The Olympic Games: A Social Science Perspective, Second Edition

Kristine Toohey and A. J. Veal

CABI, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK, 2007

348 pages, ISBN-13: 978 1 84593 346 3 (hardback); 978 0 85199 809 1 (paperback)
Publisher website: www.cabi.org Australian distributors: www.dadirect.com.au

Reviewers' comments on the 1st edition

A well-researched book that belongs in the forefront of the libraries of those who study the
Games B Glynn A. Leyshon, University of Western Ontario, in H-Net Reviews

Unlike a lot of other publications released in the run up to the Games this one has much
greater, and long lasting, value...This is probably the best single source for social science,
leisure studies and sports management students following courses or modules that deal with
the Games. John Horne, University of Edinburgh, in Leisure Studies

Toohey's and Veal's excellent book should be put on the reading list of every sports course in
English-speaking universities. Jim Riordan, University of Stirling, in Int. Rev. for the
Sociology of Sport

It is fortunate for those of us who decide to use this text in the classroom that Toohey and
Veal worked hard to keep all of the life and excitement of the Olympic Games intact. Nancy
Gard McGehee, N. Carolina State University, in Jnl of Travel Research
Summary

The Olympic Games are the largest and most prestigious sporting competition in the world and
have grown into a massive, multi-billion dollar sport and commercial event. The scale and
significance, both sporting and cultural, of these games have attracted increasing attention not
only from the media and wider public but also from researchers and managers of sporting events.

This extended, new edition of The Olympic Games: A Social Science Perspective covers the
Olympic phenomenon from political, economic, historical and sociological perspectives,
discussing topics from the history and the media to commercialism and drug use. Providing a
detailed and comprehensive account and extensive bibliography, this book will be essential
reading for researchers and students in leisure and sports studies.
Chapters include suggestions for further reading and discussion questions. A supporting
website with PowerPoint files, etc. will be available at:
www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/research/books.

Contents

1 Introduction: Studying the Olympic Games

The phenomenon of the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games as an object of academic enquiry
Disciplinary perspectives
Paradigms
Structure of the book
The Olympic Games B more than a sporting event

2 The Ancient Olympics and their Relevance to the Modern Games

Introduction
Myths about the ancient Olympic Games
A short history of the ancient Olympic Games
The events
History and politics
Amateurism and professionalism
Women
The demise of the Games
Conclusion

3 The Revival of the Olympic Games

Introduction
The interregnum
Greece
England
North America
France and Germany
Pierre de Coubertin
Summary
4 The Modern Olympic Phenomenon
Introduction
Olympism
The Olympic Movement
Olympic organisation
The International Olympic Committee
IOC Commissions
Symbols and ceremonial
The bidding process and host city selection
Hosting the Games
Cultural programme
The Winter Olympics
Local opposition
Evaluation and reporting
After it's all over: the legacy of the Games
Competing and related events
Conclusions

5 Politics, Nationalism and the Olympic Movement

Introduction
Politics
Olympic Games and politics
Internal politics of the host nation
Opposing political ideologies
Nationalism
Political demonstrations, terrorism and security at the Games
IOC politics

6 The Economics and Financing of the Games

Introduction
Political economy
Financing the Olympic Movement
Funding individual Olympic Games
Economic impact

7 The Olympics and the Mass Media

Introduction
The relationship between the Olympics and the mass media
The nature of Olympic television broadcasts
History of Olympic television coverage
Host broadcasters
The Internet
Radio
Film
Olympic-related novels
Conclusion

8 Doping and the Olympics

Introduction
 Some modern performance-enhancing substances
Arguments for and against drug use
History of drug use in the Olympics
The IOC Medical Commission
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
Categories of IOC prohibited substances
Athletes' obligations and doping control
Anti-doping procedures for Turin, 2006
Episodes in sport, the Olympics and drug use
The future
Summary

9 Women and the Olympic Games

Women and sport
Research
Women in the Olympic Games
Introduction of women's sports to the Olympic programme
The twenty-first century
Women in the administration of the Olympics
The media and women in the Olympic Games
Eleanor Holm Jarrett: a case study of a female Olympic athlete
Gender verification, or sex testing
Conclusion

10 Case Studies of the Summer Olympic Games

Introduction
Barcelona 1992
Atlanta 1996
Sydney 2000
Athens 2004
Beijing 2008
London 2012
Appendix 10.1. The Games of the modern era
Appendix 10.2. Items for a cost-benefit study of the Games

11 The Future of the Olympic Games

Introduction
The environment of the Games
The organisation of the Games
The past, present and future of the Olympic Games

Appendix I: Websites, Films, Videos, CDs, DVDs

References
Index