Timms, Jill (2012) The Olympics as a platform for protest: a case study of the London 2012 'ethical' Games and the Play Fair campaign for workers’ rights. Leisure Studies, 31 (3). pp. 355-372. ISSN 0261-4367
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
The Olympic Games, with its distinctive ethos and reach, offers a valuable opportunity for those able to mobilise it as a platform for their own purposes. This paper focuses on how global social justice groups are pursuing this goal. It is argued that the types of protest utilising the Olympic platform change over time and reflect distinct historical phases of the Games. Contemporary anti-Olympic and Olympic watchdog campaigns are characterised by contestation over the prioritising of corporate interests, so contribute to wider critiques of globalising capitalism. The Play Fair campaign for the rights of workers making official Olympic merchandise and supplies exemplifies this, as it mobilises the Olympic platform to question and influence working practices within transnational supply chains. A case study of the campaign is presented, drawing on documentary analysis, interviews and participant observations undertaken since the launch of PlayFair 2012 in February 2010. It was found that by targeting London 2012 corporate discourses of ‘ethics’ and ‘sustainability’ in its campaign to ensure a ‘sweat free’ Olympics, Play Fair connects the production of major sporting events to wider issues of global inequality, poverty and structural problems in transnational labour markets.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://tandfonline.com/loi/rlst20 |
| Additional Information: | © 2012 Taylor & Francis |
| Divisions: | Sociology |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Jan 2013 11:25 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Mar 2024 22:57 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/47884 |
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