Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events addresses the impact of mega-events – such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup – on wider practices of security and surveillance. "Mega-Events" pose peculiar and extensive security challenges. The overwhelming imperative is that "nothing should go wrong." There are, however, an almost infinite number of things that can "go wrong"; producing the perceived need for pre-emptive risk assessments, and an expanding range of security measures, including extensive forms and levels of surveillance. These measures are delivered by a "security/industrial complex" consisting of powerful transnational corporate, governmental and military actors, eager to showcase the latest technologies and prove that they can deliver "spectacular levels of security". Mega-events have thus become occasions for experiments in monitoring people and places. And, as such, they have become important moments in the development and dispersal of surveillance, as the infrastructure established for mega-events are often marketed as security solutions for the more routine monitoring of people and place. Mega-events, then, now serve as focal points for the proliferation of security and surveillance. They are microcosms of larger trends and processes, through which – as the contributors to this volume demonstrate – we can observe the complex ways that security and surveillance are now implicated in unique confluences of technology, institutional motivations, and public-private security arrangements. As the exceptional conditions of the mega-event become the norm, Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events therefore provides the glimpse of a possible future that is more intensively and extensively monitored.

This edition stresses some critical reflectons regarding security policies before and during Sport Events in our contemporary era of generalized insecurity. Sport competitions at the national, European and global levels have evolved in terms of economic investment, social importance and media coverage. However, this evolution has brought with it major political concerns. At the same time, the dominant question regarding the organization of competitions in our post-modern, neoliberal risk societies is the creation of a safe and secure milieu; the need of construction of an environment of life where sport events and the multiple activities and interests related to them can be kept safe from any risk and potentially harmful occurrence. In the name of security, anticipatory dispositifs and risk management practices, rationalities and technologies of government do not exclusively attempt to prevent disastrous incidents or to maintain order in situ. Involving a set of heteronymous public and private organizations and bureaucraties, state "experts" and not state "security managers", proactive security strategies seek to imagine the future, to pre-empt, to act in advance, to anticipate possible catastrophic incidents by managing populations and spaces in order to set, to assure, with any cost, the ideal conditions. The aim of this volume is to highlight the complex set of legal provisions, surveillance and policing practices, discourses, bureaucratic procedures and spatial and architectural forms underpin the security governance of sport events and their effects in the contemporary era of widespread uncertainty. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This edition stresses some critical reflectons regarding security policies before and during Sport Events in our contemporary era of generalized insecurity. Sport competitions at the national, European and global levels have evolved in terms of economic investment, social importance and media coverage. However, this evolution has brought with it major political concerns. At the same time, the dominant question regarding the organization of competitions in our post-modern, neoliberal risk societies is the creation of a safe and secure milieu; the need of construction of an environment of life where sport events and the multiple activities and interests related to them can be kept safe from any risk and potentially harmful occurrence. In the name of security, anticipatory dispositifs and risk management practices, rationalities and technologies of government do not exclusively attempt to prevent disastrous incidents or to maintain order in situ. Involving a set of heteronymous public and private organizations and bureaucraties, state "experts" and not state "security managers", proactive security strategies seek to imagine the future, to pre-empt, to act in advance, to anticipate possible catastrophic incidents by managing populations and spaces in order to set, to assure, with any cost, the ideal conditions. The aim of this volume is to highlight the complex set of legal provisions, surveillance and policing practices, discourses, bureaucratic procedures and spatial and architectural forms underpin the security governance of sport events and their effects in the contemporary era of widespread uncertainty. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events addresses the impact of mega-events – such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup – on wider practices of security and surveillance. "Mega-Events" pose peculiar and extensive security challenges. The overwhelming imperative is that "nothing should go wrong." There are, however, an almost infinite number of things that can "go wrong"; producing the perceived need for pre-emptive risk assessments, and an expanding range of security measures, including extensive forms and levels of surveillance. These measures are delivered by a "security/industrial complex" consisting of powerful transnational corporate, governmental and military actors, eager to showcase the latest technologies and prove that they can deliver "spectacular levels of security". Mega-events have thus become occasions for experiments in monitoring people and places. And, as such, they have become important moments in the development and dispersal of surveillance, as the infrastructure established for mega-events are often marketed as security solutions for the more routine monitoring of people and place. Mega-events, then, now serve as focal points for the proliferation of security and surveillance. They are microcosms of larger trends and processes, through which – as the contributors to this volume demonstrate – we can observe the complex ways that security and surveillance are now implicated in unique confluences of technology, institutional motivations, and public-private security arrangements. As the exceptional conditions of the mega-event become the norm, Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events therefore provides the glimpse of a possible future that is more intensively and extensively monitored.

