A Triple Bottom Line Evaluation of the Impacts of UEFA EURO 2012: The Development of Indicators

Abstract: The vast majority of previous studies of mega-sporting events have had a clear focus on the evaluation of economic or social impacts, although, a need for a more holistic approach has long been acknowledged in academic research. Recently a framework known as the “Triple Bottom Line” (TBL) covering economic, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions has been incorporated into the field of mega-sporting events’ impacts studies. This thesis aims to contribute to the development of the TBL framework for evaluation of the impacts of mega-sporting events. In this study, the TBL framework is applied to the evaluation of the impacts of the Final Tournament of the UEFA European Football Championship 2012 on Ukraine, which is co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. This ex-ante study results in an assessment and comparison of the impacts of the event on host and non-host cities of Ukraine.