Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

"Back the Bid": the London Olympic Bid Committee and the Sun newspaper

Mackay, C. (2012) "Back the Bid": the London Olympic Bid Committee and the Sun newspaper. Journal of Sport and Social Issues. 36(4), pp. 410-421. 0193-7235.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: This article explores how the London Olympic Bid Committee (LOBC) sought to gain the popular support required for London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games by attempting to influence the journalists of the U.K. newspaper with the greatest readership to communicate their discourse to the host urban population. The research draws on Michel Foucault’s concept of discourse to investigate whether and, more importantly, how the journalists of the Sun articulated the key statements that the LOBC sought to convey to the U.K. public in their coverage of London’s bid for the 2012 Games in order to discover how collusion and tension between the discourses and practices of bid committees and those of journalists affect the statements articulated to the reader.
Uncontrolled Keywords: mega-events, bidding, media, discourse, Foucault
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation. Leisure > GV712 Athletic contests. Sports events > GV721.5 Olympics. Management
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation. Leisure > GV706.5 Sports sociology
P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics > P87 Communication. Mass media
Creators: Mackay, Clare
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Business & Law > Leisure Management and Languages
Faculties > Faculty of Business & Law > Events, Tourism & Hospitality
Date: November 2012
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 410-421
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Sport and Social Issues
Volume: 36
Number: 4
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723512455922
ISSN: 0193-7235
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
Related URLs:
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/5923

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