Beyond the Podium: How Mega-Sporting Events Forge Social Solidarity and Collective Identity in a Multi-Regional Context

Abstract

Mega-sporting events, as influential socio-cultural phenomena in the era of globalization, play a significant role in fostering social solidarity and collective identity within multi-regional contexts. The identity-building processes also exhibit limitations, including transient effects, superficial solidarity, and potential exacerbation of social divisions. The study mainly examines the core mechanisms through which such events transcend athletic competition to become catalysts for unifying diverse regional social forces. The findings reveal that these events facilitate cross-regional social cohesion and shared identity through multiple pathways: creating collective emotional experiences and shared memory, delineating in-group/out-group boundaries via the construction of a “common other”, performing national image and cultural narratives, and enhancing material and substantive interregional connectivity. Thus, inclusive policy design and long-term institutional mechanisms are crucial for transforming mega-events into sustainable drivers of social integration and collaborative regional development.