There’s a host of trouble when nations host big events

This week Egypt is hosting COP27, the major United Nations conference on climate. World leaders are gathering in the Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh for two weeks of intense discussions generated by findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with a warning that our planet is warming with devastating implications for all of us.

The COP27 conversations could get heated as experts argue over who should bear the burden of addressing climate change, including what steps wealthy nations will take to mitigate against further damage and compensate for existing problems generated by greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s never easy to be the host country. Tens of thousands of people descend on your cities, crowding out local populations and disrupting everyday life. Nations are always eager to brand themselves, sell their wares, attract tourism and big business, using so-called soft power to raise their profile and popularity.  

But not all public relations are good public relations. One the one hand, you get global attention. On the other hand, you get global scrutiny. 

In the case of Egypt, protests are gathering steam as activists and human rights groups use COP27 to highlight the country’s crackdown on dissidents during the rule of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egypt experienced mass uprisings in 2011 and 2013, when thousands of civilians were jailed and press freedom was curtailed. Egyptian civil rights groups and humanitarian organizations have started a petition calling on the Egyptian authorities to end prosecutions and restore basic freedoms.

Like many host nations with problematic human rights records, Egypt will resort to strict security to prevent violence, which will only reinforce the lack of freedom. And like most host nations, many ordinary Egyptians will face restrictions on their ability to move around the city, while visitors will pay exorbitant rates to stay in hotels.

A similar scenario is about to unfold in nearby Qatar, host of the upcoming FIFA World Cup. This small Middle Eastern country about the size of Connecticut with a population of 3 million will host 1 million raucous soccer fans in its capital, Doha. 

Qatar has been preparing since it won the bid for these games in 2010, employing thousands of foreign workers in what leading experts say has been harsh, unfairly paid, dangerous, even deadly labor. One expert said that for less than the price of a seat to watch one game, migrant workers broke their bodies, endured extreme heat and faced degrading working conditions.

Like most hosts, Qatar insists it is ready and able to withstand the scrutiny in return for being in the global spotlight, with the attention of billions of television viewers and social media users.

But for weeks during the games, school hours will be reduced, offices closed and traffic rerouted to limit how much free rein fans get and to avoid conflicts over things like alcohol use, which is banned in most parts of Qatar, not to mention the treatment of LGBTQ people, whose lifestyle is outlawed.

Increasingly, host nations, especially ones with authoritarian roots, will endure boycotts and biting critiques, such as China endured during the recent Winter Olympics, where the U.S. and other nations protested human rights violations and downgraded their official representation.

Global cities are already under duress due to climate change, population growth and economic downturns, not to mention residual COVID-19. One would think these cities make big bucks hosting mega-events, but economic analyses suggest otherwise. As the leading sports economist in the world, Andrew Zimbalist, writes in “Circus Maximus,” “the perennial claims that hosting the Olympics or the World Cup is an engine of economic development find little corroboration in independent studies.”

Despite the pros and cons, cities are always vying to host events. So, get ready: 2026 will see 16 cities hosting World Cups matches across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

In the meantime, hats off to hosts. It’s not an easy job, but someone has to do it.

Tara D. Sonenshine is the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.