Journal article
The Buzz of Brisbane 2032: Themes of Online and Social Media Olympic Sentiment
Communication & Sport, Vol.14(3), pp.1112-1133
2026
Abstract
Brisbane will stage a more regionally focused Olympics and Paralympics in 2032 when it follows in the footsteps of a series of mega-city hosts. In this new environment, in which there are challenges finding nations willing even to bid for the event, it is important to understand how sentiment is expressed towards this Games edition, which is being promoted as delivering a sustainable legacy while experiencing different demands, levels of buzz, and risks than previous hosts. This study examines audience emotions towards Brisbane 2032 across 60,929 messages and posts from Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and online media articles between 2021 and 2023. The results highlight positive sentiment overall and outline key themes that the community perceive to be important. However, the findings also indicate early concerns and levels of anxiety towards elements of the Games. The multi-layered analytical approach of this study ensures it progresses beyond general judgements on positive and negative sentiment, providing a more nuanced understanding of emotions towards Brisbane 2032.
Details
- Title
- The Buzz of Brisbane 2032: Themes of Online and Social Media Olympic Sentiment
- Authors
- Peter English (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesDavid Fleischman - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesRory Mulcahy - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesLenny Vance - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesAaron Tham - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Indigenous and Transcultural Research CentreMerryn Sherwood - La Trobe University
- Publication details
- Communication & Sport, Vol.14(3), pp.1112-1133
- Publisher
- Sage Publications, Inc.
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1177/21674795241266804
- ISSN
- 2167-4809
- Copyright note
- © The Author(s) 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
- Grant note
- This work was supported by the Sunshine Coast Council.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991049198102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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