increased taxation and living costs declined (Table 4). Perhaps with
hindsight, none of the worst case economic scenarios had eventuated.
In contrast, those who rated the games positively in both surveys gener-
ally displayed a higher level of personal altruism. They perceived wider
economic benefits deriving directly from the games through the cre-
ation of permanent jobs and the positive spin-off impacts on Sydney's
economy, despite many having personal reservations. Similarly, in
208 SHARE THE SPIRIT
Table 4. Expressed Feelings of Enthusiasm by Perceived Economic Impacts
Item Mean Mean Mean Mean
Rank Rank Rank Ranka
Strongly Mildly Mildly Strongly
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree
Tax Increase
1998 Survey (H-value=9.6, P- 85 (40%) 76 (31%) 60 (8%) 46 (6%)c
value=0.22b
, DF=3)
2000 Survey (H-value=8.0, P-value 88 (15%) 62 (23%) 63 (25%) 71 (14%)
0.04, DF=3)
Living Costs
1998 Survey (H-value=10.2, P- 96 (28%) 88 (37%) 67 (16%) 66 (12%)
value=.016, DF=3)
2000 Survey (H-value=4.3, P- 89 (21%) 88 (16%) 72 (30%) 50 (21%)
value=0.22, DF=3)
Positive Impact on Sydney's Economy
1998 Survey (H-value=37.7, P- 60 (40%) 87 (31%) 116 (10%) 120 (12%)
value=<0.01, DF=3)
2000 Survey (H-value=8.0, P- 88 (15%) 62 (23%) 63 (25%) 71 (14%)
value=0.04, DF=3)
Permanent Jobs
1998 Survey (H-value=14.4, P- 54 (14%) 79 (30%) 86 (18%) 97 (30%)
value=0.002, DF=3)
2000 Survey (H-value=11.7, P- 56 (19%) 66 (17%) 79 (22%) 87 (23%)
value=0.008, DF=3)
Estimated Public Cost US$1.3 Billion Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank
Yes Unsure no
2000 survey (H-value=24.6, P- 76 (42%) 108 (5%) 123 (18%)
value=<.001, DF=2)
a
Given the mean ranks are calculated from responses to a 5-point Likert scale with 5
indicating strong disagreement, 3 indicating uncertainty, and 1 indicating strong agree-
ment. Higher mean rank values indicate a less positive attitude toward Sydney's Olympics
b
Statistically significant results have P-values <0.05.
c
The number in parentheses is the percentage of respondents in the Likert scale cate-
gory. Where item percentages do not total 100%, this can be attributed to respondents
remaining undecided over their perceived economic impact.
2000, it was this subgroup that was generally not concerned about a
possible cost blow-out.
Nevertheless, it also worth noting over the period that a higher
degree of skepticism and uncertainty emerged over the perceived
broader economic impacts. In 2000, far fewer respondents perceived
positive economic impacts arising from hosting the Olympics than in
1998 (Table 4). Similarly, the percentage of those who were uncertain
about how they perceived the economic implications of Sydney's
Olympics increased from around 7 to 20%. For many the initial rose-
209GORDON WAITT
tinted perceptions regarding economic benefits for Sydney were fad-
ing.
To develop possible explanations for divergent reactions regarding
the economic impact, content analysis was applied to responses to the
open question which asked whether the Olympics was worth US$1.3
billion of taxpayers' money. Framework analysis revealed that the min-
ority of respondents categorized by their negative evaluation of the
public expenditure expressed two recurrent themes, "social injustice"
and "no personal rewards". The former theme suggests that respon-
dents felt that public monies could have been better spent on other
welfare facilities, particularly transport, the homeless, and the public
medical system (Medicare). For example: "No. The Olympics is good
for competitors, but the money could've been spent elsewhere, on hos-
pital, schools or roads". These responses were particularly common
among the elderly. The social injustice perceived among this subgroup
perhaps reflects a personal vested interest in provisions of public
health care facilities.
The "no personal rewards" theme was clearly expressed by respon-
dents who, from their experiences of the games, perceived only draw-
backs for either themselves or for other Sydneysiders. One respondent
expressed displeasure with the Olympics in terms of personal disrup-
tions to daily activities as follows: "It's been bloody chaos, mate. It's
[The Olympics] all bad. Nothing but [a] disruption to my life. It's
done nothing for me, mate". Alternatively, for others the event was
regarded as exclusionary, a show to entertain overseas tourists. As one
respondent stated: "Definitely not worth it [US$1.3 billion] ... done
to favor tourists ... hasn't done anything for the locals. Overall, how
terribly irritating the whole thing [Olympics] is". The minority of
respondents who articulated negative attitudes based their evaluations
upon a perceived mismatch between the public expenditure involved
and their perceived needs as local residents. Or, alternatively, for them,
personal disruptions impacted more heavily than any benefits.
The majority of respondents, however, perceived gains as out-
weighing costs, agreeing with the public expenditure. Three altruistic
themes recurred in their responses, namely "community and national
spirit", "international promotion", and "future business investment".
Three social justice themes also were present: "budget", "once-in-a-life-
time opportunity", and "public infrastructure".
