Olympic Social Legacies

London 2012: 'Race' Matters and the East End

by Kevin Hylton

International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 2012

This article examines legacy claims made by a range of agencies and organizations involved in the London 2012 Olympic... more This article examines legacy claims made by a range of agencies and organizations involved in the London 2012 Olympic Development Programme, and specifically the notion that this will inevitably lead to the regeneration of communities. We advocate the application of critical race theory (CRT) to provide an article that argues that ‘race’ matters in Olympic legacy discourses. We identify the shortcomings of the rhetoric of legacy Olympic-speak and its dissonance with the micro-detail of accumulated historical factors, experiences and day-to-day routines for these communities. It is argued here that single-mega-event policies cannot be the answer to entrenched racial inequalities in sport though they can contribute to alleviating many issues. In shifting ‘race’ from the periphery to the centre, CRT ensures that at the very least these issues are considered alongside others. The notion of ‘community’ is critiqued to the point that slippery legacy discourses become transparent. Ideologies are neither value-free and neutral nor ahisto- rical as the use of interest convergence here reasonably outlines more than altruism in the agendas underpinning the bid for the London 2012 Games. If lasting legacy is to be achieved, then broader social, cultural and historical factors need to be fully considered by policymakers or policy gaps will be further perpetuated.
Keywords: ‘race’; critical race theory; Olympics; legacy; East End

Sydney 2000: Moving from Post-Hoc Legacy to Strategic Vision and Operational Partnership

by Simon Darcy

Darcy, S., & Appleby, L. (2011). Sydney 2000: Moving from Post-Hoc Legacy to Strategic Vision and Operational Partnership. In D. Legg & K. Gilbert (Eds.), Paralympic Legacies (pp. 75-98). Champaign, IL USA: Common Ground Publishing LLC.

The paper reviews the legacy of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games some 10 years after the event. It does so by... more The paper reviews the legacy of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games some 10 years after the event. It does so by examining key documents, accounts of the games, academic literature analysing the Paralympic games and contemporary theoretical contributions. The legacies examined include: International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee.listening partnership; strategic vision; sport delivery; branding; media coverage; education; knowledge transfer; Australian Paralympic committee funding; mainstreaming; athlete recognition; community responses; disability awareness education; and infrastructure. The paper concludes through presenting a conceptualisation of these legacies as matrix along two continumms: 1. From domestic to international; and 2. From sport to the event/social/community.

When the Carnival is Over: Evaluating the Outcomes of Mega Sporting Events In Australia

by Simon Darcy

Cashman, R., Toohey, K., Darcy, S., Symons, C., & Stewart, B. (2004). When the Carnival is Over: Evaluating the Outcomes of Mega Sporting Events in Australia. Sporting Traditions, 25(1), 1-32.

Australia is one country that invests significantly in mega sporting events. From 2000 to 2006 various Australian... more Australia is one country that invests significantly in mega sporting events. From 2000 to 2006 various Australian cities have hosted or will host a variety of mega sporting events: the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Sydney, 2000), the Goodwill Games (Brisbane, 2001), the Gay Games (Sydney, 2002), the Rugby World Cup (Sydney, 2003), the Commonwealth Games (Melbourne, 2006). These events built on a long Australian tradition of hosting mega events particularly sporting ones. The list includes the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, the 1938, 1962 and 1982 Commonwealth Games in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane respectively and the Brisbane World Expo of 1988. Australian cities compete with each other and with overseas cities to win bids for mega sporting events. No less than five cities — Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth — expressed some interest in hosting the 2006 Commonwealth Games for instance, before Melbourne was chosen as the Australian candidate city. Melbourne then secured the right to host the Games after the only other contender, the New Zealand city of Wellington, withdrew its bid.

This article examines three recent, and one future, mega sporting events in Australia: the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Gay Games and the Commonwealth Games. The four events are quite different in scale, status and international media coverage: the Olympic Games are at the pinnacle of world sporting festivals whereas the other three events have lesser status. The Paralympic Games have a strong emotional resonance but a relatively small commercial base. The Commonwealth Games and the Gay Games have lesser global outreach.

Islam and the Olympics: seeking a host city in the Muslim world

by Kasim Randeree

International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management

Purpose – Awarding the Olympic Games to a host city in the Muslim world would send a clear indication from member... more Purpose – Awarding the Olympic Games to a host city in the Muslim world would send a clear indication from member nations of the International Olympic Committee of a desire by the international community to engage with Muslim nations on a level that transcends sport. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to answer the question: will a city in the Muslim world ever become host to the greatest sporting spectacle on Earth, and, if so, which is most likely to receive it, when and why?

