Abstract
The integration of diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives within mega sporting events (MSEs) and their presumed role as catalysts for change are being increasingly scrutinized in critical sport research. In one such MSE, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (FWWC), FIFA implemented D&I ideals through its institutional investment in nine Fan Festivals. I explore the Ōtepoti Dunedin FIFA Fan Festival to investigate the tensions between the multi-organizational promotion of D&I in the context of a MSE and the local enactment of these ideals. This study focuses on experiences of rainbow communities, which are collectively an often-overlooked group in scholarship. I completed a thematic analysis and critical discourse analysis informed by feminist post-structuralism on key festival documents and interviews conducted with festival organizers (Dunedin City Council (DCC) employees) and attendees (Dunedin Pride members). I found that FIFA and the DCC presented pioneering, celebration, and empowerment discourses to frame the festival. To turn these discourses into a progressive image of diversity at the event, FIFA and the DCC depended on a formulaic or tick box method, emphasizing short cultural performances. DCC organizers mainly praised this approach for facilitating the successful inclusion of local community groups. Alternatively, members of Dunedin Pride felt tokenized. This research adds to scholarship regarding MSEs by probing both the potential and the perils of D&I initiatives along the axes of gender and sexuality.