ABSTRACT
Most academic literature relating to Olympic protests has opted to follow a review of each separate Games, accompanied by a discussion of the protests seen at those Games. Similarly, most reviews focus on just the Summer Games, with little reference to the Winter Games, yet the Winter Games also see protest, albeit of a different kind – more focussed on environmental issues. However, it is far more interesting to see how the genre and type of protests have developed along with other global societal developments over the last 116 years. The Games are a global stage and, as such, “a world-wide podium for protest and there is very little the Olympic movement can do about it” (Bijkerk, talking to the BBC, 2008, p. 1).
