Edinburgh Napier University

  The use of mega sporting events (MSEs) as drivers for development within host locations has become the subject of some significant research, relating to both the positive and negative impacts that these events can have on the destinations where they are staged. Within the socio-political impact sphere, there has been growing attention paid to the area of human rights (HR) and the ability for events to focus media attention the current HR situations at large within destinations and the potential use of these events to legitimise negative treatment of marginalised host-country communities. This chapter aims to look at these socio-political issues associated with the staging of MSEs with a focus on the human rights of the host community, and for those directly affected by the planning, development and staging of them.