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Olympic Dreams and Social Realities: A Foucauldian Analysis of Legacy and Mass Participation

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  • Heather Piper
  • Dean Garratt

Abstract

Focussing on the London 2012 legacy claim relating to increased activity levels and sports participation, the paper discusses a range of factors which appear to militate against its achievement. Utilising a Foucauldian theoretical framework, we discuss how some of these operate at the conceptual and linguistic level, while others relate to governmental processes, and still another to the distinction between active engagement with the Games as carnival/festival and passive consumption as spectacle. Closest attention is paid to the negative effects on mass participation of a mind-set and collateral social practices, amplified in sport, which prioritise the avoidance of all risk, and particularly the risk of abuse. Drawing on data from a recent ESRC-funded research project, we demonstrate how this has resulted in a culture of fear and corrosive mistrust, which can only reduce grassroots willingness to take up sports, and the effectiveness and commitment of the coaches required to support it. The social context of discourse is considered, and Foucault's conceptual ‘toolbox’ is deployed, to encapsulate the interrelationship of risk society, moral panic, and governmentality.

Suggested Citation

  • Heather Piper & Dean Garratt, 2013. "Olympic Dreams and Social Realities: A Foucauldian Analysis of Legacy and Mass Participation," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(2), pages 150-159, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:18:y:2013:i:2:p:150-159
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.3063
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    Cited by:

    1. Pengfei Shi & Alan Bairner, 2022. "Sustainable Development of Olympic Sport Participation Legacy: A Scoping Review Based on the PAGER Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, July.

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