Delivering Olympic and Elite Sport in a Cross Cultural Context From Beijing to London

This book examines the impact of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympic Games and highlights the latest findings in the areas of sport policy, elite sports system, sport media, sport facility management and sport social development in the two host countries - China and Britain. It identifies the role of national and local governments, universities and educational institutions in the delivery of elite sport in different cultural and social settings. Aspects of the elite sports system are also analysed, such as elite athletes' training and education, athletes' rights and welfare both during and after an athlete’s career. Finally, the book considers the legacy of the Olympic Games in the areas of sport participation, public diplomacy, education and cultural communication in Europe and China. This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.

Acknowledgements Fan Hong and Lu Zhouxiang 1. The Olympics and Elite Sport Policy: Where Will It All End? Barrie Houlihan and Jinming Zheng 2. Athlete Development, Athlete Rights and Athlete Welfare: A European Union Perspective Ian Henry 3. A Study of the Relationship Between Elite Athletes' Educational Development and Sporting Performance Dawn Aquilina 4. Shining a Spotlight on Public Diplomacy: Chinese Media Coverage on the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics Xin Zhong, Shuhua Zhou, Bin Shen and Chao Huang 5. The Legacy: Did the Beijing Olympic Games have a Long-Term Impact on Grassroots Sport Participation in Chinese Townships? Jing Feng and Fan Hong 6. From Hongkew Recreation Ground to Bird's Nest: The Past, Present and Future of Large Sports Venues in China Lu Zhouxiang 7. The Chinese Olympic Dream and the Beijing Olympic Legacies Shiming Luo and Fuhua Huang

Fan Hong is a Professor at the School of Asian Studies, University College Cork, Ireland. Her main research interests are in the areas of culture, politics, business, gender and sport. Lu Zhouxiang is a Lecturer at the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland. His main research interests are the history of sport, nationalism and globalism, and comparative studies between the West and China in the field of sport.