The Olympic spirit and civic boosterism: The Sydney 2000 Olympics

Abstract

This paper draws together two dominant themes in urban geography, cities as spectacle and social polarization. Urban spectacle is provided by Sydney's preparations to host the 2000 Olympic Games. Social polarization within Sydney provides a plurality of social contexts within which residents evaluated this preparation stage. These two themes are drawn together by examining the anticipatory emotional affects arising from Sydney becoming designated the host city. Operating at the level of feelings and effect, this paper explores the extent to which Sydneysiders, increasingly polarized by socio-economic status, were united by the prospect of hosting the 2000 Olympics. The results are interpreted within the theoretical arguments of the civic boosterism school, i.e. hallmark events are an instrument of hegemonic power, conceived to generate feelings of enthusiasm for community and national pride in an era noted for its culture of nihilism. Whilst the results of this paper confirm civic boosterism arguments that hallmark events can operate as a form of socialization to generate feelings of pride, community and nationalism, local reaction to hosting The Games was not unanimous. Instead, a far more complex local reaction to hosting the Sydney Olympics was identified, the interpretation of which, at this point, remains unclear.