Social Leverage Of Sporting Mega-Events And Co-Production. The Case Study Of Orlik Facilities In Poland After Euro 2012

This study analyses the process of social leveraging of UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland for sports participation through a case study of Orlik facilities. It identifies new arrangements in the governance of the facilities that are based on the co-production of amateur sports offer in a polycentric nested system. This novel bottom-up approach brought results in terms of increased participation in the facilities. The analysis is based on a case study of Orliks over a period of eight years, from 2011 until 2018. The main method was ethnography consisting of open-ended semi-structured interviews and participant observation. This study connects the notions of legacy and leverage of mega-events with Elinor Ostrom's concept of co-production. The analysis supports earlier findings on the legacy of mega-events in terms of sport participation which discussed the advantages of bottom-up, local approaches in comparison to centrally planned programmes.