Comparing effects of Winter Universiade (2011) and European Youth Olympic Festival (2011) mega sport events

The objective of this study was to compare the views of the local spectators concerning the effects of the Winter Universiade and the European Youth Olympic Festival, two mega sport events held in Turkey in 2011. The participating group was composed of 878 local spectators who watched the games. The Mega Event Impact Scale, developed by Jie and Yan (2010), was used as the data collection tool. Dimensions forming the scale were compared according to the demographic characteristics of the sample group in order to define the views of the local spectators on the effects of mega events. The results revealed significant differences in the sample group in relation to the demographical characteristics of gender, education, occupation and income status regarding the effects of the Winter Universiade and the European Youth Olympic Festival events. The monthly income of the local spectators who attended the events did not influence the effects perceived. Sample group views on both positive and negative effects of these two events have high averages. In other words, positive and negative effects were detected in both the Winter Universiade held in Erzurum and the European Youth Olympic Festival held in Trabzon. Key words: Mega sport events; Local spectator impressions; Winter Universiade; European Youth Olympic Festival.