When the Stage Came Down: A short-term feel-good experience at South Africa’s World Cup

This chapter argues that the strategy for realising soft power through the hosting of mega events has not been wholly successful. This discussion demonstrates that the act of pursuing soft power and national regeneration can negatively affect the host community’s sense of wellbeing. This can result in trade-offs such as the misallocation of community resources as governments prioritise their public diplomacy interests. By outlining the theoretical dimensions of the concept of Potemkinism, this chapter unpacks the characterisation and evaluation of how the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa was a short-lived feel good experience. The World Cup appears to have given governing bodies in South Africa a rationale for the reallocation of funds, thus creating a superficial surface that hid a different reality underneath. The concern raised by the respondents reveals that community members were largely knowledgeable about the potential negative outcomes associated with the excessive use public funds and resources. However, their voices were overlooked. The findings have important implications for examining how nations, in particular, emerging countries are increasingly using mega events as part of their ‘soft power’ strategies. Rather than coercion, it could be of value to consider community engagement through co-option.