Major sports events are hosted yearly by FIFA, the NFL, and even the Olympics, offering an opportunity for athletes to showcase their near-superhuman abilities and for fans to cheer on their favorites. Yet, the environmental impact of these major events is hardly talked about.
One of the most significant concerns is the carbon emissions from major sporting events. According to data from the University of Florida, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics’ carbon footprint was 34,840 tonnes of CO2, and the winter Olympics’ was 53,925 tonnes. When accounting for the travel of the athletes and fans, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar saw over 3 million tons of CO2 emitted.
Carbon emissions are the number one cause of global warming and rising sea levels, as well as biodiversity loss, food insecurity, ocean acidification, and extreme health impacts.
Sporting events also consume a vast amount of resources, which in return produce a vast amount of waste. Vast amounts of energy are used to power stadiums, television broadcasts, and more, often from non-reusable resources.
In 2008, the Beijing Olympics constructed several stadiums in preparation for the games. This causes displacement of residents in the area, ticketing problems, and environmental problems. After spending the money and resources to build these stadiums, they were almost all abandoned.
Aside from energy and resources, the amount of waste produced by food, beverage, and plastic packaging is so astronomically large that waste companies struggle to keep up. Much of the waste ends up polluting nearby water, such as during the 2016 Rio Olympics, when many sewers were overfilled with waste and rivers polluted.
Another overlooked environmental impact is the water usage. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil’s construction of stadiums and maintenance of surrounding landscapes and playing fields during the tournament required a large amount of water, which raised water scarcity concerns for parts of Brazil.
While major sporting events are fun and bring together different cultures worldwide, it’s important to recognize and address environmental concerns and hold everyone environmentally and socially responsible.
