ABSTRACT
On 7 February 2014, the 22nd Olympic Winter Games were opened in Sochi, a small town on the Russian Black Sea coast, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. This chapter aims to explore what the contestations around the Sochi Olympics can tell us about the role of spectacular events in politics of belonging. It focuses particularly on aspects of belonging and community in the coverage of the Sochi Olympics. The Olympic Games are, one could argue, the quintessential media spectacle. The decision in 2007 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to let Russia organize the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi awoke many concerns and controversies, as shown by the attention dedicated to the Sochi Games by scholars, journalists and activists. The revanchist idea of the return of Russia as a great power coexisted with another motif, which connected Sochi-2014 to international peace, ethnic diversity and harmonious conviviality.
