Dynamic Sublimes, Changing Plans, and the Legacy of a Megaproject : The Case of the 1966 Soccer World Cup

Global sporting events such as FIFA World Cups have been described as megaprojects. The motives of decision-makers for undertaking megaprojects are summarized by Flyvbjerg’s (2012; 2014a) “four sublimes”, which lack a temporal dimension. We utilize a case study of the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England applying the three levels of project management identified by Morris & Geraldi (2011) refined through Flyvbjerg’s four sublimes to analyze the shifting nature of stakeholders’ motives. We evidence that Flyvbjerg’s sublimes are dynamic in response to change during the project timeline, creating new insights into project development and opportunities for research into historic projects.