Perspectives on the volunteering legacy of the london 2012 olympic games: The development of an event legacy stakeholder engagement matrix

Abstract

Using a sustainable event legacy timeline, this article examines the extent to which the existing volunteering infrastructure supporting volunteer management in the host city were engaged before, during, and after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to generate a legacy for volunteering. This infrastructure includes volunteering peak bodies, volunteer resource centers, national sport governing bodies, community organizations and local government. A case study of the London 2012 Games was employed involving extensive documentary evidence and interviews with senior level informants. The findings revealed limitations with official legacy planning and a failure to engage with the voluntary sector in the host city. The event legacy timeline is combined with four key themes to emerge from the data to conceptualize an event legacy stakeholder engagement matrix. This identifies recommendations to enable future host cities to optimize opportunities from Olympic Games volunteer programs to generate wider community benefits.