L'experiència dels darrers vint anys : una anàlisi comparativa de les cerimònies olímpiques

Des d'una aproximació antropològica, l'article presenta una reflexió sobre el significat cultural de les cerimònies d'obertura i clausura dels Jocs Olímpics. Les cerimònies olímpiques són un escenari privilegiat per analitzar els processos d'intercanvi cultural que es donen a nivell internacional. En aquest sentit, l'autor elabora un model comparatiu que permet analitzar les diferències culturals que apareixen en ambdues celebracions olímpiques. En aquesta perspectiva els Jocs Olímpics s'entenen com un sistema de representación múltiple que incorpora elements de ritual, joc, festival i espectacle. De totes aquestes categories, l'autor escull la de festival per posar en pràctica el seu model comparatiu, ja que aquesta contempla els elements clau de diversió, democràcia, igualitarisme i participació, cabdals per evidenciar les diferències culturals. L'autor compara críticament les cerimònies de Los Angeles i Seül, i dóna algunes indicacions del que pot succeir a Barcelona. Les cerimònies dels Jocs Olímpics de 1992 s'enfronten al repte de representar el nou ordre mundial i el paper d'Espanya dins d'una Europa unida, així com també les relacions que existeixen entre l'Estat espanyol, Catalunya i Barcelona.Desde una aproximación antropológica, el artículo presenta una reflexión sobre el significado cultural de los Juegos Olímpicos. Las ceremonias olímpicas son un escenario de privilegiado para analizar los procesos de intercambio cultural que se dan a nivel internacional. En este sentido, el autor elabora un modelo comparativo que permite analizar las diferencias culturales que aparecen en ambas celebraciones olímpicas. Bajo esta visión los Juegos se entienden como un sistema de representación múltiple que incorpora elementos de ritual, juego, festival y espectáculo. De todas estas categorías el autor escoge la de festival para poner en práctica su modelo comparativo, ya que esta contempla los elementos clave de diversión, democracia, igualitarismo y participación, centrales para evidenciar las diferencias culturales. El autor compara críticamente las ceremonias de los Angeles y Seúl, dando algunas indicaciones sobre lo que puede suceder en Barcelona. Las ceremonias de los Juegos Olímpicos de 1992 se enfrentan al reto de representar el nuevo orden mundial y el papel de España en una Europa unida, así como la relación que existe entre el Estado español, Cataluña y Barcelona.From an anthropological point of view, the article presents a reflection on the cultural significance of the Olympic Games. The olimpic ceremonies ara a privilaged scene in which to analyse the process of cultural exchange at an international level. In this sense, the author expands a comparative model which allows the analizise of the different cultures which appear at both olympic ceremonies. With this in mind, the olympics can be undesrtood as a system of multiple representation which incorporates elements of ritual, sport, festival ans spectacle. From all this categories the author chooses that of festival with which to develop his comparative model, having already discussed the key elements of diversions, democracy, egalitarianism and participation, essential in order to overcome the cultural differences. The author critically compares the ceremonies of Los Angeles and Seul, giving some indications on what could happen in Barcelona. The Olympic ceremonies of 1992 face the task of representing the new world order and the position of Spain in a United Europe, aswell as the relation between the Spanish State, Catalonia and Barcelon

L'experiència dels darrers vint anys : una anàlisi comparativa de les cerimònies olímpiques

Article publicat a Papers: revista de sociologia (no. 38, 1992), que presenta una reflexió sobre el significat cultural dels Jocs Olímpics i compara les cerimònies de Los Angeles'84 i Seül'88 en perspectiva als Jocs de Barcelona'92

Politics and the Olympics : some new dimensions

Paper given at the Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials, Barcelona in 1995 analysing the relationship between politics, the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement and their influences.Ponencia presentada en el Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials de Barcelona en 1995, que analiza la relación entre la política, los Juegos Olímpicos, y el movimiento olímpico y sus influencias.Ponència presentada a l'Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials de Barcelona l'any 1995, que analitza la relació entre la política, els Jocs Olímpics, i el moviment olímpic i les seves influències

