Events and Politics offer students a cutting-edge, intellectually stimulating, and accessible exploration of the deeply intertwined relationship between events and political power.
The book includes 30 chapters from global academics, structured around theoretical and practical considerations based on real life events such as the Olympic Games and Dinard’s Festival of British Cinema, managerial and policy implications and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Covering broad themes such as soft power, propaganda, sports washing, human rights, and governance, the book provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the political dimensions of events. Through historical analysis, case studies, and theoretical insights, authors challenge the notion of events as neutral spaces, highlighting how stakeholder interests, geopolitical ambitions, and governance structures influence bidding, planning, and legacy outcomes.
With chapter aims, quizzes and debate questions, this highly engaging and comprehensive book is essential reading and teaching resource for all students and lecturers of Events Studies, as well as policy makers in the events industry.
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Section 1 – Soft Power and Propaganda
Chapter 1: The 1936 Berlin Olympics: Propaganda, Spectacle, and the Politics of Sport.
Gjoko Muratovski, Deakin University, USA.
Chapter 2: How (Should?) the Olympics (Intentionally) Transform Society?
Tim Elcombe, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.
Chapter 3: All the Olympics are a stage, and all the athletes merely players: the Olympics as theatre.
Timothy Olds, University of South Australia, Australia.
Section 2 – Sports Washing and Rights
Chapter 4: The Olympic industry: a threat to human rights, a threat to democracy.
Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, University of Toronto, Canada.
Chapter 5: The World Cup put the spotlight on Qatar, but also brought attention to its human rights record and politics.
David Mednicoff, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA.
Chapter 6: The Paralympic Games: an event having impact on the world stage but one not without its critics.
Simon Darcy, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
David Legg, Mount Royal University, Canada.
Chapter 7: Sportswashing - Manging state relations and reputations through associations with sport.
Michael Skey, Loughborough University, UK.
Section 3 – Diplomacy and Peace
Chapter 8: Playbook for Peace? How World Events Disconnected Putin and Set a Precedence for Isolating Autocratic Regimes.
Mike Duignan, University of Paris 1 (Pantheon-Sorbonne), France.
Chapter 9: Russia’s misfired sport diplomacy? Or our misunderstanding of the 2014 (Winter Olympics) and 2018 (FIFA World Cup) sports mega-events?
Jonathan Grix, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
Chapter 10: CONIFA events: organizing international football tournaments for unrecognized nations on divided lands.
Joel Rookwood, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Chapter 11: Ancient Ideals, Modern Problems: Pierre de Coubertin and the Olympic Games.
Peter J. Miller, University of Winnipeg, USA.
Chapter 12: Wimbledon 2022 and the Politics of Exclusion: Sport, Sanctions, and Governance in a Geopolitical Crisis
Leon Davis, Teeside University, UK.
Mike Duignan, University of Paris 1 (Pantheon-Sorbonne), France.
Chapter 13: The Politics of Film Festivals: The Case of Dinard’s Festival of British Cinema.
Neil Archer, Keele University, UK.
Chapter 14: Global Games: a radical proposal for a sustainable future.
Adam Talbot, University of the West of Scotland, UK.
Stephen J. Mills, University of the West of Scotland, UK.
Section 4 – Activism and Events as Platforms for Protest
Chapter 15: The Politics of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Leigh Boucher, Macquarie University, Australia.
Michelle Arrow, Macquarie University, Australia.
Chapter 16: Athlete activism and the Olympic movement: resistance, defiance, and restraint.
Michelle O’Shea, Western Sydney University, Australia.
Chris Yorke, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Hazel Maxwell, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Chapter 17: FIFA’s World Cup: A mirage of unity
Daryl Adair, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Chapter 18: Boycotting the Olympic Games: Effective Policy Tool or Futile Gesture?
Ryan Gauthier, Thompson Rivers University, Canada.
Chapter 19: The Olympics are democratically illegitimate: a call for democracy in sport.
Jean-Paul Gagnon, Canberra University, Australia.
Thomas D. Bunting, Shawnee State University,
Ferdinand Sanchez II, Canberra University, Australia.
Chapter 20: Black Lives Matter Protests Changed the US Landscape and Who Is Represented in Public Spaces.
Shannon Smith, St. John’s University, USA.
Section 5 – Power, Corruption, and Elitism
Chapter 21: The 2022 FIFA World Cup and its potential anti-corruption legacy.
Christina Philippou, University of Portsmouth, UK.
Chapter 22: Ancient Athletic Contests and Greek Culture.
Joel Christensen, Brandeis University, USA.
Chapter 23: China and Sport Mega Events: An Ongoing Project.
Alan Bairner, Loughborough University, UK.
Chapter 24: Fan parks at football mega-events: prioritizing security and improving the fan experience.
Joel Rookwood, University College Dublin, UK.
Chapter 25: Fundamental challenging considerations in hosting sporting mega-events
Bryan C. Clift, Andrew Manley, and Lanfei Wang, University of Bath
Chapter 26: Ensuring Safety and Security at Sporting Events: Lessons from the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris
Daniel Silverstone, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Section 6 – Nationalism and Historical Perspectives
Chapter 27: Curating a Contemporary Dance Festival in Africa: Socio-Political Insights and Provocations from South Africa.
Liliane Loots, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Chapter 28: How ‘The Dragon of Shandon’ celebrates people, place, and culture on Halloween.
Tony Matthews, Griffith University, Australia.
Deanna Grant-Smith, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Chapter 29: The New Olympics: How Tokyo Helped Reshape the Games.
Sam Duncan, Homesglen Institute, Australia.
Chapter 30: The Australian Open: An event that has grown alongside a nation.
Hunter Fujak, Deakin University, Australia.
Scott Field, Deakin University, Australia.
Chapter 31: Goodbye Commonwealth Games
Tom Heenan, Monash University, Australia.
Conclusion and recommendations
Index
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