Understanding the Olympics

The Olympic Games are unquestionably the greatest sporting event on earth. Now in a fully revised and updated new edition that places Rio 2016 in the foreground, Understanding the Olympics explores the full social, cultural, political, historical and economic context to the Games. It traces the history of the Olympic movement from its origins in ancient Greece to the modern mega-event of today, touching on key themes in Olympic Studies such as development, commercialization, spectacle, equity, political economy and Olympic futures. Written to engage and inform, this is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the Olympics or in the wider relationship between sport and society.