Reframing the Olympic Games: Uncovering New Spatial Stories of (De)securitization

Abstract

This chapter reframes the Olympic Games as a space of contestation rather than a fixed place of peace. Initially this objective sounds ludicrous given that this mega-event was deliberately designed as a pathway to transcend conflict and instigate peace. In ancient times the proclamation of a sacred truce during the four Panhellenic Games called on all warring parties to halt their battles before, during and after the competition to ensure the total safety of athletes and spectators (Georgiadis and Syrigos 2009). While no truce is formally declared in modern epochs, the expectation that peace will prevail during the games is inscribed in the Olympic Charter (IOC 1894[2014]) and is avowedly championed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Movement. Such sentiments were echoed by the UN general secretary, Ban Ki-Moon, during the preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. As he noted, the Olympic Truce is rooted in the hope that if people and nations can put aside their differences for one day, they can build on that to establish more lasting ceasefires and find paths towards durable peace, prosperity and human rights. For these next few weeks, may the torch of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi remind us what is possible when nations unite. (Ban 2014)