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Vol. 7, 2025
1. Securing fan parks: the interconnection model confronted with the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Saint-Etienne (France)
Fan zones have proliferated over the last twenty years, enabling a wider public to take part in the atmosphere generated by sporting events outside stadiums. These areas generally have a festive mood and are used for commercial transactions and promotions. Spectator flows also raise safety issues. The threats to this type of gathering are many and varied: terrorist attacks, crowd movements, collective panic, bad weather, alcohol-related excesses, clashes between team spectators, etc. The security of these events is therefore complex.Numerous stakeholders contribute to making these areas safe. Getting them to cooperate during the event preparation phase, and then coordinating to deal with possible incidents or crisis situations, is essential. While leadership and authority are necessary, the skills and expertise required to control security are distributed among interdependent players. As a result, over-centralization of information and decisions, through excessive weight given to one or other of the stakeholders, is likely to hamper the collaboration required to produce a safe event. Conversely, horizontal configurations, with room for dialogue and consideration of respective interests and constraints, seem likely to contribute to effective risk management.Using the case of the fan zone set up in Saint-Etienne for the Rugby World Cup 2023, we propose an analysis of the security process, focusing in particular on the frequency and content of exchanges between stakeholders. […]
Section: Research articles
2. Value Components in Equestrian Self-Organization
Aim: Self-organization in sport and leisure activities has increased in recent years but remains relatively unknown. This trend is also evident in equestrian activities, generating economic and societal challenges for institutions and professionals of the sector. Self-organization refers to the independent management of one or more tasks that could otherwise be subcontracted. For some practitioners, it is the result of a mismatch between their demand and the supply of available services. To better understand the determinants of equestrian self-organization, this article examines the consumer value associated with this choice.Question: The sports service, unlike material goods, involves an immaterial exchange contract requiring consumer participation. In this context, this article analyses the value components of sports self-organization, in the case of equestrian activities. Additionally, this exploratory research aims to understand which value components influence the overall value of self-organization and whether this overall value is also influenced by attachment to the animal and self-efficacy. Methodology: The methodology is based on a quantitative survey conducted online via social networks (Facebook, X - Twitter and Instagram) over six months in 2021, in France with 615 respondents. Structural equation models are used in the analysis. Results: The results reveal that attachment to the animal, self-efficacy, economic value, hedonic value, and ethical value associated […]
Section: Research articles
3. Spectator no-show in sport events: Forms, causes, consequences, and management perspectives
This research takes an exploratory approach to the phenomenon of no-show – defined as the unexpected absence of ticket-holding spectators – in the context of sports events, through the perspective of the organisations confronted with it. Indeed, while no-show represents a growing challenge for sports event organisers, the scientific literature on the topic remains very recent and is largely dominated by economic studies based on datasets of professional sport season-ticket holders, with a particularly strong focus on European football. Considering these limitations, this study seeks to expand current scientific knowledge by adopting a different epistemological approach, a level of analysis centred on the stakeholders within sports organisations, and a broader empirical scope encompassing a wider range of sporting events. More specifically, we focus on the characterisation of no-show, its underlying causes, and, above all, its consequences and the strategic countermeasures implemented to mitigate it, which have so far only been studied in a very indirect manner.Drawing on semi-structured interviews conducted with six professionals from the sports event sector and one from the cultural events sector, a thematic analysis of the resulting corpus allows for a more precise definition and delineation of the phenomenon, for instance by distinguishing total no-show from partial no-show, while identifying and categorising both internal and external causes from the organisers’ […]
Section: Research articles
4. Analysis of values in the statutes of sports clubs: The case of clubs in Ticino and Vaud
This study examines how sports clubs in the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Vaud integrate ethical and social values into their governance by analysing their statutes. Sports clubs, as central actors in youth socialization, serve as key venues for the dissemination of values. The aim is to assess the extent to which these values are formalized, made explicit, and aligned with the Swiss Olympics’ Ethics Charter.A total of 190 statutes from clubs affiliated with various federations were analysed using a qualitative approach (MAXQDA). The coding framework was based on the values promoted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), UNESCO, and Swiss Olympic.The results show that the promotion of sport (160 mentions) and team spirit (83 mentions) are the most frequent themes, while moral and ethical principles are less commonly cited (41 mentions). The complete absence of the verb “to transmit,” despite its centrality in the Ethics Charter, reveals a lack of formalization in how values are conveyed. Ticino clubs more frequently reference the Ethics Charter, whereas Vaud clubs place greater emphasis on fair play and anti-doping measures.These findings highlight a gap between the recognition of values and their practical implementation. To enhance the effective transmission of values to young athletes, it is necessary to harmonize the drafting of statutes, introduce training initiatives, and include monitoring mechanisms.
Section: Research articles