Global event vs sport; the host nation
A global event is a major international occasion bringing competitors from many nations, often across several sports, held every few years -- the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Rugby World Cup. It is NOT a sport: football or athletics is one activity contested AT the event. The host nation is the country awarded the right to stage it. Asked to name an EVENT, many candidates name a SPORT.
Facilities, infrastructure and legacy
Three hosting advantages are about what gets built. Stadia and training facilities: new or upgraded venues for competitors, later usable by clubs and schools. Infrastructure: roads, transport, airports and telecoms upgraded for visitors, benefiting residents long afterwards. Legacy implications: whether this stays in active use after the event -- a real advantage only if planned and kept in use. An empty stadium is a cost, not a legacy.
Home advantage, pride, tourism, employment
Four more advantages complete the set. Home advantage: home performers compete in familiar conditions with no travel or time-zone fatigue, cheered by a home crowd. National pride: hosting, and home success, builds shared pride. Improved tourism: visitors spend during the event, and global coverage attracts future tourists. Increased employment: construction jobs before the event, plus event-time jobs in hospitality and transport. Each is a DIFFERENT mechanism.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Naming a sport, not an event
Asked to name a major global EVENT, candidates write a SPORT -- "football" or "athletics" instead of "the FIFA World Cup" or "the Olympic Games". An event is the whole international occasion staged by a host nation; a sport is one activity contested at it. Memorise real events (Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Rugby World Cup) and use one when an EVENT is asked.
Flagged w22 P11 Q12a-b; w23 P11 Q9c
Repeating one advantage as several
Asked for several advantages, candidates restate one point -- "more tourists", "tourism increases", "visitor numbers rise" -- as if it were three. Examiners credit DISTINCT advantages only. Plan across categories (facilities, infrastructure, legacy, tourism, employment, pride, home advantage) and take one point from each.
Flagged w22 P11 Q12a-b; w23 P11 Q9c
"New buildings" called a legacy
Legacy is not simply "buildings were built". It is facilities and infrastructure staying in active, planned use for years after the event. A stadium left empty once the event ends is a cost, not a legacy. Always spell out continued use to turn construction into a legacy point.
Straying into disadvantages or costs
This topic asks for the ADVANTAGES of hosting. Answers that drift into costs -- debt, displaced residents, unused venues -- do not answer an "advantages" question. Note the scope and keep every point a genuine benefit unless the question asks otherwise.
Vague, undeveloped advantages
"It is good for the country" or "more money" earns little. Name the specific advantage and its mechanism -- new transport links residents keep using, or construction jobs created before the event. Develop the point rather than leaving a bare phrase the examiner cannot credit.
Not saying who benefits
Advantages help different groups: home advantage and elite facilities help the host's PERFORMERS; pride, employment, infrastructure and legacy help the wider POPULATION. Answers that never say who gains stay generic. Name the beneficiary of each point.
Each sentence earns a separate mark
Candidates think enough sentences guarantee marks, so they write several versions of one point (all really improved tourism) expecting each to count. Examiners mark DISTINCT ideas, not sentence count: "more visitors", "numbers rise" and "spend locally" collapse into one point unless a version adds a genuinely new mechanism. Check each sentence opens an unused category.
Name a real event, not a sport
Open by naming a genuine global event -- the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, the Commonwealth Games or the Rugby World Cup -- never a sport. This alone avoids the most-flagged slip on the topic.
Give a range across categories
Draw distinct advantages from different categories -- facilities, infrastructure, legacy, tourism, employment, national pride, home advantage -- rather than developing one at length or rewording it. Examiners want breadth as well as depth.
Say who benefits from each point
Name which group each advantage helps -- the host's performers (home advantage, elite facilities) or the wider population (pride, employment, infrastructure, legacy). Naming the beneficiary separates a developed answer from a bare list.
Apply to the named event
Tie every point to the named event and, where a group is specified, to that group. Failing to apply to the required example is the single most repeated Paper 1 criticism.
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