The 2025 World Masters Games (WMG) in Taiwan provides a valuable case for examining how an ageing-centred sporting event and later-life participation are framed during the pre-event period. Guided by Entman’s four framing functions—problem definition, causal attribution, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation—this study conducted a qualitative framing analysis of 50 television news videos published on the official YouTube channels of four major Taiwanese news outlets between January and March 2025. It also distinguished between concrete and symbolic representations of active ageing and examined the visibility of ageing-related support needs. The findings show that the WMG was primarily framed as a promotional spectacle, a platform for continued or renewed participation, a governance and venue-safety issue, and a tourism opportunity. Responsibility and agency were attributed mainly to local governments, political leaders, participants, coaches, families, and institutional actors. Active ageing was more visible than support needs, although its representation was uneven. Some reports presented concrete stories of later-life training, return to sport, competition, and sustained sporting identity, whereas others relied on symbolic narratives of vitality, resilience, challenge, and lifelong exercise. Support needs were less frequently central and were often reframed as hospitality, individual preparation, general safety, or venue management rather than accessibility, care-sensitive support, health equity, or inclusive participation. Media visibility may therefore enhance recognition of older participants without equally acknowledging the material, social, and institutional conditions supporting later-life sport participation.
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Shen et al. (2026) studied this question.
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