Events like world expositions, sporting championships and trade fairs can have profound economic impacts on the places that host them. Beyond increasing international investment, growing trade and generating jobs and raising global profiles, they can accelerate or leverage long-term infrastructure investments. However, they must be carefully planned and executed to achieve these outcomes and create positive impacts on people and the planet.
Major global events reshape the geopolitics of their time, creating new power dynamics and alliances. They can also lead to changes in economic practices, such as the shift towards globalisation in the 20th century, which entailed the expansion of international trade and the development of multinational corporations.
Similarly, global events reshape demographic trends. Conflicts and economic crises often displace populations, driving migration across borders and leading to multicultural societies that are shaped by the influx of different cultures. Global events can also act as a catalyst for social movements, sparking collective action on issues like human rights and environmental concerns.
Climate change is perhaps the most obvious example of a global event impacting ‘all places’. Yet while it is a true statement that climate change affects everyone, its impact upon each place remains unequal. This is a result of the fact that different places have contributed differently to climate change, and are therefore better or worse equipped to withstand its negative effects. This highlights the danger of generalising that both global events and globalisation affect all places equally, as it can hide inequality.
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