Organising the 2020 European Football Championship was fraught with the uncertainties
of the pandemic period. Budapest hosted its four allocated matches during the postponed
event without stadium capacity restrictions. Drawing on both social exchange theory
(SET) and social representation theory (SRT), the study aimed to investigate how the
level of fear of COVID-19 before the start of Euro 2020 influenced the perception
of the tournament among residents of Budapest. Data were collected by telephone interview
during the five days preceding the event based on a representative sample of Budapest
residents (n = 1003, adult population aged 18 years and over), accounting for gender,
age and place of residence. Cluster analysis identified three groups of residents
based on fear of coronavirus: concerned, neutral and unconcerned. Although our study
only investigated the opinions of residents in one host city, the relevance of the
research appears compelling in that it highlights the crucial role of COVID-19 in
influencing responses to the expected impact of Euro 2020. Examining the views of
local residents and understanding the factors that influence their opinions play a
key role in more successful and sustainable delivery of sporting events.
