An evaluation of safety and risk management in international sports events from a sustainability perspective

The aim of this study is to examine how event management experts who have worked at international sports events held in Türkiye evaluate the safety and risk management practices applied at these events from a sustainability perspective. The study was conducted as a basic qualitative study based on expert interviews. The study group consisted of ten experts with experience in sports event management, determined through purposive sampling; five of the participants were women and five were men. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview form of ten open-ended questions developed on the basis of expert review, and the data were analysed by means of content analysis. The analysis produced six main themes: the qualifications of security personnel, entry-exit and technological control systems, emergency and disaster planning, participant information, the positioning of health services, and event management expertise and training needs. The experts evaluated safety provision less in terms of the number of personnel than in terms of staff training, technological infrastructure and crisis preparedness, and they expressed a clear perception of inadequacy regarding emergency planning, pre-event participant information and the preparedness of the organizing team. The findings indicate that sustainability in international sports events can be linked not only to environmental planning but also to dimensions such as operational continuity, participant safety, institutional capacity, social acceptance, and resilience to crises. Overall, according to expert opinion, safety and risk management plays a critical role in sustainable event management.