The Sochi Games and Celebration Capitalism
For photos from this event, go to our flickr page!
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Sports as metaphor for human solidarity, or sports as vehicle for human greed?
Mega sporting events such as the Olympics are increasingly used to redevelop cities, displace populations, and quash internal dissent. Meanwhile, international governing bodies like the IOC and FIFA turn blind eyes to human rights violations by host countries, instead considering only who can provide them with the best party favors. The Sochi Winter Olympics, as well as the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and upcoming World Cups in Brazil and Qatar, represent prime examples of this trend toward what Jules Boykoff calls “celebration capitalism.”
What options are available to concerned citizens to challenge the growingly dominant, and devastating, narrative of sports as celebration capitalism? Five Ring Fever brings together 2006 Olympic luger Samantha Retrosi, noted sports journalist Dave Zirin, and historian and former US Olympic soccer team member Jules Boykoff to discuss the impact of large-scale sporting events like the Sochi Games, and what we can do to ensure they speak to the dreams of billions of people, not to the billionaire dreams of a select, corrupt few.
Five Ring Fever: The Sochi Games and Celebration Capitalism
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
6:30-8pm at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung—New York Office
275 Madison Avenue, Suite 2114 (entrance over 40th St.)
New York, NY 10016
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. REGISTRATION HERE.
