Race and Ethnicity in the Olympic Games

On October 2, 1968, more than 300 students and workers at La Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco, Mexico City were gunned down by police, on the order of former President Luis Echeverria. Those that lost their lives were protesting against the staging of the Olympic Games in a country that was struggling with poverty and an endemic lack of funding in vital public services such as education and healthcare

Sochi 2014: Politicisation of European Sport

South Ossetia has been in conflict with the state of Georgia since just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s. The dispute is essentially based on South Ossetia’s wish for independence; a wish supported by The Russian Federation. Despite great tension and armed conflict between Georgia and Sochi, Russia still managed to emerge victorious in the competition to win the right to host the Sochi 2014 Winter Games

Homelessness and the Olympics

The London 2012 Games offers great promise for London. They bring with them the promises of an injection of revenue into the Capital via increased tourism revenue, supplier contracts, and opportunities for profit maximisation for corporate sponsors. They promise a regeneration of the East End of London, more sports facilities accessible to the general public, and more affordable housing for Londoners

PARALYMPIC SPORT: Are We Equal Yet?

This case study considers equality for able-bodied athletes, and athletes/persons with a disability, from a financial point of view. A brief history of the Paralympic Games is presented, before asking readers to consider the differences in funding between a) Olympic and Paralympic sports in general, b) the same sport that is awarded less funding at Paralympic level than at Olympic level, and c) individual Paralympic sports. In order to consider these financial issues, brief contextualisation of the history of the Paralympic Games is necessary

Participation: Aiming for History

At only 16 years old, Achieng Ajulu-Bushell is set to become the first ever black female to represent Great Britain in a swimming discipline. Ajulu-Bushell has made the difficult choice to switch allegiance from Kenya to GB in order to achieve her personal best as a competitor at the London 2012 Games

Doping and the Games

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the international independent organization created in 1999 to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against doping in sport in all its forms

Non-London Olympic Venues.

The London 2012 bid has met with criticism for its perceived London-centric nature. Many people are not aware that the Games will involve the use of many sites outside of London, meaning that many non-London towns and cities will benefit from the economic, social and financial legacy of the Games. Non-London venues are introduced here

SECURITY: An Elite Anti-Fire System for the 2012 Olympics

LOCOG came under fire (if one can excuse the pun!) recently, for failure to budget appropriately for Security provisions for the Games. Such a provision would have included significant provision for fire-related activity. Although LOCOG have now revised their original budget to better cater for security and fire concerns, they may have been relying additionally on the major financial investments that the Government had recently made in the development of a £1bn network of fire centres, powered by impressive IT systems costing a cool £2m

BOXING CLEVER: What boxing can tell us about our culture & society

Often surrounded by controversy, boxing has continued to reflect cultural and social values to the present day, with schisms emerging within the Amateur Boxing Association of England and Head Coach Terry Edwards during the Beijing 2008 Games, and with women’s boxing being announced as the newest sport to gain Olympic recognition in the 2012 London Games

HOW GREEN ARE THE GAMES? Sustainability in a Mega-Event.

Climate change and global warming continue to dominate international political discussion, and the discussions of the IOC and host countries are no exception. The upcoming Vancouver 2010, London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Organising Committees are all committed to leaving a legacy that their Games are remembered as being green