With the World Cup about to kick off, we have a timely reminder that major sporting events are powerful tools of image-making—not only for authoritarian states, but also for democracies like the United States, which can use spectacle to project prestige while muting scrutiny of human abuses at home.

Across the world, authoritarian regimes in particular are pouring billions into sportswashing and spectacle to recast themselves as modern, stable, and worthy of admiration. From Gulf states staging Formula One races and sponsoring Premier League and NBA teams to Rwanda and Pakistan hosting glossy conferences, they are not simply burnishing their reputations—they are selling authoritarian rule as competence, order, and progress. These efforts matter because public attitudes are shifting: one in five young Europeans, for example, now say they would accept authoritarian government under the right conditions, while support for military intervention has surged among younger populations in parts of Africa.

This kind of image-laundering does not happen in a vacuum. It relies on willing partners—corporations, sports associations, PR firms, and democratic governments pursuing profit, access, and influence—while activists, journalists, and some athletes push back with scrutiny and defiance.

In this Resistance Bureau conversation, we ask: Why are governments investing so heavily in global soft power? How effective is this glamour offensive in reshaping opinion at home and abroad? And what can citizens do to push back before spectacle helps normalize repression? Please join us for a timely conversation about power, propaganda, resistance, and the battle over how authoritarianism is packaged and confronted today.