ABSTRACT
Globally, public and social policy is increasingly viewing volunteering as a contributor to addressing social needs and as a catalyst in creating more social and community cohesion. This is most clearly evident in the rhetoric accompanying the attraction of major events to cities and nations, where expectations of volunteering legacies form a component of the rationale to host such events. To date, most academic attention on event volunteering has concentrated on future volunteering development. This chapter seeks to open up a broader discussion about how event volunteering can be leveraged to generate wider social legacies. Drawing on unique insights of a dedicated event volunteer programme associated with the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow that actively sought to enhance social connectedness, the chapter explores how social legacies can be generated and considers implications for future event volunteer management.