The frequent recurrence of the altruistic theme "community and
national spirit" indicates that this was perhaps the most powerful
psychological reward for many respondents. They expressed the
rewards from patriotism in the following ways, "... everyone who went
[to the Olympics] was on a natural high, [I have] never seen such
enthusiasm and pride in Australia" and "[the] community spirit is
amazing. Just being in Sydney was amazing even if you didn't go to
the games". In other words, a community identity born of Australian's
imagined sporting traditions emerged under the weight of the enter-
tainment provided by the event.
The altruistic theme "international promotion" also suggests that
another substantial psychological reward stemmed from the feeling
210 SHARE THE SPIRIT
that, after the event, Australia would no longer be a marginalized desti-
nation. A Eurocentric conceptualization of the world map had for too
long positioned Australia as the land "down-under". These respondents
believed that the tyranny of distance would no longer dominate in
informing overseas people's worldview. As one respondent remarked,
"not many people know what Australia is, [The Olympics] put us [Aus-
tralia] on the map". Similarly, another expressed that, "Australia would
be put on top of the world, many nations have not known Australia's
advantages". Furthermore, the Olympics were envisaged by many
respondents as a mechanism that might help to dismiss widely circulat-
ing popular cultural myths of an Australia informed by its distinctive
marsupials rather than its human achievements.
[The Olympics] raised consciousness [of the] entire world to Aus-
tralia...[pause]...its beauty...[pause]...not a backward nation with
kangaroos in the street that is often the overseas view. You know, we
managed [to host an Olympics] without stuff-ups, apart from the
torch.
National economic rewards were also perceived as stemming from
the higher international profile, summarized under a altruistic theme
of "future business investment", as can be seen from the following state-
ment: "It [the US$1.3 billion] will come back [in the future] through
tourism and business investment". Adding the Olympics to Sydney's
profile was often perceived by respondents as an important mechanism
for increasing its international competitive advantage over other cities.
Therefore, an important psychological reward from hosting the
Olympics in terms of national and community pride included the
belief that the place where they lived, both Australia more generally
and Sydney in particular, had now achieved a greater international
profile, standing and recognition. For these respondents, Sydney had
come-of-age through hosting the games. Mueller and Fenton capture
this rationality antecedent in terms of the sense of pride and the self-
esteem of host city residents, expressed in a feeling of "we can do it!
" (1989:275).
The social justice "budget" theme refers to the point that some
respondents perceived the public expenditure as either inexpensive or
justified in terms of community esteem. One respondent captured this
theme: "Yes, for the community spirit, even if it (The Olympics) cost
ten billion!". Furthermore, the themes of "once-in-a-lifetime-opport-
unity" and "public infrastructure" suggest that many respondents also
regarded the event as a mechanism for positive social discrimination.
Some claimed that their lives would be somehow enhanced by this
unique lifetime experience: "Maybe we'll never have it [The Olympics]
again in a lifetime". Others argued that the infrastructure provided for
the games would result in a lasting legacy, enhancing Sydney's urban
facilities and ambience. This theme is apparent in such statements as:
"Yes, Sydney needed a facelift and improved infrastructure". Appar-
ently, the urban legacy of the event and the world's insights into the
city would contribute to making the city a better place to live. Despite
allegations of creative accounting over Olympic's budget, for the
211GORDON WAITT
majority of respondents a sense of fairness underpinned the social
exchanges spawned by the event. They perceived material and social
rewards far greater than the public costs.
CONCLUSION
This paper departs from the recent emphasis in the hallmark event
literature on the relationship between the tourist-city and economies
of signs and symbols (Zukin 1991; Urry 1995; Waitt 1999). Instead, it
contributes to the literature examining the social impact of tourism,
particularly host residents' appraisal of events. As a longitudinal study
examining individual and collective enthusiasm towards Sydney's 2000
Olympic Games, the paper sought to explore the importance of time,
place, demographics, and perceived economic impacts in differen-
tiating responses. Resident reactions in Sydney's most socioeconom-
ically polarized SLAs are examined within social exchange theory. Atti-
tudes towards an event are argued as modifiable across time because
the formation of an exchange relationship between the individual and
the event is not static but rather constantly negotiated and renego-
tiated. According to social exchange theory, underpinning these
mediated social relations are issues of rationality, satisfaction, recip-
rocity, and social justice. Increasing feelings of antagonism, expressed
in negative reactions, are suggested to occur when the perceived social
costs outweigh the benefits of the exchange relationship between the
event and the individual.
Conducting telephone surveys with the same respondents, of a tar-
geted sample, two years before and then, again, during the 2000
games, provided a unique insight into how residents' reactions
changed. Multi-item attitudinal scaling provided an established meth-
odology for examining the positive or negative attitudes towards Syd-
ney 2000. Faulkner and Tideswell's (1997) identification of
"extrinsic/intrinsic" variables provided a range of a priori constructs
regarding the dimensions along which residents responses may be dif-
ferentiated and tested using inferential statistics. Indirect open ques-
tions identified the best, worst, and most memorable aspect attributes
of Sydney 2000. Qualitative analysis sought emergent themes, other-
wise obscured by closed questions. Qualitative results were employed
to provide insights into why enthusiasm levels differed among respon-
dents.
