Sports Mega-Events in Asia

Book excerpt: "Insightful, thorough and broad ranging, this book takes research on mega-events in exciting new directions. A path breaking work". - Richard Gruneau, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada "This volume is a well-considered selection of works on the topic of sport mega events in Asia (East and West). It is a must read for all mega event scholars and Asia specialists alike". - Dr., Dr. Barbara Holthus, Deputy Director, German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo, Japan This book is the first comprehensive collection focusing on the hosting of sports mega-events within Asia and their impact on the politics, economics, and culture that shape, and are shaped by, the local idiosyncrasies of host cities and countries across this most culturally diverse continent. From the Olympic Games and single sport World Cups, to the Asian Games and their sub-regional variations, an increasing number of Asian countries have rapidly developed their capacity to host and mobilize large-scale sports events as a cornerstone of their economic growth, national identity formation, and international prestige. This book sets out to fill a gap in the literature and will be of particular relevance to those who are interested in globalization, sports studies, political economy, cultural studies, event management and policy, sociology, media studies, and Asian studies. Koji Kobayashi is Associate Professor in the Center for Glocal Strategy at Otaru University of Commerce, Japan, and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Lincoln University, New Zealand. John Horne is Visiting Professor in the Graduate School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Younghan Cho is Professor of Korean Studies at the Graduate School of International and Area Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Jung Woo Lee is Programme Director of M.Sc. Sport Policy, Management and International Development, Research Director of the Scottish Centre for Olympic Research and Education, and Lecturer in Sport and Leisure Policy at the University of Edinburgh, UK. .