This book explores the social and cultural impact of the Olympic Games, examining gender and sport, the inequalities between nations and people and at what the Games offer and how they are changing, in relation to spectacles, spectatorship and culture, including the links between art and sport.

Kath Woodward is Professor of Sociology and Head of Department in the Sociology Department at the Open University, UK. Her interests bring together feminist theory, gender studies and sport. She is author of Boxing, Masculinity and Identity, Social Sciences: The Big Issues, Why Feminism Matters, Embodied Sporting Practices, and Sex, Power and the Games.

Introduction Regulatory Frameworks: Playing by the Rules Finding the Truth: Hoping for Certainty Nations, Host Cities and Opportunities Spectacles and Spectators The Art of Sport Contradictions, Controversies and Disruptions Conclusion References