Explores The Olympic Spectacle, From The Multi-media Bidding Process And The Branding And Imaging Of The Games, To Security, Surveillance And Control Of The Olympic Product Across All Of Its Levels. Contributors Argue That The Process Of Commercialization, Directed By The Ioc Itself, Has Enabled Audiences To Interpret Its Traditional Objects In Non-reverential Ways And To Develop Oppositional Interpretations Of Olympism. The Olympics Have Become Multi-voiced And Many Themed, And The Spectacle Of The Contemporary Games Raises Important Questions About Institutionalization, The Doctrine Of Individualism, The Advance Of Market Capitalism, Performance, Consumption And The Consolidation Of Global Society. With Particular Focus On The London Games In 2012, The Book Casts A Critical Eye Over The Bidding Process, Olympic Finance, Promises Of Legacy And Development, And The Consequences Of Hosting The Games For The Civil Rights And Liberties Of Those Living In Their Shadow. --from Publisher Description. Lording It: London And The Getting Of The Games / Alan Tomlinson -- The Ideals Of The Founding Father: Mythologized, Evolved Or Betrayed? / Lincoln Allison -- The Promise Of Olympism / Graham Mcfee -- The Olympics As Sovereign Subject Maker / Thomas F. Carter -- The Technicolor Olympics? Race, Representation And The 2012 London Games / Daniel Burdsey -- Youth Sport And London's 2012 Olympic Legacy / Marc Keech -- Doping And The Olympics: Rights, Responsibilities And Accountabilities (watching The Athletes) / Barrie Houlihan -- The Olympic Documentary And The 'spirit Of Olympism' / Ian Mcdonald -- Torchlight Temptations: Hosting The Olympics And The Global Gaze / David Rowe And Jim Mckay -- Taste, Ambiguity And The Cultural Olympiad / Shane Collins And Catherine Palmer -- Sex Watch: Surveying Women's Sexed And Gendered Bodies At The Olympics / Jayne Caudwell -- Children Of A Lesser God: Paralympics And High-performance Sport / P. David Howe -- The Olympic Movement, Action Sports, And The Search For Generation Y / Holly Thorpe And Belinda Wheaton -- Team Gb, The Bards Of Britishness And A Disunited Kingdom / Mark Perryman -- The View From The Pressbox: Rose-tinted Spectacle? / Rob Steen -- Watched By The Games: Surveillance And Security At The Olympics / John Sugden -- Afterword. 'no Other Anything... ': The Olympic Games Yesterday And Today / John Sugden And Alan Tomlinson. Edited By John Sugden And Alan Tomlinson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.