ABSTRACT
The Beijing Olympics of 2008 were then the most watched Games ever and were widely regarded as being highly successful. This chapter evaluates the pros and cons of this Olympic event, via analysis of the context in which the Games emerged, including the long-term aim of the Chinese Communist Party to host the Olympics, pre-Games concerns over atmospheric pollution and human rights in a One Party system, and the place of the Games in the emergence of a ‘New’ China. Questions around the legacy of the Olympics are also considered, including China’s ‘soft power’ expansion and ‘sportswashing’.
