Tag Archives: olympics

First-hand Experience: National Pride and the Olympics

As the Paralympics kick off in London tonight, SEN Journal: Online Exclusives is delighted to present our final exclusive article on the theme of nationalism, ethnicity and sport. Regular contributor Sonia Morland writes of her own experiences at the Olympic games earlier this summer, describing some of the differences in national crowds, and reflecting upon an unexpected source of national pride. Let us know what you think! 

Photo credit: flickr, ianpatterson99

A lot has been said over the past few weeks about the revival of national pride in Britain, as our nation’s sportsmen claimed medal after medal at the Olympics. But that was not my experience of London 2012. I was working at Earls Court, where the volleyball was playing. For a British patriot, there was small comfort available there – neither the men’s nor women’s team managed to make it as far as the quarterfinals. Yet this did not stop me or my colleagues having a positive experience, as we all enjoyed watching the spectators from other countries, as they turned up to watch their nations compete in the volleyball. There was a certain enjoyment in watching nations live up to their stereotypes; I helped clean the stadium after every game and it was after the Russia vs. Poland match that we had to pick up the most empty alcohol bottles. I was especially interested by the varying efforts of different nations to showcase their national pride. Few Brits dressed up or brought flags along with them, whereas almost every Pole came entirely decked-out in the national colours of red and white. Long after the Polish team lost one match, the fans continued to sing the Polish national anthem and displayed an obvious reluctance to leave. This made me wonder whether the success of one’s national team is really an essential ingredient to one’s sense of national pride. At the volleyball, many fans simply relished the chance to display their patriotism and, when I spoke to a few, they confessed to never having shown an interest in volleyball prior to the game they had received tickets for.

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Nationalism and the Olympics: Reflections on the opening ceremony

As part of our current focus on sport, SEN Journal: Online Exclusives is delighted to present an exclusive commentary on nationalism and the olympics by Steven J. Mock.

Photo credit: Nick J Webb, Flickr

They were a strange sight in the parade of athletes during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, stuck between Iceland and India: the “Independent Olympic Athletes”.  And I was reminded of Ernest Gellner’s observation that having a nation in the modern world is akin to having a nose and two ears; sure, it’s possible one might lack one of these things, but unnatural, the result of an extraordinary tragedy.  These three athletes (apparently from the recently dissolved Netherlands Antilles) compensated for their disability by making the most boisterous entrance they could, dancing their way into the stadium then pantomiming their events throughout the procession.  Making light of their absurd condition, they were transformed from piteous to heroic objects: Oscar Pistorius had overcome his lack of legs to become an Olympian; these people had overcome their lack of a nation.

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Exclusive Preview: Olympic Bidding, Multicultural Nationalism, Terror, and the Epistemological Violence of ‘Making Britain Proud’

In celebration of the London 2012 Olympics, SEN Journal: Online Exclusives is delighted to present a selection of exclusive previews on the theme of nationalism, ethnicity and sport over the next few weeks.

By focusing on London’s 2012 olympic bidding, our first article by Mark Falcous and Michael Silk explores the relationship between British nationalist identity politics and sport, terrorism, place re-imagining, mega-event bidding, and corporate neo-liberalism.

Photo credit: tableatny, flickr

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