Hosting the World

What does it actually take to host the world? Winning the right to stage a FIFA World Cup, an Olympic Games or a Commonwealth Games is just the beginning. The real work - the politics, the planning, the pressure, the sheer operational complexity of delivering at global scale - is what this book is about. James Johnson has been in that room. As CEO of Football Australia, he led the delivery of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup across Australia and New Zealand, the largest women's sporting event in history. He knows what it takes to win a bid, build an organising committee, manage a host government relationship, and create a legacy that outlasts the final whistle. Hosting the World is the definitive guide for everyone who works in this space: bid professionals, government officials, sports executives, event leaders, as well as for anyone who has ever wondered what really goes on behind the spectacle. This is the inside story the major events industry has been waiting for.