Edinburgh Professor Grant Jarvie tells World Leaders not to forget sport at Global Soft Power Summit in London this week. In the current world context, “we need soft power more than ever” were the words of John Kerry former US Secretary of State. “Today’s world can learn from what we did and the tactics we used with the Solidarity Movement” was the advice of Lech Wałęsa Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Poland. “Small nations need to use their soft power to shape the future of the world” argued Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland. All three were addressing the Global Soft Power Summit in London this week. All three suggested that soft power would win the day, that in an increasingly interconnected world of misinformation and competition lies could travel half-way round the world before truth got its boots on and that more people and countries had to be brought into the room to define the world that we want to live in. Brand Finance released the findings from its 2025 Global Soft Power index which has the USA, China and the UK holding the top three sports.It was a privilege to be part of the sport as a soft power asset panel with Dr Lin Sambili from the Commonwealth Secretariat and Tim Ellerton from the British Olympic Association in front of a packed international audience of diplomats, ambassadors, finance companies and civil society.The policy drivers used by nations are varied including attraction, national brand, promoting national culture, promoting co-operation and international engagement, regional influence, diaspora engagement, geopolitical influence, domestic engagement, building networks, strengthening outreach and supporting the domestic economy but all of them need evidence and a supply chain of crafted good news stories if sport is to be optimised as a soft power tool. What is interesting is that in some cases sport has the opportunity to lead this discussion and in other cases, to use Kerry’s words the governance of nations failing upwards” – something that might be applied in the case of nations that fail to grasp sport as a cultural asset. “Sport should not be a side project for any country or organization but rather a valuable evidenced soft power asset. A tool that can quietly work away on a daily basis underneath the radar fostering dialogue, negotiation, representation, exchange, co-operation and collaboration but which requires vision and meaningful funding and commitment at the highest level”. Global Soft Power Summit 2025 This article was published on 2025-02-27
