ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 examines Olympism as a movement for social reforms. It establishes the critical link between Olympic Movement (OM) and its most prominent representation, the Olympic Games. It is argued that this link is central for understanding the powers of the Olympics to deliver any transformations at individual, organisational and societal levels, which have become collectively referred to as ‘legacy’. The chapter also places Olympism in the realm of contentious politics in the sense that social movements involve collective making of claims that, if realised, would conflict with someone else’s interests. Since the core aspirations of Olympism have always been contingent on public support and state guarantees, they inevitably result in producing not only positive legacy but negative as well.
