Politics and personalities: the 1986 Commonwealth Games as strategic action field

Abstract

Quadrennial sporting events are a recognized form of megaproject or mega-event and prior literature has examined in depth their motivations, and the reasons why they frequently fail to deliver promised outcomes. Much less attention has been paid in this literature to the interplay between different fields, and the role played by charismatic individuals. We address this lacuna by framing our longitudinal case study of the 1986 Commonwealth Games as a deeply contested strategic action field embedded in a number of key proximate fields, highlighting also the crucial role played by key individuals.