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From the Olympic Games to the FIFA World Cup, major global events offer an unparalleled showcase for all stakeholders involved. Yet our experience in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games remindedus that they are, above all, highly exposed environments where reputation, operational challenges, societal expectations and media dynamics are constantly intertwined. In such contexts, the challenge lies in maintaining the ability to explain, coordinate and act when unexpected developments reshape the narrative.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins, we look at some of the world’s largest sporting events – the Olympics – to explore what it takes to support organizations operating in this high-risk, high-visibility environments.
2024 Paris Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games: navigating complex trade-offs
With Sodexo Live! – a major hospitality player, which we supported throughout the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games -we observed that the most sensitive issues at major international events often emergewhere several legitimate but competing objectives intersect.
The debates surrounding athlete catering provided a pretty revealing example. What appeared on the surface to be an operational issue actually reflected a series of delicate trade-offs: environmental ambitions, the nutritional requirements of elite athletes, diverse cultural expectations and, in the French context, the symbolic significance of gastronomy. In such situations, helping audiences understand the rationale behind complex decisions becomes essential, particularly when they do not fully grasp the constraints that shape them.
These trade-offs are even more exposed because they unfold in an environment where everyone contributes to shaping the event’s narrative.
Reputation in the age of real-time scrutiny
Paris 2024 also confirmed a profound transformation in the way public opinion is formed. Athletes are no longer simply participants in an event; they actively contribute to how it is perceived and discussed. A video filmed in the Olympic Village or a spontaneous comment can influence the global media agenda within hours. Some conversations generate unexpected controversies, while others create positive visibility opportunities that no communications plan could have anticipated.
Beyond managing media exposure, the challenge lies in coordinating a wide range of stakeholders – organisers, partners, institutions and national delegations – whose priorities, constraints and timelines do not always align. In this context, the value of our support lies in helping organisations make sense of emerging issues, identify weak signals and advise decision-makers so they can maintain an effective and credible voice amid accelerating media attention.
Ultimately, Paris 2024 highlighted a simple reality: anticipation is essential, but no scenario can fully capture the complexity of the real world. In major international events, reputation is built on an organisation’s ability to maintain consistency in its actions and credibility in its communications, thereby preserving stakeholder trust when reality challenges even the most carefully prepared plans.