Although the event management field has grown considerably over the last decade, critical, social-scientific studies of the international events industry are rare. This book intends to help fill this void. It focuses on power, social and political relations, conflicts and controversies in the context of international events, popular festivals and famous spectacles. It draws on recent primary research and offers a diverse range of new and intriguing case studies, for example the Arirang Festival in North Korea, the Gay Games, the Gymnaestrada, horse-racing events, the London 2012 Olympics, regional and rural festivals, the World Baseball Classic, World Fairs/Expos and U2 concerts.
The main aim of this volume is to bring the critical, social-scientific analysis of events, festivals and spectacles more into the core of the teaching of events management degree programmes. The book draws extensively upon the disciplines of politics, sociology, cultural studies and history.
In the process, it addresses key themes such as:
• political economy
• politics of popular culture
• the global and the local
• regionalism and globalization
• nations and nationalism
• international relations and foreign policy.
This groundbreaking collection of essays is unique and innovative. It will be an essential source for students, researchers and academics with a keen interest in critical, social-scientific analyses of events.
Author(s): Udo Merkel (ed.)
Series: Routledge Advances in Event Research
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 209
Tags: Power, Politics, International Events
Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Table of Contents......Page 8
Notes on contributors......Page 10
Acknowledgements......Page 14
Part I:
Introduction......Page 16
1. The critical, social-scientific study of international events:
power, politics and conflicts......Page 18
Contested mega events in 2012: from Bahrain to Baku, and Lviv to
London......Page 24
Epistemological issues: recognizing the socio-historical and
ideological context of international events......Page 29
International events as a platform for national and international
politics......Page 30
Organizing and categorizing conflicts: levels and layers of
contestation......Page 33
About this volume: cases, contents and conflicts......Page 37
Bibliography......Page 43
Part II: Historical and developmental case studies......Page 46
2. Regional events and festivals in Europe:
revitalizing traditions and modernizing identities......Page 48
The origins and historical development of local and regional festivals......Page 49
Globalism, nationalism and regionalism......Page 52
Regions, regionalism and regional identity......Page 55
Regional festivals: culture, place and landscape......Page 56
Catalonia: the region versus the state......Page 59
Conclusion......Page 62
Bibliography......Page 63
3. The historical roots of the Gymnaestrada:
national gymnastics festivals in nineteenth-century Europe......Page 68
The political situation in early nineteenth-century Europe......Page 69
The emergence and meaning of gymnastics movements in nineteenth-century
Europe......Page 70
German Turnfeste (gymnastics festivals) as symbols and catalysts of
the gymnastics movement and of nation building......Page 73
Mass gymnastics displays as physical expressions of belonging and
national identity......Page 76
The growing internationalization of the national gymnastics festivals: paving the way for the World Gymnaestrada......Page 77
Bibliography......Page 79
4. World Expos and global power
relations......Page 82
Imperialism and international exhibitions: 1851–early twentieth
century......Page 84
Americanization, commercialization and World Fairs: the twentieth
century......Page 88
De-polarization: late twentieth century to date......Page 92
Conclusion......Page 95
Note......Page 96
Bibliography......Page 97
Methods......Page 100
The origins of the Gay Games......Page 101
The sport–culture clash......Page 103
The commercialization of the Gay Games......Page 105
Growing pains – the split with the Gay Games movement......Page 107
The queering of the Gay Games......Page 109
The future of the Gay Games......Page 112
Conclusion......Page 113
Bibliography......Page 115
Part III: Contemporary case studies and
ethnographies......Page 118
6. Global events and local conflicts: who
owns the streets of London?......Page 120
Can’t get to the Games on time: Olympic congestion......Page 122
Managing traffic, travel and transport......Page 123
Local implications of a global event......Page 124
The largest peacetime logistics strategy: London’s transport policy for
the 2012 Olympics......Page 126
Research findings (I): communicating the TDM strategy. How have
businesses been informed as to the impact of these TDM measures?......Page 128
Research findings (II): responding to the TDM strategy. How do businesses plan to react to these measures and what steps are they
taking, if any?......Page 130
Research findings (III): assessing the TDM strategy. How do businesses feel about the demands being made of them and the effect
on their business?......Page 133
Conclusion......Page 134
Epilogue......Page 136
Bibliography......Page 137
7. A day at the races:
critical reflections of an insider......Page 141
Why Newmarket?......Page 143
Our day at the races......Page 145
Who else is having a day at the races?......Page 152
On the way home......Page 154
Bibliography......Page 155
8. Arts, acrobatics and athleticism in North Korea:
power, politics and propaganda......Page 157
Bush, Bond and other buffoons......Page 158
The historical and political roots of North Korean mass events......Page 163
The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang......Page 164
Conclusion......Page 169
Bibliography......Page 170
9. The World Baseball Classic:
the production and politics of a new global sports spectacle......Page 173
Spectacle and global sport......Page 174
The globalization of baseball......Page 177
The political games behind the Classic spectacle......Page 181
Concluding remarks: the 2013 World Baseball Classic......Page 185
Bibliography......Page 187
10. Politics as spectacle: U2’s 360° tour (2009–11)......Page 189
U2: the band, the music and the shows......Page 190
Theoretical considerations: mega-events, the spectator and the cultural industries......Page 191
The power and political dynamics of U2’s 360° spectacle......Page 194
Conclusion: contradictions and conflicts......Page 201
Bibliography......Page 202
Index......Page 206
