World Health Organization backed summit calls for sustainable mega sports event legacies which boost physical activity

Launched during the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) in Qatar, a new report, co-authored by WISH partners and the World Health Organization (WHO), calls on governments, sports authorities, and the wider sporting community to maximize the investment and excitement generated by sports mega events and leave behind more permanent health benefits for communities.

The report, Playing the Long Game; A framework for promoting physical activity through sports mega-events, recommends ways to strengthen mega sports event legacies so that they contribute more effectively to increasing physical activity, and improving the health of populations.

Commenting on its findings, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated “large-scale sport events are significant opportunities to promote the health and social benefits of physical activity and sport, and ensure a lasting health legacy for generations

“But sports events are too often missed opportunities to produce sustainable change. The Playing the Long Game report underscores how learning from past events and better planning can lay the foundations for health and sustainable sports legacies.”  

With regular physical activity, including through playing sport, is proven to help prevent and treat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and breast and colon cancer, the WHO is aware that one in four adults and four in five adolescents are not active enough - and that there has been little change in the average levels of physical activity over the last 15 years.

Global sports mega events attract millions of viewers and large investments, and can make an important contribution to promoting public health messages and increasing physical activity through effective event legacy programmes. However, there is currently no global standard of what a sport event legacy should involve; requirements set by different organizing authorities for hosting events vary and there are no standard metrics to assess sport mega event legacy planning, delivery or long-term impact.

WISH Director of Research and Content, Didi Thompson comments “many cities that host sports mega-events have grand plans to leverage the momentum around these events to increase physical activity and improve health. But time and again, we can’t seem to show any measurable impact - the data just isn’t there.”

For the first time, a framework has been presented for the design and implementation of such legacies to maximise the reach and impact on community participation in sports and physical activity.

Playing the Long Game details seven strategies to deliver meaningful sports mega event legacies which start with the planning and bidding process and extend 10 or 20 years after the event itself - promoting better health for years ahead. One recommendation is to set common key performance indicators to measure the impact across its legacy lifecycle including the design, planning, delivery/implementation and evaluation.

The framework draws on the strategic objectives outlined by WHO in the Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030: More active people for a healthier world (GAPPA) which charts a comprehensive approach to encourage participation and behavior change, and ultimately influence increased physical activity in all populations.

The impact of the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced participation in physical activity and sport worldwide. It also increased depression and anxiety by 25%. COVID-19 has highlighted more than ever, the importance of increasing efforts to engage more people in regular physical activity and sport.

Globally, noncommunicable diseases cause 74 percent of deaths each year and will burden health systems and communities significantly if efforts to encourage sports and other forms of physical activity among their populations do not improve. Increases in NCDS are projected to result in an estimated US$47 trillion loss to the global economy between 2010-2030.

WHO’s Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030 promotes active societies, people and environments to contribute to the global goal of increasing participation in physical activity by 15% by 2030.

Playing the Long Game
Playing the Long Game, released at the Sport for Health Conference, builds on the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) 2020 publication, Stepping up to the plate: Planning for a lasting health legacy from major sporting events, and focuses on the opportunity of sports mega event legacy to improve health by increasing participation in physical activity locally and globally.

The authors of the report are Fiona Bull, Paul Simpson, Didi Thompson, Abdulla Saeed Al-Mohannadi, Ravinder Mamtani, Javaid Sheikh, Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

The Sport for Health Conference, incorporating the 4th Annual Meeting of Football is Medicine (FIM), was co-hosted by the World Health Organization, the Qatar Ministry of Public Health and Generation Amazing Foundation.

It is being held from 4th to 6th October in Qatar as part of the Healthy 2022 World Cup - Creating Legacy for Sport and Health Initiative, a partnership between WHO, State of Qatar (Ministry of Public Health) and Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

Images: The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (top) and the Paris 2024 Organising Committee has stated “getting the French people moving more is more than an objective, it is an issue that mobilizes us in the construction of our project” (below, credit: Shutterstock).