Particularly for a longitudinal project, telephone surveys, while cost
effective in accessing a large number of respondents in a short time,
brought constraints to the data quality. Establishing and maintaining
any sense of continued commitment to the project among respondents
whose only contact with the researcher was a telephone conversation
proved extremely difficult. There was little sense of personal rewards
or ownership amongst respondents. One expression of this was often
minimalist responses, often one-word answers. Therefore, the tele-
phone survey seems less satisfactory for eliciting qualitative responses
than providing responses to attitudinal scales. Qualitative responses
also lack social qualities often generated within focus groups through
212 SHARE THE SPIRIT
debate and discussion. Future projects examining social impacts of
events may wish to consider these design limitations.
Paired non-parametric tests indicate that while in 1998, respondents
generally felt positive as they anticipated the games, enthusiasm for
the event became even more pronounced during 2000. The "buzz"
surrounding the games was expressed particularly in feelings of patriot-
ism, community spirit, and the desire to participate as a volunteer.
Unquestionably, a significant psychological reward for many respon-
dents was that the imagined bond that underpins national identity
became a lived reality over the 16 days.
Nevertheless, the feelings aroused by the Olympic Spirit were not
shared equally. The results suggest that it is not the most socioeconom-
ically disadvantaged in society who are most enthusiastic about the
event, as theorized within the euphoric mass consciousness of the civic
boosterism school. No statistical difference in levels of enthusiasm
could be found when the sample was differentiated by surrogate meas-
ures of class (education, occupation, income). Thus, the validity of the
"bread and circus" argument is questionable. Certainly, the results of
these surveys suggest it is difficult to sustain arguments that global
sporting events are a mechanism that the state can employ either to
homogenize public mass consciousness or to legitimize its authority
among those most economically disadvantaged in society.
Since respondents who were most enthusiastic tended to be either
families with dependent children, from non-English speaking back-
grounds, or those who perceived the event's economic benefits as out-
weighing the costs, these findings have important implications for
organizers of future events. First, they confirm that global sporting
events can be employed as a mechanism to generate patriotism and a
sense of community or belonging, particularly among the young and
ethnic minorities. Such psychological outcomes may in part help com-
bat the culture of nihilism that is often said to be undermining both
spatial and other identities in global cities everywhere (Lash 1990).
Many residents of global cities are argued to be living within a poten-
tially alienating void of self-understanding because of the loss of family,
gender, class, ethnic, religious, or other social relations that once acted
as a source of self-identification and understanding of the past. As
clearly demonstrated by Sydney's Olympics, global sporting events pro-
vide the opportunity for government and city authorities to
(re)establish or increase the attachment and identification of people
to place. For Sydney, the possibilities presented by these outcomes are
particularly relevant in an era marred by increasing levels of youth
suicide, homelessness, and drug addiction as well as accusations of
racism against those not conforming to an Anglo-Celtic Australian
national identity (Chan 1997; HREOC 1991). However, a hallmark
event's relevance in addressing any of these social issues diminishes if
such benefits are not sustained after the "circus" has left town. Further-
more, the community spirit that the Olympics inspired may have only
revived a flag-waving form of nationalism rather than claims of a new
spirit of Australianness that breaks with a racist legacy. Future research
must address these questions.
213GORDON WAITT
Perceived economic rewards appear crucial in further differentiating
appraisals. For some, public expenditure on sports and transport infra-
structure may never be justified. In Sydney, this was particularly the
case among elderly respondents, who held more negative attitudes.
They spoke instead of their preferred state government budget priority
on welfare facilities, especially hospitals. For others, these findings also
suggest that the level of public expenditure may not generate negative
attitudes, particularly among those who display a level of altruism that
is, perceiving potential economic gains flowing to the national econ-
omy from international tourism and foreign investment. In contrast,
it appears that among Sydneysiders, the Olympics' most bitter critics
were respondents who evaluated the public costs as excessive, and
spoke only of the disruptions and inconveniences to their personal
lives. Such findings suggest that residents' perceptions of the personal
and national economic impacts arising from hosting a global sporting
attraction have the potential to undermine public confidence in the
event. In Sydney's case, and despite controversies over the public
budget, the perceived rewards arising from place specific attributes
helped sustain enthusiasm. These included the widely held perception
that this Olympics would counter outdated Australian stereotypes,
stimulate future overseas tourism and investment, as well as provide
new urban infrastructure. Place specific attributes, including respon-
dents' perceived evaluations of the host nation's role, city, and people
in the world economy is critical to how a global sporting event is
appraised. A
Acknowledgements--This research was made possible through funding from a Small Aus-
tralian Research Council Grant and space at the University of Sydney made available
through Deirdre Dragovich. Murray Wilson provided critical insights on earlier versions
of this paper.
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Submitted 24 July 2001. Resubmitted 16 April 2002. Resubmitted 6 May 2002. Accepted
29 May 2002. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: Julio R. Aramberri