Full Description
The Olympic Games is unquestionably the greatest sporting event on earth, with television audiences measured in billions of viewers. By what process did the Olympics evolve into this multi-national phenomenon? How can an understanding of the Olympic Games help us to better understand international sport and society? And what will be the true impact and legacy of the London Olympics in 2012? Understanding the Olympics answers all of these questions, and more, by exploring the full social, cultural, political, historical and economic context to the Olympic Games. It traces the history of the Olympic movement from its origins in ancient Greece, through its revival in the nineteenth century, to the modern mega-event of today. The book introduces the reader to all of the key themes in contemporary Olympic Studies, including: Olympic politics nationalism and internationalism access and equity festival and spectacle urban development political economy processes of commercialization the Olympics and the media Olympic futures. Written to engage and inform, the book includes illustrations, information boxes, chronologies, glossaries and 'Olympic Stories' in every chapter.No other book offers such a comprehensive and thoughtful introduction to the Olympic Games and is therefore essential reading for anybody with an interest in the Olympics or the wider relationship between sport and society.
Contents
Timeline Introduction Part 1the Olympics and the Road to 2012 2. The IOC and the Bidding Process 3. Television and the commercialisation of the Olympic Games Part 2: From Out of the Past 4. Reviving the Games 5. From World's Fairs to Mega-events Part 3: The Spectacle of Modernity - Towards a Postmodern World? 6. The Internationalist Spirit and National Contestation 7. The Politics and the Games 8. Festival, Spectacle, Carnival and Consumption 9. Level Playing Fields 10. The Olympic Games and Urban Development: Imagining and Engineering Cities and Sport Spectacles. Conclusion
