Introduction

With billions of people watching and more countries and delegations marching in the ceremonies than officially recognized states by the United Nations, the Olympic Games are the largest event humanity holds in terms of global exposure, reach, logistics, and participation. While the Olympic Movement draws its philosophy from Ancient Greece and has built its own modern traditions through over 125 years, socioeconomic, geopolitical, and economic pressures and realities have also shaped it and caused changes. The introduction chapter discusses the concept of the book. The chapter introduces the concept of Olympism and gives some examples of complexities and dualities in the Olympic Movement, as the Olympic Games, on one hand, galvanize over 200 countries and delegations to compete mostly peacefully with each other, while the ongoing backlash contests the Olympic ideal amid politics, corruption, doping, greenwashing, and other forms of social violations. The chapter outlines the other seven chapters of the book and concludes with a brief discussion on other recent scholarships on the Olympic Movement, and what makes this book unique and significant.