Évolution de la demande sociale de sport et remise en cause de la compétition

Abstract

Sporting spectacle and sport practice are historically considered as the two parts of a whole, naturally having close and diverse ties. However, these ties are expressed in a sport pyramid which has been jeopardized over the past decades: Sport is not anymore systematically practiced in entities affiliated to the national associations; the access to top-level sport is becoming "tailor-made"; professional sport is managed by sport companies; competitions are developed outside the federal system; etc. May this societal evolution threaten the sporting spectacle? This article will provide an answer to this question through two case studies. The first one will tackle the host of mega sport events and will check if hosting such events encourages the sport practice. The second one will question the correlations that may exist between the number of licensees in a discipline and the number of spectators/tv viewers.