Major sporting events: achieving an international sport development legacy

Rationale/Purpose: With international sport development programmes increasingly contributing to the legacy of major sports events, there is a need to understand how sustainable, long-term legacy impacts may be achieved. This paper focuses on the management of such programmes and the steps that might be taken to sustain them. Methodology/Approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior event managers (n = 5) selected from several national (UK) and international sports governing bodies. Findings: Equal partnership is highlighted as central to enhancing legacy programme sustainability, by explicitly engaging stakeholders in the design and management process. Practical implications: Recommendations are provided for delivering sustainable international sport development programmes which represents a useful resource for organisations active within this field. Research contribution: The paper builds upon current sport management literature by proposing ‘best practice’ in relation to the assessment of delivery contexts, and how information gained through this process can shape sustainable sport development programme design.