全球智库信息集成服务系统

• Volunteers have an important role to play in maintaining public safety and facilitating positive spectator behaviours during major sporting events. This is at least in part due to how volunteers are perceived by, and engage with, spectators at such events.
• Given the importance of recruiting and retaining volunteers, event organisers must understand and respond to their motivations. Key motivators identified in this case study include a sense of pride in one's community and country; the opportunity to gain experience and develop skills; meeting new people and strengthening personal relationships; a passion for sport; and a desire for a new experience.
• Maintaining the engagement of volunteers requires event organisers to care for their wellbeing; match them with roles that suit their interests and abilities; manage their expectations; communicate effectively; and recognise their contribution to the event.
• Building a legacy of volunteering after a major sporting event is challenging, and requires significant forward planning and financial investment.

This case study seeks to examine the role of volunteers in the successful delivery of major sporting events, with a particular focus on their contribution towards maintaining public safety and facilitating positive fan behaviours. Given the importance of volunteers to these efforts, we also explore some of the key motivators for volunteers, which organisers should take note of and respond to in order to ensure that volunteers stay engaged over the course of an event. The case study also briefly considers the challenges of and opportunities for building a legacy of volunteering after an event has finished, and concludes with some key lessons for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.