Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Since the last decades, volunteering plays an important role in mega sport events, like
the Olympics or FIFA World cups. However, the need of volunteers is not influenced by the
size or notability of the event as most likely no event has the budget to run while paying every
person involved. Especially students are a great market for the volunteer job as they are young
and more flexible in time. Including international students, who live in the area of the event,
in event volunteering, can lead to many advantages for the students but also for the
organization and the local community. This study researches the motivations and perceptions
of international students becoming volunteers at sport events and which benefits these
volunteers have themselves, but also on the event organization and host community, by using
the case study of the FIS Nordic Ski World Championship in Falun 2015. Due to the
outcomes of in-depth interviews, which were held with participating international students,
the study concludes that all motivational factors mentioned in the researched literature can
also be applied on the international students during Falun 2015. Where in the case of the
international students, especially the benefits are a main motivation for the participation. By
looking at the outcome, it can be said that international students are a great advantage for
event organizations, as they offer good language and a variety of social and working skills for
an international event and are highly motivated to get the best mental souvenir possible.
Besides that, the local community, which hosts these students during their stay, profits from
these volunteers as they get a chance to get to know these students and introduce them into
the host culture.
2015.