The Olympics, Celebration Capitalism, and the Activist Response

Abstract

This presentation features three main parts. First, I offer the theory of “celebration capitalism,” elucidate its principle tenets, and explain how it relates to Naomi Klein’ s “disaster capitalism.” I argue that celebration capitalism is helpful for organizing our thoughts on the modern Olympics and best captures the political and economic dynamics at the core of the Games in the 21st century. Second, I draw from specific Olympic Games to demonstrate how celebration capitalism takes shape in specific policies and practices in the host city. Drawing from my research on the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the 2012 Summer Games in London, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, I also show how the tenets of celebration capitalism can stimulate anti-Olympics activism. Third, I explore how celebration capitalism is playing out in Tokyo as the city prepares to host the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics.