Bladen et al (2012) states that there are many different examples of what an Event is depending on the viewpoint, it describes the general characteristics of an Event to be temporary, gatherings of people, often ritual displays and are usually unique; however Mega Events are described as being events that are on a global scale; leaving behind long terms effects on the place in which it took place and also for the people that attended.
Mega Events are usually every few years, for example the winter and summer Olympic games are every four years. Mega Events can be recognised for not only the economic impacts but also the social impacts as well as the audience scale the Event gains during it. The audience of a Mega Event is not only the number of attendees but also the number of people that watched the Event via other means of media, for example when the 2012 Olympics in London were running, not only could people watch it on television but also the internet, even some radio stations had commentary on was happening during the 2012 games. In 2006 the FIFA World Cup held in Germany was live on television, although 3.4 million people watched the game in the stadium; the cumulative television audience was 26.3 billion. (FIFA 2007). Bowdin et al (2001) explained that Mega Events will affect whole economies and in result they are circulated widely in the global media. ‘Mega-events’ are large-scale cultural (including commercial and sporting) events which have a dramatic character, mass popular appeal and international significance’ Roche, M. (2000). Mega- events and Modernity: Olympics, Expos and the Growth of Global Culture. Abington. Routledge. Horne and Manzenreiter (2006) extended this quote