ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the usefulness of Sport England's Active People Survey for students of sport studies. It considers whether a 'demonstration effect' stimulated by the media coverage of London 2012 could influence the general public in their attitudes towards sport participation. The book shows how a commitment to universal human rights to participate in sport is hard to square with Olympic dress codes that effectively exclude Muslim women from taking part, given their religious requirements of covering the body. 2012 is unlikely to change this because Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims in which they fast, falls in the middle of the Olympics. The book highlights the fact that the concept of 'legacy' is 'elastic' and is used to cover the impact the Games is hoped to have on a wide range of factors.
