2015 Volume 23 Issue 2 Pages 3-22
Although sports officials and politicians may still be heard to declare that ‘sport and politics should not mix’, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find anyone who believes that is the case, especially with regard to international sports events where the whole process appears highly politicized, from the overt nationalisms to the economy of the events. Hosting a major sports event such as the Olympic Games brings together a great many actors, each with different and sometimes competing interests. Most research focus has been on the “usual suspects” – various levels of government, and national and international corporations in their interactions with the International Olympic Committee. But there are other axes of power to consider. In this paper I will first consider the relative political power of Asia in the Olympic movement, using recent data to show that most power in the organization is still held by Europeans. Second, I consider the high levels of power held by the ‘usual suspects’, and point both to the use of international sport as a technique of ‘soft power’ and to some problems for Olympic sport that are caused by the ‘usual suspects’. Third, I consider meso-levels of power held by individuals, groups and organizations that are rarely studied in the scholarly literature, but that have an influence on the form and meaning of Olympic Games. In particular, I focus on the cadre of international consultants and experts who offer their services and/or who are hired whenever a country hosts a major international sports event; and I consider Olympic critics and protesters who also have an impact, sometimes in indirect and unexpected ways.
