ABSTRACT
The notion of 'mega-events' has attracted considerable academic attention since the late 1990s. It first attracted scholars within leisure and tourism-related disciplines, but interest progressively expanded into sociology, geography and communication studies to name just a few of the other most dominant disciplines. The term mega-event has been rapidly generalised since it first made an appearance and became popular in practitioner as well as academic circles during the late 1980s and 1990s. The capacity to guarantee worldwide live media coverage is key to create 'global moments' and thus, despite some contestation, live coverage has become the most determinant factor in achieving mega-event status. A mega-event is defined by its international media dimensions. As such, event activities are planned, staged and narrated to address media requirements. The global media and communications framework so characteristic of all mega-events is important as it gives a marked focus to what counts as 'culture' within the event staging process.
