The overlooked public: examining citizens’ perceptions of and perceived role in hosting mega-events

This research aims to answer questions about how citizens perceive the hosting of mega-events, how they view their role in interacting with foreign visitors (e.g., person-to-person diplomacy), and to what extent they communicate in support of, or against, their country’s mega-event efforts. By focusing inward and examining citizen perceptions and communicative actions, this research expands the work that has been done around nation branding and the impact of hosting mega-events, which usually foregrounds the response of foreign publics. Internal/citizen publics are largely overlooked and bear great importance from a communication, public relations, and public diplomacy standpoint. A convenience sample of 426 Italian citizens completed the online survey. Results indicate that citizens who placed high importance on their interactions with foreigners reported significantly higher scores on attitudes toward Italy hosting the World Exposition (Expo), positive megaphoning behaviors about Italy hosting the Expo and perceived themselves as ambassadors during the mega-event. The findings highlight that the important role citizens can play as ambassadors, both of their country and on behalf of the mega-event. Their megaphoning behavior and perception of the importance of interacting with foreign visitors have the potential to magnify the positive impact of hosting mega-events both internally and abroad. Introduction A variety of scholars in public relations and public diplomacy have considered the role of mega-events and the impacts they have for hosting and participating countries (e.g., Kim et al. 2014; Muller 2015; Wang 2013). Mega-events can be defined as, “ambulatory occasions of a fixed duration that attract a large number of visitors, have a large mediated reach, come with large costs, and have large impacts on the built environment and the population” (Muller 2015, p. 634). Much of the related public relations and public diplomacy research focus primarily on the ways in which hosting mega-events (i.e., World Expos, World Cups, the Olympics) builds, improves, or expands the perception foreign and external publics have of the hosting country (Grix and Houlihan 2014; Wang 2013). Some explore the ways foreign countries present themselves to host countries (e.g., the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, Wang 2013). However, despite Muller’s (2015) definition citing large impacts on the population of the host country, little scholarship examines citizens’ perceptions of mega-events or their perceived roles related to them.