Olympic Cities: 2012 and the Remaking of London

Professor Gavin Poynter and Dr Iain MacRury are both in the School of Social Sciences and Media and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, UK

'The book presents a refreshing perspective on the games, not concentrating on either sporting success or nationalistic triumph. Thoroughly recommended as a good read, setting the Olympic Movement into a true global context.' Building Engineer 'London 2012 returned from China last summer impressed but undaunted by our experience of the Beijing Games. This book provokes the same reaction. For those with an interest in, or responsibility for, London's legacy planning there is much here with which to agree and some perspectives with which to disagree, but the contributions are never less than thoughtful, thought-provoking and challenging.' Tom Russell, Group Director Olympic Legacy, London Development Agency, UK ’...a provocative work...Recommended.’ Choice '...an excellent resource for anyone trying to understand how and why we got to where we are today in east London and the regeneration potential of a successful games in 2012.' New Start 'Social and economic regeneration, the strengthening of a sense of community, combating obesity... the number of objectives with which a fortnight's worth of running, rowing and throwing has been freighted is mind-boggling. It all raises a number of important questions. Enter Olympic Cities: 2012 and the Remaking of London, a fascinating collection of essays...it represents one of the best attempts yet to make sense of the role and meaning of the modern Olympic Games - that is, to situate their significance in the economic, political and cultural context of the host cities and nations.' Sp!ked

• Contents: Preface, Iain MacRury and Gavin Poynter; Part 1 The Modern Games and Social Change: Sport, spectacle and society: understanding the Olympics, Michael Rustin; The evolution of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 1948-2012, Gavin Poynter; Branding the Games: commercialism and the Olympic city, Iain MacRury; Olympic-driven urban development, Dean Baim. Part 2 Olympic Cities: The legacy of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Hyunsun Yoon; The economy of the Barcelona Olympic Games, Ferran Brunet; Atlanta (1996): the Centennial Games, Gavin Poynter and Emma Roberts; Regenerating Sydney's West: framing and adapting an Olympic vision, Richard Cashman; The 28th Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Roy Panagiotopoulou; The economy of the Beijing Olympic Games: an analysis of prospects and first impacts, Ferran Brunet and Zuo Xinwen. Part 3 London 2012: London: preparing for 2012, Gavin Poynter; London 2012 and the regeneration game, Penny Bernstock; 'Race', sport and East London, Kevin Hilton and Nigel D. Morpeth; London 2012 - winning the Olympic 'green' medal, Paul Toyne; Technology, space and the paralympic athlete, Allan Edwards, Otto J. Schanz and Keith Gilbert; Where is England in contemporary Britain - and will the 2012 Olympics help us find it? Andrew Blake; London, Beijing and the role of culture in reconstructing society, Andrew Calcutt. Part 4 Olympic Legacies: Olympic cities and social change, Iain MacRury and Gavin Poynter; Index.