Youth Olympic Games: Using marketing tools to analyse the reality of GCC countries beyond Agenda 2020

Abstract

The Olympic Games is passing through a new phase on the planet. The sport has reformed around the world especially in the Arabic-speaking Gulf countries. The local culture, religion and natural environment are the driving forces which are shaping the behaviour of the society. Nowadays, the consumption and sharing of sports information is through the medium of the latest technology like the tools of social media. The youth belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries use sports as a medium to communicate via social media. This paper used the situational analysis to describe the challenges of six communication channels for promoting the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Agenda 2020 for the GCC countries based on the SWOT, PESTLE and CATWOE methodologies. The results showed that the geographical area has huge potential to promote high performance and values of sport for future generations of athletes using the Youth Olympic Games as a seasonal door. However, an improvement from the perspective of consumer behaviour is necessary to generate youth engagement through National Olympic Committees (NOCs) during Summer and Winter Olympic Games with a heavy focus on the challenges for the new generation through social media. The recommendation points were that bilingual youth athletes (speaking Arabic and English) should be the new voice of the Olympic Movement in the GCC countries. To achieve Agenda 2020 goals, such action can engage the GCC youth generation with the Olympic Movement, including foreigners that live in the region and not exclusively local citizens.