Stakeholder perceptions on the democratic governance of major sports events

•Democratic governance is examined in three international major sports events.•Perceptions of concepts (e.g., performance) are close to the governance literature.•Transparency, accountability and participation include internal and external aspects.•Concepts are theoretically useful as they touch on various event best practices.•A model is proposed linking the democratic governance concepts.This paper addressed the following research questions: (1) How do the different event stakeholders view the principles associated with democratic governance (performance, accountability, transparency and stakeholder participation) in relation to planning major sports events? and (2) How informative are democratic governance principles for studying major sports events? An exploratory study of the stakeholders involved in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and 2015 Toronto Pan American Games was undertaken using 55 interviews. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the principles were generally similar to definitions found in the governance literature (cf. Bevir, 2010; Callahan, 2007). However, this paper demonstrates that accountability, transparency and participation should be divided into internal and external aspects in order to better understand and enact the governance of sport events. As well, stakeholder participation was found to be a central principle, evolving over time and having to be planned and actively enacted to foster an emotional connection with the event. Thus, democratic governance principles can be used to examine the governance system (structures, processes) and stakeholder relationships found in major sport events, and highlight key areas of importance for event organizers and stakeholders in governing this complex environment. A model illustrating the interrelationships between the principles is offered.