Rethinking Resident Support for Non-Mega Sport Events Adopting a Human-Centric Approach

The domain of resident support is well-established within the field of event studies. Despite the growing academic discourse around smaller-scale events in recent years, resident-related research often remains empirically repetitive with little conceptual advancement. Problematizing theoretical, contextual, and methodological limitations in existing frameworks, this paper aims to reconceptualize resident support for the context of non-mega sport events using a human-centric lens. By integrating perspectives on co-creation and social interaction, residents are positioned as active stakeholders whose engagement is shaped not only by internal and external drivers but also by relational dynamics. This theoretical advancement responds to the distinct characteristics of non-mega sport events, which are often community-embedded and participatory in nature. The proposed approach contributes to more inclusive and sustainable event planning and evaluation practices and offers a foundation for future research aimed at systematically capturing the complexity of resident involvement in non-mega sport events.