Design/methodology/approach – To gauge the potential of cities in the Muslim world hosting the Olympics Games, the approach of the paper is to examine the merits of former host cities and then qualitatively comparing these with member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference which have a majority Muslim population.

Findings – The research findings indicate that there are five cities in the Muslim world, at least one of which is likely to be awarded one of the coming six Summer Olympic Games between the years 2020 and 2040.

Research limitations/implications – The broader implications of the study are that, in examining Muslim nations of the world from the point of view of mega-event management on a global scale, their development and advancement capability in the modern world can be probed.

Originality/value – In the absence of any other published study on the subject, this paper would open a discourse that would be of value to scholars and interested parties in diverse fields such as major programme management, Islamic studies, international politics, economics and international development.

Les jeux olymiques, cette chevalerie moderne / "The Olympic Games : this modern chivalry"

by sebastien Nadot

A link between medieval chivalry, fair play and modern sport...

“The Olympic games : this modern chivalry”

The medieval period is interesting for the history of the... more “The Olympic games : this modern chivalry”

The medieval period is interesting for the history of the Olympic Games. Indeed, the Middle Ages are punctuated by big sports events.
The Middle Ages has its famous champions : Bayard, Du Guesclin, Boucicaut or even Poton de Saintrailles (comrade-in-arms of Joan of d'Arc) are for instance the French representatives. The Middle Ages also brings a system of values for future sportsmen : regardless of the true merit of medieval champions, they represent prowess, a thirst for challenge, politeness, honour, fidelity and fair play. The Middle Age also gives an archetype of sports meetings. In the fifteenth century, everywhere in Europe, very elaborated confrontations are held (defined rules of battle, professional referees, standardized places of clashes). Staged scenes, music, dramatic effects make of these chivalrous sports a big show with numerous political, diplomatic, media and commercial undercurrents.
Pierre de Coubertin had sensed the wealth of the sports phenomenon in the Middle Ages. If it is appropriate to wonder about the mechanisms which could lead to push aside the medieval inheritance of modern physical practices, it is also interesting to explore the chivalrous ideal. One realizes that the Olympic Games are not only ancient or modern. Today, the success of the Games is accompanied by the deepest criticisms and by the biggest risks of drift. Perhaps, a glance at the past – focalized on the period which witnessed the birth of Humanism – is necessary to reassert the fundamental values of the Olympic spirit.

Pro-Sports, Anti-Olympics: Reclaiming the games, from the Games

by Tyler Shipley

Shipley, Tyler.  "Pro-Sports, Anti-Olympics: Reclaiming the games, from the Games," The Bullet, No. 314, Feb 13, 2010.  (also available at ZNet.)

Major Sport Events and Participation Legacy: The Case of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

by Stephen Frawley

A Memetic Framework for the Conceptualisation and Evaluation of the Cultural Olympiad of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

by James Kennell

A Grey Literature Review of the Cultural Olympiad

by James Kennell

Co-authored with Nikki MacLeod

Political Ecology In Greece. Ideology, Political Opportunities and Contingency In the Transition From Movement Politics to Green Party Formation

by John Karamichas

How the Legacy from the 2012 Olympics will Impact on Young People in Sport: A Poster Presentation Assessment

by Keith Parry

Co-authored with Lynda Challis this short paper discusses how working with local partners enabled students to benefit from and learn about the 2012 Legacy.  The piece was published in LINK 26.

Olympics/Uhlympics: Living in the Shadow of the Beast

by Charlotte Cooper

Cooper, C. (2010) 'Olympics/Uhlympics: Living in the Shadow of the Beast' [online], thirdspace, 9:2. Available: http://www.thirdspace.ca/journal/article/view/cooper [Accessed 26 October 2010].

This essay explores some of the ways that the Olympics intervenes and intrudes on local life. Using a dialogue between... more This essay explores some of the ways that the Olympics intervenes and intrudes on local life. Using a dialogue between two fat queer women who live close to the 2012 Olympic site in East London, UK, this work explores the ways that change and hype by the development agencies are experienced by local people. Such responses are characterised by anger and anxiety, resistance, activist humour, and imaginative possibilities which contrast powerfully with dominant commercial Olympic discourses. This reflexive essay acknowledges the intersections of fat and queer identities, and the use of public rhetoric and private gendered dialogue.