In an increasingly complex environment, nations
favour
using mega
sporting
events and the Olympic
G
ames in particular
as opportu
nities to project their
image
s
to
the outside world. The scale of the Olympic Games
and
its
popularity
has grown
over time, and each modern event
steps beyond its
sporting agenda
, ha
ving a much stronger social impact than ever before.
The
current paper is grounded in
a substantial theoretical base
around the concept
of a
“nation brand” and the process of nation branding through mega events
and the Olympics in particular. It is followe
d
by
a
case
study of the Sochi 2014
Winter Olympics.
A two
-
stage interpretative qualitative study
, consisting of
interviews and a public survey,
was employed to reveal that nation branding
was indeed one of the major aspects of the Sochi 2014 communication
strategy. However, it is argued further that the event’s long
-
term impact on
public perception of the country is not evident, despite
the
high quality of the
organisation process and a warm reception of the event itself. It is argued that
state
-
influenced
nation branding and
the
damaging impact of
politically
resonant
events
, which followed the Olympics,
on Russia’s reputation are
among primary causes why succe
ss was not sustainable. The research paper
concludes with a discussion of the
implications for
policy makers
