It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Mega-events such as the Olympic Games involve huge numbers of volunteers from the host community, necessitating the development of a large volunteer program, which will only operate for a short time. Leveraging this volunteer energy to lead to longer-term community volunteering has become a legacy g...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Cognizant Communication Corporation
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/70204 |
| _version_ | 1848762242736062464 |
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| author | Holmes, Kirsten Nichols, G. Ralston, R. |
| author_facet | Holmes, Kirsten Nichols, G. Ralston, R. |
| author_sort | Holmes, Kirsten |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Mega-events such as the Olympic Games involve huge numbers of volunteers from the host community, necessitating the development of a large volunteer program, which will only operate for a short time. Leveraging this volunteer energy to lead to longer-term community volunteering has become a legacy goal for many event organizers. Mega-events typically use a top-down "program management" approach for their volunteer program. This article examines how the program management style impacts on the volunteer experience, using in-depth interviews with volunteers at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The study found that the program management approach had a negative impact on many volunteers' preevent experience, leading to some rejecting the offer of a role at the event. However, the anticipated "once-in-a-lifetime" experience of volunteering for the Olympic Games overcame most of the preevent shortcomings. The article considers the impact of volunteer management on repeat volunteering. Recommendations for better management of mega-event volunteers, leading to a volunteer legacy, are offered. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:44:27Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-70204 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:44:27Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Cognizant Communication Corporation |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-702042019-01-30T08:17:42Z It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games Holmes, Kirsten Nichols, G. Ralston, R. Mega-events such as the Olympic Games involve huge numbers of volunteers from the host community, necessitating the development of a large volunteer program, which will only operate for a short time. Leveraging this volunteer energy to lead to longer-term community volunteering has become a legacy goal for many event organizers. Mega-events typically use a top-down "program management" approach for their volunteer program. This article examines how the program management style impacts on the volunteer experience, using in-depth interviews with volunteers at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The study found that the program management approach had a negative impact on many volunteers' preevent experience, leading to some rejecting the offer of a role at the event. However, the anticipated "once-in-a-lifetime" experience of volunteering for the Olympic Games overcame most of the preevent shortcomings. The article considers the impact of volunteer management on repeat volunteering. Recommendations for better management of mega-event volunteers, leading to a volunteer legacy, are offered. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/70204 10.3727/152599518X15252895715050 Cognizant Communication Corporation fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Holmes, Kirsten Nichols, G. Ralston, R. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games |
| title | It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games |
| title_full | It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games |
| title_fullStr | It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games |
| title_full_unstemmed | It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games |
| title_short | It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games |
| title_sort | it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and opportunity- deal with it! volunteer perceptions of the management of the volunteer experience at the london 2012 olympic games |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/70204 |