ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book represents the voice of the non-elite sportsperson who utilizes a former Olympic facility and provides a voice for muted groups such as Chinese Olympic leaders, indigenous Australian athletes and those from tropical Africa respectively. It explores the imbrication of ethnicity and identity and addresses the Olympics as an example of global cultural space in which supranational modes of identity formation have, in principle, been made possible. The book examines the emergence of various other single and multi-sport mega-events that act in economic competition with the Olympics. It also provides a background for continued debate about whether aesthetics will replace competitive sport as a magnet for Olympic spectatorship. The Olympic Games, despite the ‘green’ rhetoric that usually surrounds them, are seen by some as environmental pollutants.
