The 2026 Winter Olympics have been and gone, and with other mega-events on the horizon, major insights are starting to pop up on how these large events and moments are consumed today.
One thing is already evident: fan behaviour and expectations are evolving fast - according to the latest data, sponsors and tournament organisers have four jobs in 2026.
Andrei Antipov / ShutterStock
Stop treating purpose like a campaign. Build it like a product.
Purpose only creates value when it shows up in decisions fans can feel - access, inclusion, sustainability choices, local benefit. Otherwise it reads as comms.
At Milano-Cortina, elite athletes like Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin and Federica Brignone used their visibility to spotlight the climate risks facing winter sport ecosystems. Their interviews and social posts repeatedly linked melting snowpack and glacier retreat to the future of their disciplines, turning competitive moments into clear calls for climate urgency.
Prove it, or it backfires.
The “trust tax” is real. Fans are increasingly sceptical of selective storytelling. If you can’t evidence outcomes, you’re not “purpose-led” - you’re exposed.
In the run-up to and during Milano-Cortina, a group of Winter Olympians and Paralympians published an open letter in The Times calling on the IOC to end fossil-fuel sponsorships (e.g. with Italian oil and gas company Eni) and questioning whether the company’s core business was compatible with the sustainability narrative surrounding the Games.
Move from the business case to the impact-case (and report it).
The next era of event and partnership value is measured in what’s left behind, not just what was watched. Legacy is becoming a primary expectation, not a bonus.
At Milano-Cortina, the official TOP partner Procter & Gamble shifted its activation toward legacy, funding programmes in Italy that expand access to para sport for young people with disabilities. It also backed the rollout of the I’mPOSSIBLE education toolkit across Italian schools to create impact that outlives the closing ceremony.
Win the culture layer. Creators, athletes, second screens, and lived identity.
Gen Z doesn’t consume sport as a scheduled broadcast. They follow identity, meaning, and community. The experience has to be connected and shareable by design.
At Milano-Cortina, freestyle skier Eileen Gu generated huge second-screen engagement through culturally expressive outfits co-created with sponsor Anta that fans widely shared and discussed online. These ranged from a red bomber celebrating her Chinese heritage to a fleece featuring mountain-inspired motifs.
Svet Foto / ShutterStock
The Nielsen Sport Industry Report 2026 survey data backs up why this shift is accelerating: 72% of fans (and 75% of professionals) believe sport has a responsibility to drive positive social change, and 68% of fans view organisations more favourably when they commit to social or sustainability policies.
So why does this matter now? The Olympics were a stress test, not just a spectacle.
The 2026 Winter Olympics weren’t only a celebration of performance - they’re a test of what sport stands for, and whether it can prove it. In winter sport, “purpose” isn’t abstract. It’s operational: climate realities, resource choices, and the credibility of legacy promises.
Fans are already drawing the line:
56% of fans (and 70% of professionals) see climate change as an existential threat to sport
75% of fans would pay more for tickets if it delivered a positive social or environmental benefit
Among 25–34s, 80% are willing to pay up to 5% more
That isn’t virtue signalling. It’s value signalling.
Gen Z is forcing the pace… but not in the way most brands think.
Gen Z is engaged with sport like an always-on culture layer, not a scheduled broadcast. They follow athletes for who they are as much as how they perform. They expect access, receipts, and real-world impact.
This is where a lot of “purpose” strategies quietly fail: they’re designed like messaging, not like experience.
So the sponsor/tournament question becomes:
Where does our purpose show up in the fan journey… not just the brand film?
If you take one warning sign from the data, take this: the biggest perceived sustainability challenge is “cherry-picking positive stories while ignoring bigger issues” (selected by 38% of fans and 65% of professionals).
That’s the reason we keep pushing this internally:
Don’t confuse impact content with impact.
Yes, purpose can drive behaviour. Of course it can. 27% of fans say sports-led campaigns influenced their behaviour (with 61% of those reducing plastic use). But the credibility threshold is rising fast.
The implication from us:
If you can’t evidence outcomes, don’t over-claim. Build a simple measurement spine early and report it consistently.
Andrei Antipov / ShutterStock
Another thing - the ‘impact-case’ is replacing “biggest number wins”.
A generational shift is underway: event success isn’t only judged by scale, but by what it delivers beyond economics. Fans increasingly expect long-term legacy to be the point:
70% of fans and 80% of professionals say long-term legacy should be the priority of major events
60% of fans and 66% of professionals think environmental/social impact is as important as or more important than financial returns
76% of fans say major events increase pride in their city/country
Our implication for sponsors:
Legacy can’t be a nice slide at the end of the deck. It needs to be a co-owned deliverable with timelines, budgets, governance, and proof points; the same way media value is managed.
So, what’s the playbook? What should sponsors + tournaments do next?
If you’re building for Gen Z, purpose, and long-term relevance… this is the practical approach we’d bet on:
Build for credibility, not campaigns
Start with what you can prove. Avoid “hero claims.” Over-index on transparent reporting.Tie purpose to the fan experience
Make it visible in the product: access, inclusion, sustainability choices, local benefit - the stuff fans experience, not just read.Design for the connected audience
Gen Z is second-screen native. Treat social/community as part of the event layer - not the marketing wrapper.Put athletes and creators at the front line
They’re where authenticity is tested daily. Give them real roles, not just content requests.
The industry question just isn’t “How do we get attention?” anymore.
It’s this: What do we leave behind - and can we prove it?
Purpose is becoming sport’s most valuable currency. Gen Z isn’t asking politely. They’re already pricing it into relevance.
The brands, rights holders and event organisers who get this right won’t just win headlines.
They’ll win the next generation.