When all goes as planned: a case study of Hajj and the best crisis communication strategies for practitioners planning mega-events

This case study examined how the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) managed the 2018 Hajj season, one of the largest worldwide gatherings, to identify prominent communication strategies utilised in a large event. The two-way symmetrical communication and the renewal discourse theory served as theoretical frameworks. A thematic analysis was utilised to analyse communication content, news articles, and tweets. It is almost impossible to know whether the KSA intentionally applied Grunig’s two-way symmetrical communications theory; nevertheless, the results suggested that KSA operated in a way that followed Grunig’s theory. The findings showed how the KSA learned from past mistakes and incorporated Grunig’s two-way symmetrical communication model to implement best public relations practices for a successful 2018 Hajj season. This case study provided various perspectives on how employing communication strategies can help manage a significant event successfully.