Mega-events and human rights violations: Empirical evidence from the long-term perspective

Abstract

As developing countries have started to host the mega-events (e.g., FIFA, Olympics), the focus has shifted toward the human rights conditions in the host country rather than the competition itself. Up to now, far too little attention has been paid to the impact of mega-events on human rights. This study aims to fill that gap by examining the relationship between mega-events and human rights violations in hosting countries. By applying panel data techniques to a rich dataset, we find that hosting mega-events has a positive impact on human rights. These findings remain statistically significant after several different specifications.