ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the governance of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. The 2009 Olympic Congress in Copenhagen recognised governance as a central issue for the Olympic Movement and codified it in a document entitled ‘Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance of the Olympic and Sports Movement’ (IOC, 2008). The document is under-pinned by a moral philosophical position, which was enshrined in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Code of Ethics and stipulates that ‘the basic universal principles of good governance of the Olympic and sports movement, in particular transparency, responsibility and accountability must be respected by all Olympic Movement constituents’ (IOC, 2010, C.1). Naturally, these universal principles of governance also apply to the bidding and organisational processes of the Olympic Games as well as to the planning of the imprint they leave in host cities and countries.