'The show must go on': Event dramaturgy as consolidation of community

Event dramaturgy and cultural performance have not been examined in the literature from a strategic standpoint of fostering the social value of events. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the case of the Water Carnival, a celebratory event in a rural community of Southwest Texas, demonstrating the essence of this event as a symbolic social space, wherein event participants instantiate a shared and valued sense of community. A hermeneutical approach was employed, interpreting the event and its symbolisms as a text, combined with findings from ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, in-depth interviews and analysis of archival documents. The study examines the ways that dramaturgy in the Water Carnival helps frame the ongoing public discourse for community improvement and enhances social capital. The implications of the study for social leverage of events are discussed. It is suggested that a foundation for strategic social planning is the understanding of events as symbolic social spaces and their embeddedness in community development, which can be accomplished when events are pertinent to public discourse, address community issues, represent an inclusive range of stakeholders, and promote cooperation

Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: Exploring the facets of Athens' Olympic heritage

This study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athens’ cultural tourism and the city’s potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athens’ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athens’ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the city’s identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host city’s tourism development

We are playing football: Seeing the game on Panapompom, PNG

© Royal Anthropological Institute 2011.This article is about football, played by men from Panapompom in Papua New Guinea's Milne Bay province. Football is problematic not because it is culturally appropriated or modified, but rather because Panapompom desired accurately to reproduce the appearance of the international game. As such it questions conventional frames of reference. An interpretation in terms of culture obscures Panapompom interests in football: its globally recognizable character. It mattered profoundly that Panapompom people played football. Yet framing football as a universal sporting institution is equally inadequate, erasing the specific political project that was embedded in the game. Displacing the interpretative framings, I argue that football itself provides a context in which Panapompom people can judge themselves in relation to others, who are defined in terms of colonial and postcolonial discourses on ‘development’. Taking football as a contextualizing image, Panapompom people appear in distinctive ways in the field of relationships that it defines.ESR

Perspectives of a new sport-specific Para Shooting classification system for athletes with vision impairment

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and individual sports federations have established the need to develop evidence-based systems of classification for athletes with vision impairment (VI) that may differ depending on the visual demands of each sport. As a consequence, research has been conducted that led to a new classification system for athletes competing in VI shooting. The purpose of this study was to canvas the experiences of key stakeholders (athletes, coaches and classifiers) when the new system of classification was implemented. Twenty-eight participants (17 athletes, 7 coaches and 4 classifiers) completed a questionnaire to rate their experiences of the previous and new classification systems and were interviewed to gain richer insights into their opinions. It was apparent that the changes to the classification system were not adequately communicated to the athletes in particular, and that the classifiers may require a better understanding of the principles of evidence-based classification. The new system was perceived to be significantly more specific for VI shooting and intentional misrepresentation was observed to be significantly less likely than when using the old system. This research provides valuable insights into both the positive and negative experiences of key stakeholders experiencing change in a classification system

Training of Vancouver 2010 volunteers: a legacy opportunity?

The successful delivery of a mega-sport event depends upon a volunteer workforce. It is often asserted that the training of event volunteers contributes to the creation of a social legacy via the transfer of learning to other volunteer contexts; thereby creating an enhanced volunteer pool after the event that will support the tourism and events industries in the host communities. This article reflects upon the reality of that assertion and argues that in order to achieve legacy both training and development strategies are required. As such an analysis of data collected at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games around training and legacy is discussed. A Legacy Training and Development Model is offered and subsequently, applied to the case study. The article concludes by suggesting that training at Vancouver 2010 was a missed opportunity in achieving legac

Narratives of the nation in the Olympic opening ceremonies: comparative analysis of Beijing 2008 and London 2012

This paper examines the ways in which nationalism and the narratives of the nation were constructed in the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. The ritual of the opening ceremony represents a concentration of features, qualities and messages that combine the local and global, the culturally specific and universal, in a complex production. Using textual analysis of the telecast of the above two opening ceremonies, the study found that the Beijing 2008 opening ceremony used a grand narrative of progress, emphasising the unified identity of Chineseness, while privileging the official narrative of the nation and one collective identity. In contrast, the London 2012 opening ceremony highlighted the fragmented but diversified identity of Britishness, transpiring social inclusivity, cultural hybridity and multiculturalism. This may be related to the rise of different type of nationalism in the context of increasing globalisation. The Beijing opening ceremony represented the Sinocentric Chinese new nationalism, whereas the London 2012 counterpart, up to a point, highlighted civic‐based multicultural nationalism