The purpose of this study was to investigate the nation branding process deployed by a host country organizing committee. Three research questions helped guide this study: (1) How does the organizing committee see the opportunity of hosting a sport-mega event (SME) as a nation branding tool? (2) What aspects of the FIFA World Cup (FWC) do people working with the organizing committee believe, create such nation branding opportunities? (3) How do event organizers leverage a nation branding legacy from the FWC? A single case study was built using 1,669 document pages, and nine semi-structured interviews and data were thematically analyzed. The study investigated relevant organizational documents and the event organizers’ perspectives to determine the nation branding processes. Results revealed the organization's approach to nation branding involved assessing their external image, creating a country narrative based on the population's characteristics and values, and depicting a unique identity by showcasing their cultural heritage to increase the attraction of the nation brand. Findings highlight that nation branding through the FWC requires the LOC’s strategic coordination through nation brand stakeholders, nation brand ambassadors, important organizations as well as the leadership of the nation in order to build brand equity.

London 2012 was the 30th Olympiad, and the third time that London had hosted an Olympic Games. The rationale for hosting the Games was to undertake a large-scale regeneration of Stratford and the East London region. The research explored the experiences of community representatives who live and/or work in East London. The research was inductive and focused on the empirical findings of the research via a sociological lens. Three overarching research themes (urban regeneration, socioculturalism, governance and economics). The original contribution to knowledge relates to the limited amount of research previously conducted which take into account all three of these overarching themes. 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed alongside official documents and newspapers using narrative thematic analysis and critical discourse analysis. Two main findings emerged from the analysis; Marginal Gains and the Ripple Effect. It is recognised that the positivity found throughout the presented narratives may have been present due to the time period in which the research was undertaken. Future research should focus on whether the time period has an influence on the experiences of community representatives and whether similar (economic and governance) is experienced by future host cities.