The book aims to outline the progress, problems and challenges of delivering a safe and secure Olympics in the context of the contemporary serious and enduring terrorist threat. The enormous media profile and symbolic significance of the Olympic Games, the history of terrorists aiming to use such high-profile events to advance their cause, and Al Qaeda's aim to cause mass casualties, all have major implications for the security of London 2012. Drawing on contributions from leading academics and practitioners in the field the book will assess the current terrorist threat, particularly focusing on terrorist targeting and how the Olympics might feature in this, before addressing particular response themes such as transport security, the role of surveillance, resilient designing of Olympic sites, the role of private security, and the challenge of inter-agency coordination. The book will conclude by providing an assessment of the legacy of Olympic security to date and will discuss the anticipated issues and dilemmas of the future. This book will be of interest to students of terrorism studies, security studies, counter-terrorism and sports studies.

This book examines contemporary issues of security at sports mega-events (SMEs). It focuses on the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2020) - subsequently postponed to 2021 - the third biggest SME in the global sporting calendar and a unique multi-city, multi-country event that took place in the eye of the COVID-19 storm. Drawing on stakeholder interviews, policy documents, media sources and existing research, the book explores the constructions, meanings, and perceptions of security in the efforts to secure this football mega-event. It argues that Euro 2020 is a powerful case through which to better understand wider security governance and security-related processes in present-day societies, which are increasingly preoccupied with notions of ‘security’, ‘safety’ and ‘risk’. It assesses the precautionary logic and transnational knowledge transfer processes that guide security constructions surrounding SMEs in an uncertain and threat-conscious world, and captures the dramatic moments in which COVID-19 transitioned into a security threat with severe impacts on the world of football and well beyond. Sport Mega-Events, Security and COVID-19 advances existing debates in the sociology of football and sport, offering a critical understanding of security and safety in the modern world, and giving an insight into the changing ‘new normalities’ of security between 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of global sport. This is a fascinating reading for anybody with a professional or academic interest in sport management, event management, football, security studies, policing, risk and crisis management, the sociology of sport, the sociology of surveillance, or political science.

This volume unpicks mega-events as gendered entities and showcases how they both position athletes in relation to one of two binary sex positions and also push the boundaries of what we see and accept as a recognisably gendered male or female body.

Managing Major Sports Events: Theory and Practice is a complete introduction to the principles and practical skills that underpin the running and hosting of major sports events, from initial bid to post-event legacy and sustainability. Now in a fully revised and updated new edition, the book draws on the latest research from across multiple disciplines, explores real-world situations, and emphasises practical problem-solving skills. It covers every key area in the event management process, including: • Bidding, leadership, and planning; • Marketing and human resource management; • Venues and ceremonies; • Communications and technology (including social media); • Functional area considerations (including sport, protocol, and event services); • Security and risk management; • Games-time considerations; • Event wrap-up and evaluation; • Legacy and sustainability. This revised edition includes expanded coverage of cutting-edge topics such as digital media, culture, human resources, the volunteer workforce, readiness, security, and managing Games-time. Each chapter combines theory, practical decision-making exercises, and case studies of major sports events from around the world, helping students and practitioners alike to understand and prepare for the reality of executing major events on an international scale. Also new to this edition is an "Outlook, Trends, and Innovations" section in each chapter, plus "tips" from leading events professionals. Managing Major Sports Events: Theory and Practice is an essential textbook for any course on sports event management or international sports management, and an invaluable resource for all sport management researchers, practitioners and policymakers. Online resources include PowerPoint slides, multiple choice questions, essay questions, stories, and decision-making exercises.